Ezekiel 23:36–44, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Ezekiel 23:36–44
The Sisters Are Indicted for Blood, Idols, and Profaned Worship
Wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah?
Yea, declare unto them their abominations; that they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.
They have sent for men to come from far
Unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, and satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them? Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women. The indictment does not permit slurs against sex workers, women, foreigners, or people trapped in exploitation. Blood, idols, child sacrifice, and profaned sanctuary remain the charges.
How this should shape us
Keep the sisters' indictment on blood, idols, burned children, and a profaned house. Do not spit on sex workers, foreigners, or women, and do not confuse luxury with a person's worth.
Teach it back
Explain Ezekiel 23:36–44 in your own words. Name its place in Ezekiel, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: The indictment does not permit slurs against sex workers, women, foreigners, or people trapped in exploitation.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Ezekiel 23:36–44, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 23:36–44
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Outline and Theological Themes: responsibility, allegory, history, and Jerusalem judgment; applied to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 2 and Part 3 study guides: sign acts, responsibility, allegory, chapters 16 and 23, and Jerusalem's fall; applied to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Supports: Gender-critical analysis of personified cities, sexualized accusation, exposure, and violence without normalizing abuse or victim blame.
Klein, 'Uncovering the Nymphomaniac,' published pp. 167-186, accepted manuscript sections on Ezekiel 16 and 23; applied to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Supports: Abstract-level warning that patriarchal translation choices can conceal or naturalize sexualized violence; no inaccessible detail is claimed.
Bibb, 'There's no sex in your violence,' Review & Expositor 111.4 (2014), publisher metadata and abstract only; applied at abstract level to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Ezekiel 23:36–44, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ezekiel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ezek.xml, OSIS 23:36–44
Open the fixed Hebrew Ezekiel file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Ezekiel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for difficult Hebrew, syntax, older KJV language, dates, place names, textual issues, vision language, and material alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Ezekiel PDF, exact translator, study, and textual notes attached to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Open the official NET Ezekiel PDF ↗modern scholarly book course
Ezekiel course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and passage studies
Alan G. Padgett; revised by Tyler Mayfield
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised June 2023
Supports: Reader-oriented historical, literary, theological, and pastoral synthesis with visible alternatives and ancient-to-modern limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Ezekiel course, Outline and Theological Themes: responsibility, allegory, history, and Jerusalem judgment; applied to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Open the Enter the Bible Ezekiel course ↗open university study guide series
Jeremiah and Ezekiel: Ezekiel Parts 1-3 Study Guides
Joel S. Baden and Jacqueline Vayntrub
Yale Bible Study, 2024
Supports: Current university-level literary-historical synthesis and interpretive questions, including ethical attention to gendered rhetoric and the final vision.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Ezekiel Part 2 and Part 3 study guides: sign acts, responsibility, allegory, chapters 16 and 23, and Jerusalem's fall; applied to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Open the Yale Jeremiah and Ezekiel course ↗peer reviewed trauma and gender critical chapter
Uncovering the Nymphomaniac: The Development of the Image of Israel as an Unfaithful Wife in Ezekiel 16 and 23
Anja Klein
The Oxford Handbook of Ezekiel, 2019
Supports: Gender-critical analysis of personified cities, sexualized accusation, exposure, and violence without normalizing abuse or victim blame.
Exact location: Klein, 'Uncovering the Nymphomaniac,' published pp. 167-186, accepted manuscript sections on Ezekiel 16 and 23; applied to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Open Klein's accepted manuscript ↗peer reviewed translation and ethics article
There's no sex in your violence: Patriarchal translation in Ezekiel 16 and 23
Bryan D. Bibb
Review & Expositor 111.4, 2014
Supports: Abstract-level warning that patriarchal translation choices can conceal or naturalize sexualized violence; no inaccessible detail is claimed.
Exact location: Bibb, 'There's no sex in your violence,' Review & Expositor 111.4 (2014), publisher metadata and abstract only; applied at abstract level to Ezekiel 23:36–44
Open the publisher record and abstract ↗