Good News Translation inserts the following section heading for verses 23-34: “Jerusalem’s Life as a Prostitute.” Another possible title is “What Jerusalem does as a prostitute.”

The details of the next few verses continue to be ambiguous between the girl of the parable and the people of Jerusalem and Judah. The building of many shrines to false gods and the alliances with the Egyptians, Philistines, Assyrians, and Babylonians clearly point to the sinful history of the people of Israel, although it still describes Judah as the girl who is acting like a prostitute. And after all your wickedness does not mean after she had finished all the sins just listed, but rather in addition to those sins. New International Version and New Living Translation say “In addition to all your other wickedness,” and Contemporary English Version has “Not only did you do these evil things.”

(Woe, woe to you! says the Lord GOD): These words interrupt the flow of the sentence in verses 23-24, so Revised Standard Version places them within parentheses. In most languages it will be easier to begin the verse with these words (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, Revised English Bible). They are prompted by the reference to wickedness, but it is acceptable to see them as a reaction to the wickedness described in the previous verses. The Hebrew word rendered woe can be a general expression of dismay, but here it announces disaster on Jerusalem. Many languages have an equivalent expression, but for those that do not, woe, woe to you! may be rendered “You are doomed! Doomed!” (Good News Translation), “How terrible! How terrible it will be for you” (New Century Version) or “Bad things are going to happen to you.” For says the Lord GOD, see Ezek 16.8.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .