Yechezkel 23:34

34 Thou shalt even drink it and drain it dry, and thou shalt break it into shards, and tear at thine own breasts; for I have spoken it, saith Adonoi Hashem.

Yechezkel 23:34 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 23:34

Thou shalt even drink it, and suck it out
The very dregs of it, that which lies at the bottom, which is the most nauseous and the most pernicious; not through love to it, but through force, shall be obliged to it; see ( Psalms 75:8 ) : and thou shall break the sherds thereof;
and suck them, so that not a drop of the liquor shall be lost; even what has penetrated into the earthen vessel, which this cup is supposed to be; and therefore it shall be broken to pieces, and these pieces sucked, that all may be got out; suggesting that there will be no abatement of the punishment, it shall be endured to the utmost: or it may be an allusion to drunkards, who, having drunk up their liquor, and become drunk, break their glasses, pots, and cups, and to which the next clause agrees: and pluck off thine own breasts;
as men in their drunken fits, being like mad men, tear their own flesh; and so the Targum paraphrases it,

``thou shall tear thy flesh;''

so the Jews, under punishment for sin, and pressed with the guilt of it, through indignation at themselves should tear their flesh, and particularly pluck off their breasts: the allusion is to fornication, to which idolatry is compared, in which those parts are particularly affected; see ( Ezekiel 23:21 ) , the Syriac version renders this and the former clause thus, "thou shall shave thine hair and cut off thy breasts"; Kimchi thinks by the "breasts" are meant the oral and written laws, which ceased in the time of the captivity; but without any foundation: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord;
and therefore it shall be done.

Yechezkel 23:34 In-Context

32 Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Thou shalt drink of thy achot’s kos deep and wide; thou shalt be laughed to scorn and held in derision; it containeth so much, filled to the brim.

33 Thou shalt be filled with shikkaron (drunkenness) and sorrow, with the kos of horror and desolation, with the kos of thy achot Shomron.

34 Thou shalt even drink it and drain it dry, and thou shalt break it into shards, and tear at thine own breasts; for I have spoken it, saith Adonoi Hashem.

35 Therefore thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Because thou hast forgotten Me, and thrust Me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy zimmah and thy zonah harlotry.

36 Hashem said moreover unto me: Ben adam, wilt thou judge Oholah and Oholivah? Indeed, declare unto them their to’avot;