Ezekiel 23:42

42 The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards^[a] from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women's hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

Ezekiel 23:42 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 23:42

And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her
With Aholibah, with the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin: or, "in her", in Jerusalem; or "in it", or "about it" ^F8; the bed, or table, or both: these were either the people of the many nations that came in great numbers with the ambassadors, as their retinue, and for the greater splendour of them; and who came, not to make war, but in a peaceable way, being invited to come; or these were a confluence of the Jewish people, who came from all parts to see the public entry of these ambassadors; who were quite easy with it, since they came as the ambassadors of their allies and friends, in whose alliance they thought themselves safe and happy; and therefore welcomed them with their loud huzzas: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the
wilderness;
or, "and with men because of a multitude of men" ^F9; that is, with those men that came from several parts on this occasion, for the sake of a greater number, and of making a greater appearance, the Sabeans that dwelt in the desert of Arabia were fetched from thence; or their neighbours round about Moab and Ammon, that dwelt in the wilderness, were sent for, and brought to make the solemnity the greater; so Jarchi; and to this sense the Targum renders it,

``because of the multitude of men that came round about on every side from the wilderness,''

Some render it, "drunkards from the wilderness" ^F11; a parcel of drunken fellows that lived in the wilderness, rustic, brutish, people; these were brought as fit persons to drink healths, and roar on this occasion: which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their
heads;
that is, the Jews put these ornaments upon the hands and heads of these men of the common sort, and the Sabeans with them, and these poor country drunken fellows too, that they might make the better appearance when they met and huzzaed the ambassadors at their entry; or which Sabeans and other foreigners put these ornaments on Aholah and Aholibah, and enticed them to the worship of their idols, and taught them idolatry.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 (hb) "in ea", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Polanus; "in illa", Cocceius, Starckius, "in illo", Piscator; "circa eam", a Lapide.
F9 (Mda brm Myvna law) "et cum viris ut multiplicarent homines" Pagninus; "ut adessent multi homines", Munster; "prae multitudine hominum", Tigurine version, Cocceius, Starckius; "propter multiplicare homines", Vatablus.
F11 (rbdmm Myabwo) "ebrosi ex deserto", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Polanus; so R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 99. 1.

Ezekiel 23:42 In-Context

40 "In addition, they sent for men who came from far away when a messenger was dispatched to them. And look how they came! You bathed, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry for them.

41 You sat on a luxurious couch with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and oil.

42 The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women's hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 Then I said concerning this woman worn out by adultery: Will they now have illicit sex with her, even her?

44 Yet they had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. This is how they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those obscene women.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or Sabeans