Ezekiel 23:34

34 You will drink from it until it is empty. Then you will throw it down and break it in pieces. And you will claw at your breasts. I have spoken," announces the LORD and King.

Ezekiel 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.

Ezekiel 23:34 In-Context

32 The LORD and King says to Oholibah, "You will drink from your sister's cup. It is large and deep. It is filled with the wine of my anger. So others will laugh at you. They will make fun of you.
33 You will become drunk and sad. The cup of my anger will completely destroy you. It is the same cup your sister Samaria drank from.
34 You will drink from it until it is empty. Then you will throw it down and break it in pieces. And you will claw at your breasts. I have spoken," announces the LORD and King.
35 So the LORD and King says, "You have forgotten me. You have pushed me behind your back. You have been impure. You have acted like a prostitute. So I will punish you."
36 The LORD said to me, "Son of man, are you going to judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then tell them they have done many evil things. I hate those things
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