2tn The names Oholah and Oholibah are both derived from the word meaning “tent.” The meaning of Oholah is “her tent,” while Oholibah means “my tent is in her.”

3sn In this allegory the Lord is depicted as being the husband of two wives. The OT law prohibited a man from marrying sisters (Lev 18:18), but the practice is attested in the OT (cf. Jacob). The metaphor is utilized here for illustrative purposes and does not mean that the Lord condoned such a practice or bigamy in general.

4tn Heb “while she was under me.” The expression indicates that Oholah is viewed as the Lord’s wife. See Num 5:19-20, 29.

sn Played the harlot refers to alliances with pagan nations in this context. In Ezek 16 harlotry described the sin of idolatry.

5tn Heb “Assyria.”

6tn The term apparently refers to Assyrian military officers; it is better construed with the description that follows. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:738.

7tn Heb “lusted after.”

8tn Heb “and poured out their harlotry on her.”

9tn Heb “I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria.”

10tn Heb “name.”

11tn The word “this” is not in the original text.

12tn The only other occurrence of the Hebrew term is in Jer 22:14.

13tn Heb “the sons of Babel.”

14tn Heb “at the appearance of her eyes.”

15sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1).

16tn Heb “The sons of Babel came to her on a bed of love.”

17tn Heb “her soul.”

18tn Heb “She exposed her harlotry and she exposed her nakedness.”

19tn Heb “my soul.”

20tn Heb “my soul.”

21tn Heb “She lusted after their concubines (?) whose flesh was the flesh of donkeys.” The phrase “their concubines” is extremely problematic here. The pronoun is masculine plural, suggesting that the Egyptian men are in view, but how concubines would fit into the picture envisioned here is not clear. Some suggest that Ezekiel uses the term in an idiomatic sense of “paramour,” but this still fails to explain how the pronoun relates to the noun. It is more likely that the term refers here to the Egyptians’ genitals. The relative pronoun that follows introduces a more specific description of their genitals.

22tn Or “you took note of.” The Hebrew verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Qal implies evaluating something and then acting in light of that judgment; here the prophet depicts Judah as approving of her youthful unfaithfulness and then magnifying it at the present time. Some translations assume the verb should be repointed as a Niphal, rendering “you missed” or by extension “you longed for,” but such an extension of the Niphal “to be missing” is otherwise unattested.

23tn Heb “when (they) did,” but the verb makes no sense here and is better emended to “when (they) fondled,” a verb used in vv. 3 and 8. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.

24tn Heb “for the sake of,” but the expression is awkward and is better emended to read “to squeeze.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:43.

25tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

26sn Pekod was the name of an Aramean tribe (known as Puqudu in Mesopotamian texts) that lived in the region of the Tigris River.

27sn Shoa was the name of a nomadic people (the Sutu) that lived in Mesopotamia.

28sn Koa was the name of another Mesopotamian people group (the Qutu).

29tn Heb “come against.”

30tn This is the only occurrence of this term in the OT. The precise meaning is uncertain.

31tn Heb “an assembly of peoples.”

32tn Heb “I will place before them judgment.”

33tn Heb “give.”

34tn Heb “they will remove.” 

sn This method of punishment is attested among ancient Egyptian and Hittite civilizations. See W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel (Hermeneia), 1:489.

35tn Heb “fall.”

36tn Heb “I will cause your obscene conduct to cease from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt.”

37tn Heb “lift your eyes to them.”

38tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.

39tn Heb “I am giving you into the hand of.”

40tn The Hebrew term means “labor,” but by extension it can also refer to that for which one works.

41tn Heb “The nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, and your obscene conduct and your harlotry.”

42tn The infinitive absolute continues the sequence begun in v. 28: “Look here, I am about to deliver you.” See Joüon 2:430 §123.w.

43tn Heb “her cup.” A cup of intoxicating strong drink is used, here and elsewhere, as a metaphor for judgment because both leave one confused and reeling. (See Jer 25:15, 17, 28; Hab 2:16.) The cup of wrath is a theme also found in the NT (Mark 14:36).

44sn The image of a deep and wide cup suggests the degree of punishment; it will be extensive and leave the victim helpless.

45tn Heb “filled with.”

46tn Heb “You will drink it and drain (it).”

47tn D. I. Block compares this to the idiom of “licking the plate” (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:754, n. 137). The text is difficult as the word translated “gnaw” is rare. The noun is used of the shattered pieces of pottery and so could envision a broken cup. But the Piel verb form is used in only one other place (Num 24:8), where it is a denominative from the noun “bone” and seems to mean to “break (bones).” Why it would be collocated with “sherds” is not clear. For this reason some emend the phrase to read “consume its dregs” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:44) or emend the verb to read “swallow,” as if the intoxicated Oholibah breaks the cup and then eats the very sherds in an effort to get every last drop of the beverage that dampens them.

48sn The severe action is more extreme than beating the breasts in anguish (Isa 32:12; Nah 2:7). It is also ironic for these are the very breasts she so blatantly offered to her lovers (vv. 3, 21).

49tn Heb “and you cast me behind your back.” The expression pictures her rejection of the Lord (see 1 Kgs 14:9).

50tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text but is demanded by the context.

51tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment. See 20:4; 22:2.

52sn The Lord speaks here in the role of the husband of the sisters.

53tn Heb “they have passed to them for food.” The verb is commonly taken to refer to passing children through fire, especially as an offering to the pagan god Molech. See Jer 32:35.

54tn Heb “in that day.”

55tn Heb “to whom a messenger was sent, and look, they came.” Foreign alliances are in view here.

56tn The Hebrew verb form is feminine singular, indicating that Oholibah (Judah) is specifically addressed here. This address continues through verse 42a (note “her”), but then both sisters are described in verse 42b, where the feminine pronouns are again plural.

57tn Heb “(was) in her.”

58tn Heb “and men from the multitude of mankind.”

59tn An alternate reading is “drunkards.” Sheba is located in the area of modern day Yemen.

60tn Heb “they”; the referents (the sisters) have been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

61tn Heb “and they came to her.”

62tn Heb “and upright men will judge them (with) the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of those who shed blood.”

63tn Heb “assembly.”

64tn Heb “give them to.”

65tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

66tn Heb “and the sins of your idols you will bear.” By extension it can mean the punishment for the sins.