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border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad20.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/ezekiel/23-19.htm" title="Ezekiel 23:19">◄</a> Ezekiel 23:20 <a href="/ezekiel/23-21.htm" title="Ezekiel 23:21">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/ezekiel/23.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/ezekiel/23.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/ezekiel/23.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/ezekiel/23.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/ezekiel/23.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/ezekiel/23.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh <i>is as</i> the flesh of asses, and whose issue <i>is like</i> the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/ezekiel/23.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />For she lusted for her paramours, Whose flesh <i>is like</i> the flesh of donkeys, And whose issue <i>is like</i> the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/ezekiel/23.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />She lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is <i>like</i> the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is <i>like</i> the discharge of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/ezekiel/23.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8220She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/ezekiel/23.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />“And she lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is <i>like</i> the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is <i>like</i> the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/ezekiel/23.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is <i>like</i> the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is <i>like</i> the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/ezekiel/23.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />For she lusted after her lovers [there], whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/ezekiel/23.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/ezekiel/23.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/ezekiel/23.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />And she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/ezekiel/23.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />She eagerly wanted to go to bed with Egyptian men, who were famous for their sexual powers. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/ezekiel/23.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />And she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/ezekiel/23.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />She lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose semen was like that of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/ezekiel/23.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />She was filled with lust for oversexed men who had all the lustfulness of donkeys or stallions." ( <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/ezekiel/23.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />She lusted after her paramours, whose genitals are like those of donkeys, and whose emissions are like those of horses. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/ezekiel/23.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />and lusted after their lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/ezekiel/23.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />She lusted after their genitals--as large as those of donkeys, and their seminal emission was as strong as that of stallions.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/ezekiel/23.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />She doted on their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/ezekiel/23.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/ezekiel/23.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />She lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/ezekiel/23.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />And she lusts on their lovers, "" Whose flesh [is] the flesh of donkeys, "" And the emission of horses—their emission.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/ezekiel/23.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> And she doteth on their paramours, Whose flesh is the flesh of asses, And the issue of horses -- their issue.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/ezekiel/23.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />And she will desire after their paramours, whom the flesh of asses their flesh, and the flowing of horses their flowing.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/ezekiel/23.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />And she was mad with lust after lying with them whose flesh is as the flesh of asses: and whose issue as the issue of horses. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/ezekiel/23.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />And she was mad with lust after lying with them, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose flow is like the flow of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/ezekiel/23.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />She lusted for the lechers of Egypt, whose members are like those of donkeys, whose thrusts are like those of stallions.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/ezekiel/23.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose emission was like that of stallions.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/ezekiel/23.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />For she doted upon their servants, whose male organs are like those of asses, and whose privates are like those of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/ezekiel/23.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />And she copulated with their Servants, whose flesh was like the flesh of donkeys, and their genitals like the genitals of horses<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/ezekiel/23.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />And she doted upon concubinage with them, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/ezekiel/23.