But she carried her harlotry further is literally “And she added to her harlotry,” which means Oholibah became even more immoral than her sister. Contemporary English Version says “But Oholibah behaved worse than her sister.”

She saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion: Before this, Oholibah had wanted to have sex with the Assyrian men she saw, but now, when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, that is, pictures of men carved on the wall, her sexual desire was roused (see verse 16). It is not clear where these carved images were, but they may have been on the city walls of Jerusalem or inside the Temple where the people worshiped them as gods. These carvings were images of the Chaldeans, that is, the Babylonians (see 1.3). The Babylonian Empire replaced the Assyrian Empire at the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. These images were portrayed in vermilion, which means they were carved and “painted bright red” (Good News Translation). Red paint may have been used to outline the carved figures so that they stood out against the wood or stone walls. For cultures where wall carvings are not known, it is acceptable to use a general word for painting to render images.

Girded with belts on their loins: The carved Babylonian men wore “belts around their waists” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version). The Hebrew word for belts shows that they were not simple belts. Rather, they were probably impressive wide waistbands, made of expensive, decorated material. Some translations say “sashes” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Moffatt), and New Living Translation has “Handsome belts.” For the Hebrew word rendered loins, see the comments on 1.27.

With flowing turbans on their heads: The carved men also wore flowing turbans, which were probably headpieces like helmets with a long streamer of some type of material attached to each one.

All of them looking like officers: The men in the carvings were very impressive to look at. The Hebrew word for officers may refer to high-ranking administrative officials (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible), but more likely they were “cavalry officers” (Contemporary English Version) who rode into battle in chariots pulled by horses, so New International Version, New Living Translation, and New Century Version say “chariot officers” (similarly New American Bible). If readers are not familiar with chariots, translators may say “officers who went into battle with their horses.”

A picture of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea is very similar to the images of the Chaldeans. That is why Good News Translation combines verses 14-15. The Hebrew terms for images and picture have almost the same meaning here, and the Chaldeans are the same people as the Babylonians. Whose native land was Chaldea simply restates Babylonians and may be omitted (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Chaldea is another name for Babylonia. This whole clause may be rendered “This was a picture of native Babylonians.”

A model for verses 14-15 is given at the end of the discussion on verse 16.

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 .