Her sister Oholibah saw this: Oholibah was the younger sister of Oholah. She represents Jerusalem and the rest of the southern kingdom of Judah (see Ezek 23.4). As with Oholah and Samaria in verse 5, New Century Version uses “Jerusalem” here instead of the name Oholibah. We do not recommend this. Translators should continue with the allegory, although they may use a footnote to remind readers of verse 4, where the sisters are identified. Her sister Oholibah saw this means the people of Judah saw how God had punished the people of the northern kingdom of Israel.

Yet she was more corrupt than she in her doting and in her harlotry, which was worse than that of her sister: Instead of taking warning from the punishment of the Israelites in northern kingdom, the people of Judah were “more sinful” (Contemporary English Version) than they were. For doting see Ezek 23.5; for harlotry see Ezek 23.3. New Century Version renders these two clauses as “but she became worse than her sister in her sexual desire and prostitution.”

A model for this verse is:

• “Even though Oholibah saw that I had punished her sister like that, she was even more sinful than her sister. She desired other men and wanted to have sex with them more than her sister did.

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 .