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />and thou didst dote upon the Chaldeans, whose flesh is as the flesh of the asses, and their members <i>as</i> the members of horses.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vET3Gmwku4s?start=6528" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/ezekiel/23.htm">The Adultery of Oholah and Oholibah</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">19</span>Yet she multiplied her promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth, when she had prostituted herself in the land of Egypt <span class="reftext">20</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/5689.htm" title="5689: wat·ta‘·gə·ḇāh (Conj-w:: V-Qal-ConsecImperf-3fs:: 3fs) -- To have inordinate affection, lust. A primitive root; to breathe after, i.e. To love.">and lusted</a> <a href="/hebrew/5921.htm" title="5921: ‘al (Prep) -- Properly, the same as al used as a preposition; above, over, upon, or against in a great variety of applications.">after</a> <a href="/hebrew/6370.htm" title="6370: pi·laḡ·šê·hem (N-fpc:: 3mp) -- Concubine. Or pilegesh; of uncertain derivation; a concubine; also a paramour.">their lovers,</a> <a href="/hebrew/834.htm" title="834: ’ă·šer (Pro-r) -- Who, which, that. A primitive relative pronoun; who, which, what, that; also when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.">whose</a> <a href="/hebrew/1320.htm" title="1320: bə·śar- (N-msc) -- Flesh. From basar; flesh; by extension, body, person; also The pudenda of a man.">genitals</a> <a href="/hebrew/1320.htm" title="1320: bə·śā·rām (N-msc:: 3mp) -- Flesh. From basar; flesh; by extension, body, person; also The pudenda of a man.">were like those</a> <a href="/hebrew/2543.htm" title="2543: ḥă·mō·w·rîm (N-mp) -- A male ass. Or chamor; from chamar; a male ass.">of donkeys</a> <a href="/hebrew/2231.htm" title="2231: wə·zir·maṯ (Conj-w:: N-fsc) -- An issue (a fluid). Feminine of zerem; a gushing of fluid.">and whose emission</a> <a href="/hebrew/2231.htm" title="2231: zir·mā·ṯām (N-fsc:: 3mp) -- An issue (a fluid). Feminine of zerem; a gushing of fluid.">was like that</a> <a href="/hebrew/5483.htm" title="5483: sū·sîm (N-mp) -- A swallow, swift (type of bird). Or cuc; from an unused root meaning to skip; a horse; also a swallow.">of stallions.</a> </span><span class="reftext">21</span>So you revisited the indecency of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your bosom and pressed your young breasts.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/3-6.htm">Jeremiah 3:6-10</a></span><br />Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there. / I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. / She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hosea/2-2.htm">Hosea 2:2-5</a></span><br />Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adultery from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. / Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst. / I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hosea/4-12.htm">Hosea 4:12-14</a></span><br />My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God. / They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery. / I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/2-20.htm">Jeremiah 2:20-25</a></span><br />“For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute. / I had planted you like a choice vine from the very best seed. How could you turn yourself before Me into a rotten, wild vine? / Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/57-3.htm">Isaiah 57:3-8</a></span><br />“But come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! / Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of deceit, / who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/17-1.htm">Revelation 17:1-5</a></span><br />Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. / The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.” / And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/18-3.htm">Revelation 18:3</a></span><br />All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/jeremiah/13-27.htm">Jeremiah 13:27</a></span><br />Your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields—I have seen your detestable acts. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hosea/9-1.htm">Hosea 9:1</a></span><br />Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations, for you have played the harlot against your God; you have made love for hire on every threshing floor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/nahum/3-4.htm">Nahum 3:4</a></span><br />because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_kings/9-22.htm">2 Kings 9:22</a></span><br />When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” he replied, “as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/revelation/2-20.htm">Revelation 2:20-22</a></span><br />But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. / Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling. / Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/james/4-4.htm">James 4:4</a></span><br />You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_corinthians/6-15.htm">1 Corinthians 6:15-18</a></span><br />Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! / Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” / But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/galatians/5-19.htm">Galatians 5:19-21</a></span><br />The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; / idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, / and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">For she doted on their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/ezekiel/16-20.htm">Ezekiel 16:20,26</a></b></br> Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. <i>Is this</i> of thy whoredoms a small matter, … </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/ezekiel/17-15.htm">Ezekiel 17:15</a></b></br> But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such <i>things</i>? