Hesekiel 23:34

34 Denselben mußt du rein austrinken, darnach die Scherben zerwerfen und deine Brüste zerreißen; denn ich habe es geredet, spricht der HERR HERR.

Hesekiel 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.

Hesekiel 23:34 In-Context

32 So spricht der HERR HERR: Du mußt den Kelch deiner Schwester trinken, so tief und weit er ist: du sollst zu so großem Spott und Hohn werden, daß es unerträglich sein wird.

33 Du mußt dich des starken Tranks und Jammers vollsaufen; denn der Kelch deiner Schwester Samaria ist ein Kelch des Jammers und Trauerns.

34 Denselben mußt du rein austrinken, darnach die Scherben zerwerfen und deine Brüste zerreißen; denn ich habe es geredet, spricht der HERR HERR.

35 Darum so spricht der HERR HERR: Darum, daß du mein vergessen und mich hinter deinen Rücken geworfen hast, so trage auch nun deine Unzucht und deine Hurerei.

36 Und der HERR sprach zu mir; Du Menschenkind, willst du nicht Ohola und Oholiba strafen und ihnen zeigen ihre Greuel