Ezekiel 23:3
New International Version
They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed.

New Living Translation
They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts.

English Standard Version
They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.

Berean Standard Bible
and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.

King James Bible
And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

New King James Version
They committed harlotry in Egypt, They committed harlotry in their youth; Their breasts were there embraced, Their virgin bosom was there pressed.

New American Standard Bible
and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled.

NASB 1995
and they played the harlot in Egypt. They played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled.

NASB 1977
and they played the harlot in Egypt. They played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed, and there their virgin bosom was handled.

Legacy Standard Bible
and they played the harlot in Egypt. They played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed, and there their virgin bosom was handled.

Amplified Bible
and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. From their youth they were grossly immoral; in that place their breasts were embraced and their virgin bosom was grasped.

Christian Standard Bible
who acted like prostitutes in Egypt, behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
who acted like prostitutes in Egypt, behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed.

American Standard Version
and they played the harlot in Egypt; they played the harlot in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.

Contemporary English Version
While they were young and living in Egypt, they became prostitutes.

English Revised Version
and they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They became prostitutes in Egypt when they were young. There men fondled and caressed their breasts.

Good News Translation
When they were young, living in Egypt, they lost their virginity and became prostitutes.

International Standard Version
They committed sexual immorality in Egypt. They did this in their youth. There, their breasts were caressed. Their virgin breasts were fondled.

Majority Standard Bible
and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed.

NET Bible
They engaged in prostitution in Egypt; in their youth they engaged in prostitution. Their breasts were squeezed there; lovers fondled their virgin nipples there.

New Heart English Bible
and they played the prostitute in Egypt; they played the prostitute in their youth; there were their breasts pressed, and there was handled the bosom of their virginity.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they committed lewd deeds in Egypt; they committed lewd deeds in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they were first corrupted.

World English Bible
They played the prostitute in Egypt. They played the prostitute in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their youthful nipples were caressed there.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And they go whoring in Egypt, "" They have gone whoring in their youth, "" There they have bruised their breasts, "" And there they have dealt with the loves of their virginity.

Young's Literal Translation
And they go a-whoring in Egypt, In their youth they have gone a-whoring, There they have bruised their breasts, And there they have dealt with the loves of their virginity.

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will commit fornication in Egypt; in their youth they committal fornication: there were their breasts pressed, and the breasts of their virginity fell away.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they committed fornication in Egypt, in their youth they committed fornication: there were their breasts pressed down, and the teats of their virginity were bruised.

Catholic Public Domain Version
and they fornicated in Egypt; they committed fornication in their youth. In that place, their breasts were conquered; the breasts of their adolescence were subdued.

New American Bible
Even as young girls, they were prostitutes, serving as prostitutes in Egypt. There the Egyptians fondled their breasts and caressed their virgin nipples.

New Revised Standard Version
they played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; their breasts were caressed there, and their virgin bosoms were fondled.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And they committed whoredom in Egypt in their youth; there were their breasts fondled, there was their virginity broken.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they committed fornication in Egypt in their youth. There they bruised their breasts and there they lost virginity
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
and they committed harlotries in Egypt; they committed harlotries in their youth; there were their bosoms pressed, and there their virgin breasts were bruised.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and they went a-whoring in Egypt in their youth: there their breasts fell, there they lost their virginity.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Adultery of Oholah and Oholibah
2“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother, 3and they played in Egypt, prostituting themselves from their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin bosoms caressed. 4The older was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their identities, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 3:6-9
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. ...

Hosea 2:2-5
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. ...

2 Kings 17:7-18
All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods / and walked in the customs of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites, as well as in the practices introduced by the kings of Israel. / The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities. ...

Jeremiah 2:20
“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.

Hosea 1:2
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”

Isaiah 1:21
See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!

Jeremiah 13:27
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?”

Hosea 4:12-14
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.

Revelation 17:1-5
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. ...

Jeremiah 3:1-3
“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD. / “Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. / Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.

Hosea 9:1
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.

Isaiah 57:3-8
“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? ...

Jeremiah 5:7-9
“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes. / They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing after his neighbor’s wife. / Should I not punish them for these things?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

Revelation 2:20-22
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.

Jeremiah 31:22
How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land—a woman will shelter a man.”


Treasury of Scripture

And they committed prostitutions in Egypt; they committed prostitutions in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

in Egypt

Ezekiel 20:8
But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

Leviticus 17:7
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

Deuteronomy 29:16
(For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by;

in their

Ezekiel 23:8,19,21
Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her…

Ezekiel 16:22
And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.