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/jeremiah/14-6.htm">Asses</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-17.htm">Desire</a> <a href="/jeremiah/14-6.htm">Donkeys</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-16.htm">Doted</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-16.htm">Doteth</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/23-10.htm">Emission</a> <a href="/ezekiel/22-9.htm">Flesh</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-16.htm">Full</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/25-11.htm">Genitals</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-12.htm">Horses</a> <a href="/isaiah/39-7.htm">Issue</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-16.htm">Lusted</a> <a href="/psalms/139-16.htm">Members</a> <a href="/ezekiel/20-5.htm">Seed</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/zechariah/14-15.htm">Asses</a> <a href="/ezekiel/24-16.htm">Desire</a> <a href="/daniel/5-21.htm">Donkeys</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-5.htm">Doted</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-5.htm">Doteth</a> <a href="/leviticus/15-16.htm">Emission</a> <a href="/ezekiel/24-4.htm">Flesh</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-32.htm">Full</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/25-11.htm">Genitals</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-23.htm">Horses</a> <a href="/ezekiel/47-8.htm">Issue</a> <a href="/ezekiel/23-30.htm">Lusted</a> <a href="/ezekiel/32-5.htm">Members</a> <a href="/ezekiel/43-19.htm">Seed</a><div class="vheading2">Ezekiel 23</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/ezekiel/23-1.htm">The unfaithfulness of Aholah and Aholibah</a></span><br><span class="reftext">23. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/ezekiel/23-23.htm">Aholibah is to be plagued by her lovers</a></span><br><span class="reftext">36. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/ezekiel/23-36.htm">The prophet reproves the adulteries of them both</a></span><br><span class="reftext">45. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/ezekiel/23-45.htm">and shows their judgments</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/ezekiel/23.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/ezekiel/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/ezekiel/23.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>and lusted after their lovers</b><br>This phrase highlights the spiritual adultery of Israel and Judah, symbolized by the sisters Oholah and Oholibah, representing Samaria and Jerusalem. The lusting after lovers signifies the nations' pursuit of alliances and idolatry with foreign powers, particularly Egypt and Assyria. This reflects a recurring theme in the Old Testament where Israel is often depicted as an unfaithful spouse to God (<a href="/jeremiah/3-6.htm">Jeremiah 3:6-10</a>, <a href="/hosea/2-2.htm">Hosea 2:2-5</a>). The imagery underscores the depth of their infidelity and the betrayal of their covenant relationship with God.<p><b>whose genitals were like those of donkeys</b><br>The comparison to donkeys emphasizes the extreme and unnatural nature of Israel's idolatry and alliances. In ancient Near Eastern culture, donkeys were often associated with strength and virility, but also with stubbornness and foolishness. This metaphor serves to illustrate the degrading and excessive nature of Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness. It also reflects the biblical theme of the consequences of turning away from God, as seen in the warnings given in <a href="/deuteronomy/28-15.htm">Deuteronomy 28:15-68</a>.<p><b>and whose emission was like that of stallions</b><br>Stallions are known for their powerful and uncontrollable nature, symbolizing the overwhelming and destructive influence of the foreign nations with whom Israel and Judah allied themselves. This imagery conveys the idea of being overwhelmed by the consequences of their choices, leading to spiritual and moral corruption. The use of such vivid and graphic language serves to shock the audience into recognizing the severity of their sin. This aligns with the prophetic tradition of using stark imagery to convey the seriousness of Israel's apostasy (<a href="/isaiah/1-21.htm">Isaiah 1:21</a>, <a href="/jeremiah/2-20.htm">Jeremiah 2:20-25</a>).<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/o/oholah_and_oholibah.htm">Oholah and Oholibah</a></b><br>These are symbolic names for Samaria and Jerusalem, representing the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel. They are depicted as two sisters who engage in idolatry and unfaithfulness to God.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/a/assyrians_and_babylonians.htm">Assyrians and Babylonians</a></b><br>These nations are the foreign lovers with whom Israel and Judah commit spiritual adultery. They symbolize the political alliances and idolatrous practices that the Israelites pursued instead of remaining faithful to God.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/e/ezekiel.htm">Ezekiel</a></b><br>The prophet who delivers God's message of judgment and calls for repentance. He uses vivid and shocking imagery to convey the seriousness of Israel's unfaithfulness.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/i/idolatry.htm">Idolatry</a></b><br>The central sin being addressed, where Israel and Judah turn away from God to worship idols and form alliances with pagan nations.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/j/judgment.htm">Judgment</a></b><br>The consequence of Israel and Judah's unfaithfulness, leading to their eventual downfall and exile.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_seriousness_of_idolatry.htm">The Seriousness of Idolatry</a></b><br>Idolatry is not just the worship of physical idols but includes anything that takes the place of God in our hearts. We must examine our lives for modern-day idols.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/f/faithfulness_to_god.htm">Faithfulness to God</a></b><br>Just as a marriage requires fidelity, our relationship with God demands our exclusive devotion. We are called to be faithful in our worship and obedience.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/consequences_of_unfaithfulness.htm">Consequences of Unfaithfulness</a></b><br>The vivid imagery in Ezekiel serves as a warning of the severe consequences of turning away from God. It reminds us that sin leads to spiritual and sometimes physical destruction.