278. Whoring in the Bible
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| Ezekiel on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican between 1508 to 1512, fresco, restored Credits Wikipedia |
It was the Pope on Twitter (parody) that drew my attention to the steamiest verses in the whole of the bible, namely Ezekiel 23:19-20. And since the Pope’s Tweet furnished us with a picture of the text, I naturally looked it up, hence here it is, I have added two extra verses for you to savour to the most.
17 The Babylonians came to her, shared her love-bed and defiled her with their whoring. Once defiled by them, she withdrew her affection from them.
18 Thus she flaunted her whoring, exposing her body, until I withdrew my affection from her as I had withdrawn it from her sister.
19 But she began whoring worse than ever, remembering her girlhood, when she had played the whore in Egypt,
20 when she had been in love with their profligates, big-membered as donkeys, ejaculating as violently as stallions.
As you can see by reading Ezekiel’s chapter 23 from the beginning, I have posted a link below, this is a parody of Samaria, the then capital of the Kingdom of Israel which if referring to Ezekiel’s era is around 600 BC, and Jerusalem, capital of Judah... the two regions, like today, just did not get on. The lady’s whoring as described above is referred to Jerusalem... alas.
What attracted my attention was not so much the whoring, though the bit about the donkeys and stallions did leave me in awe, so imaginative! But what set me really thinking was that I could not find such vivid terminology in the translations of other versions of the bible.
From the Tweetpicture supplied, I recognized The New Jerusalem version of the bible used by Catholics and of course I went to compare those verses with:
New International Version (©1984)
There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.
New Living Translation (©2007)
She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey's and emissions like those of a horse.
English Standard Version (©2001)
and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses.
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
She lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
King James Bible
For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
Bible in Basic English
And she was full of desire for her lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of asses and whose seed is like the seed of horses.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And she was mad with lust after lying with them whose flesh is as the flesh of asses: and whose issue as the issue of horses.
Well now, see what I mean- The Jerusalem Bible stands out by far.
Why?
Because editors and publishers of other versions did not want to rub people up the wrong way. Christians of ALL denominations are loathe to move out of their set ways, securities and respectability or ever acknowledge that the people in the Bible spoke with the vernacular of their times, and that, so must we.
Maybe one day even my steamy, psychological, religious mystery “The Reluctant Novice” will find a publisher true to the imagery of the original, as Ezekiel did with his donkeys and stallions... without having to wait almost three thousand years for that to happen!
The Tweet (Posted 11 August 2011 at 17.24)
Pope_Vatican: OMG!
I've just read the most shocking/disgusting thing ever in the bible. Ezekiel 23:19-20!
I need a drink!
#Pope http://t.co/5vc6yTo
See Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/Pope_Vatican/statuses/101675414145077250
I've just read the most shocking/disgusting thing ever in the bible. Ezekiel 23:19-20!
I need a drink!
#Pope http://t.co/5vc6yTo
See Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/Pope_Vatican/statuses/101675414145077250