Hosea 2:15
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

Jump to Previous
Acting Behaviour Bosom Breasts Bruised Caressed Committed Corrupted Crushed Deeds Egypt Engaging First Fondled Handled Harlot Harlotries Lewd Played Pressed Prostitute Prostitutes Prostitution Teats Virgin Virginity Whoredom Whoredoms Women Young Youth
Jump to Next
Acting Behaviour Bosom Breasts Bruised Caressed Committed Corrupted Crushed Deeds Egypt Engaging First Fondled Handled Harlot Harlotries Lewd Played Pressed Prostitute Prostitutes Prostitution Teats Virgin Virginity Whoredom Whoredoms Women Young Youth
Ezekiel 23
1. The unfaithfulness of Aholah and Aholibah
23. Aholibah is to be plagued by her lovers
36. The prophet reproves the adulteries of them both
45. and shows their judgments














They prostituted themselves
The Hebrew word used here is "zanah," which means to commit fornication or to be unfaithful. In the context of Ezekiel, this term is often used metaphorically to describe Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness to God. The imagery of prostitution is a powerful metaphor for idolatry, suggesting a betrayal of the covenant relationship between God and His people. Historically, Israel's alliances and idol worship were seen as acts of infidelity to God, akin to a spouse being unfaithful.

in Egypt
Egypt is not only a geographical location but also a symbol of bondage and idolatry in the Bible. The Israelites' time in Egypt is often associated with slavery and oppression, but also with the adoption of foreign gods and practices. This reference serves as a reminder of the origins of Israel's spiritual infidelity, suggesting that their unfaithfulness began long before they entered the Promised Land.

engaging in prostitution from their youth
The phrase "from their youth" indicates that this behavior was not a recent development but had been ingrained in the people from an early stage. It suggests a long-standing pattern of unfaithfulness and highlights the depth of Israel's spiritual corruption. This historical context underscores the persistent nature of Israel's idolatry, which began in their formative years as a nation.

In that land
This phrase emphasizes the specific location where these actions took place, reinforcing the connection between the Israelites' physical and spiritual bondage in Egypt. It serves as a reminder of the environment that fostered their unfaithfulness, a land filled with foreign gods and practices that lured them away from their devotion to Yahweh.

their breasts were fondled
This vivid imagery is intended to convey the intimate and personal nature of Israel's idolatry. The Hebrew word "mashash" means to touch or handle, suggesting a deep level of involvement and enticement. This metaphor illustrates how Israel allowed themselves to be seduced by foreign influences, abandoning their purity and devotion to God.

and their virgin bosoms caressed
The term "virgin" here symbolizes purity and the initial covenant relationship between God and Israel. The act of caressing implies a violation of that purity, a defilement of what was meant to be holy and set apart for God. This imagery serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences of Israel's spiritual adultery, highlighting the loss of innocence and the breach of their sacred covenant with God.

(3) In Egypt.--The idolatries of Israel in Egypt have already been spoken of in the Note to Ezekiel 20:8. (See also Ezekiel 23:19 below.)



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
and they played
וַתִּזְנֶ֣ינָה (wat·tiz·ne·nāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine plural
Strong's 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry

in Egypt,
בְמִצְרַ֔יִם (ḇə·miṣ·ra·yim)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

prostituting themselves
זָנ֑וּ (zā·nū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2181: To commit adultery, to commit idolatry

from their youth.
בִּנְעוּרֵיהֶ֖ן (bin·‘ū·rê·hen)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine plural
Strong's 5271: Youth, the state, the persons

Their breasts
שְׁדֵיהֶ֔ן (šə·ḏê·hen)
Noun - mdc | third person feminine plural
Strong's 7699: The breast of a, woman, animal

were fondled
מֹעֲכ֣וּ (mō·‘ă·ḵū)
Verb - Pual - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 4600: To press, to pierce, emasculate, handle

there,
שָׁ֚מָּה (māh)
Adverb | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither

and their virgin
בְּתוּלֵיהֶֽן׃ (bə·ṯū·lê·hen)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine plural
Strong's 1331: Virginity, the tokens of it

bosoms
דַּדֵּ֖י (dad·dê)
Noun - mdc
Strong's 1717: Breast, teat, nipple

caressed.
עִשּׂ֔וּ (‘iś·śū)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 6213: To do, make


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 23:3 And they played the prostitute in Egypt (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 23:2
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