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/r/repentance_and_restoration.htm">Repentance and Restoration</a></b><br>Despite the harsh judgment, God's desire is for His people to return to Him. Repentance opens the door to restoration and renewed relationship with God.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_role_of_prophets.htm">The Role of Prophets</a></b><br>Prophets like Ezekiel are God's messengers, calling His people back to righteousness. We should heed the warnings and teachings of Scripture as God's guidance for our lives.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_ezekiel_23.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Ezekiel 23</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_is_ezekiel_23's_imagery_reconciled.htm">How can the graphic sexual imagery in Ezekiel 23:3 and 20 be reconciled with the holiness and purity usually attributed to Scripture? </a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_are_the_signs_of_the_end_times.htm">What are the signs of the end times?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_is_god_both_merciful_and_vengeful.htm">What explains the apparent inconsistency between God's merciful nature elsewhere and the violent retribution depicted in Ezekiel 23:22-27?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_does_ezekiel_38_5-6_align_with_other_prophecies.htm">How does the prophecy of a coalition of nations in Ezekiel 38:5-6 align or conflict with other biblical prophecies of end-time alliances?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/ezekiel/23.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(20) <span class= "bld">Their paramours.</span>--The word is masculine, as indicating the abominable sins copied by the Israelites from the heathen, and asses and horses are introduced to show the intensity of lust. (Comp. <a href="/jeremiah/5-8.htm" title="They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbor's wife.">Jeremiah 5:8</a>.)<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/ezekiel/23.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 20.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">She doted on her paramours</span>. Commonly the word is used of a concubine (<a href="/genesis/22-24.htm">Genesis 22:24</a>; <a href="/judges/8-31.htm">Judges 8:31</a>). Here it is used in scorn of the Egyptian princes whose favor Judah courted, reminding us of Homer's <span class="greek">Ἀχαιίδες οὐκετ Ἀχαίοι</span>, as indicating their political weakness. All that need be said of the comparison that follows is that here also Ezekiel follows in the footsteps of Jeremiah (<a href="/jeremiah/5-8.htm">Jeremiah 5:8</a>). What is indicated is that Judah threw herself into the idolatrous ritual of Egypt with an almost orgiastic passion. The harlot nation returned, as it were, to her first love, and renewed the whoredoms of her youth. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">and lusted</span><br /><span class="heb">וַֽתַּעְגְּבָ֔ה</span> <span class="translit">(wat·ta‘·gə·ḇāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular | third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5689.htm">Strong's 5689: </a> </span><span class="str2">To have inordinate affection, lust</span><br /><br /><span class="word">after</span><br /><span class="heb">עַ֖ל</span> <span class="translit">(‘al)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5921.htm">Strong's 5921: </a> </span><span class="str2">Above, over, upon, against</span><br /><br /><span class="word">their lovers,</span><br /><span class="heb">פִּֽלַגְשֵׁיהֶ֑ם</span> <span class="translit">(pi·laḡ·šê·hem)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_6370.htm">Strong's 6370: </a> </span><span class="str2">A concubine, a paramour</span><br /><br /><span class="word">whose</span><br /><span class="heb">אֲשֶׁ֤ר</span> <span class="translit">(’ă·šer)</span><br /><span class="parse">Pronoun - relative<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_834.htm">Strong's 834: </a> </span><span class="str2">Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that</span><br /><br /><span class="word">genitals</span><br /><span class="heb">בְּשַׂר־</span> <span class="translit">(bə·śar-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1320.htm">Strong's 1320: </a> </span><span class="str2">Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, man</span><br /><br /><span class="word">were like those</span><br /><span class="heb">בְּשָׂרָ֔ם</span> <span class="translit">(bə·śā·rām)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1320.htm">Strong's 1320: </a> </span><span class="str2">Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, man</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of donkeys</span><br /><span class="heb">חֲמוֹרִים֙</span> <span class="translit">(ḥă·mō·w·rîm)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2543.htm">Strong's 2543: </a> </span><span class="str2">A male ass</span><br /><br /><span class="word">and whose emission</span><br /><span class="heb">וְזִרְמַ֥ת</span> <span class="translit">(wə·zir·maṯ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2231.htm">Strong's 2231: </a> </span><span class="str2">A gushing of fluid</span><br /><br /><span class="word">was like that</span><br /><span class="heb">זִרְמָתָֽם׃</span> <span class="translit">(zir·mā·ṯām)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2231.htm">Strong's 2231: </a> </span><span class="str2">A gushing of fluid</span><br /><br /><span class="word">of stallions.</span><br /><span class="heb">סוּסִ֖ים</span> <span class="translit">(sū·sîm)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5483.htm">Strong's 5483: </a> </span><span class="str2">A swallow, swift (type of bird)</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/ezekiel/23-20.htm">Ezekiel 23:20 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/ezekiel/23-20.htm">OT Prophets: Ezekiel 23:20 She doted on their paramours whose flesh (Ezek. Eze Ezk) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/ezekiel/23-19.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Ezekiel 23:19"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Ezekiel 23:19" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/ezekiel/23-21.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Ezekiel 23:21"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Ezekiel 23:21" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>