complete verse (Ezekiel 23:29)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 23:29:

  • Kupsabiny: “Those people will be harsh to you and will take from you everything that you had produced. They shall strip you to remain naked to reveal those your private parts.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They will-punish you in their anger, and they will-get all you have-labored-for. They will-leave you naked, and the people will-see your shameful situation because of your dirty deeds which is the selling of your body.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They will be cruel and take away everything that you have worked hard to acquire. They will leave you completely naked , and everyone will see that you truly are a prostitute.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 23:29 - 23:30

And they shall deal with you in hatred means Oholibah’s former lovers will treat her in the same way as she treated them, namely, without love or affection (see verse 28).

And take away all the fruit of your labor means they will take everything Oholibah has gained through her work, so that she will have nothing left. This clause and the previous one may be rendered “They will treat you with no love, and will take from you everything you have worked for.”

And leave you naked and bare means they will leave her “stark naked” (New Jerusalem Bible). For the strong Hebrew expression rendered naked and bare, see the comments on 16.7. Here “naked and exposed” is a good translation.

And the nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered continues the theme of Oholibah’s nakedness—as she was naked while she was acting like a prostitute, so she will be naked when she is punished and everyone knows of her sin. Uncovered means both that she will be naked and that her sin will be exposed. It is difficult to capture all of this in translation. A possible model for this clause is “Just as you were naked when you were doing those bad things, so you will be naked when everyone knows how sinful you are.”

Your lewdness and your harlotry have brought this upon you: Revised Standard Version and most other translations take Your lewdness and your harlotry (see verse 27) as the subject of the verb brought at the beginning of verse 30. This means that Oholibah’s sexual immorality will cause her to lose everything. This interpretation requires a slight change to the Hebrew text, and it is better to include Your lewdness and your harlotry as part of the subject of the verb be uncovered in verse 29; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders the last clause of verse 29 as “your naked whoredom, wantonness, and harlotry will be exposed” (similarly King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). If the passive verb be uncovered is not natural, translators may say “and all will see your shameful immorality and what a prostitute you are.” If Your lewdness and your harlotry is taken with the previous clause, the beginning of verse 30 may be rendered “This will happen to you” (New Jerusalem Bible), “These things will be done to you” (New American Standard Bible; similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “I will do these things to you” (New King James Version ; similarly King James Version), or “So you will be punished for this” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). This interpretation emphasizes the idea that God is the one who will bring the punishment on Oholibah.

Because you played the harlot with the nations, and polluted yourself with their idols repeats in summary form the reasons for God’s punishment of Oholibah. For played the harlot, see Ezek 23.3. The nations are the foreign nations of Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt. For polluted yourself with their idols, see Ezek 23.7.

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 .