וַיְהִי דְבַר־ה' אֵלַי לֵאמֹר

The word of the Lord was with me, saying:

בֶּן־אָדָם שְׁתַּיִם נָשִׁים בְּנוֹת אֵם־אַחַת הָיוּ

Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother.

וַתִּזְנֶינָה בְמִצְרַיִם בִּנְעוּרֵיהֶן זָנוּ שָׁמָּה מֹעֲכוּ שְׁדֵיהֶן וְשָׁם עִשּׂוּ דַּדֵּי בְּתוּלֵיהֶן

They whored when they were in Egypt; in their youth they whored, although they did not yet perform actual harlotry. There their bosoms were squeezed, and there their virgin breasts were kneaded.

וּשְׁמוֹתָן אָהֳלָה הַגְּדוֹלָה וְאָהֳלִיבָה אֲחוֹתָהּ וַתִּהְיֶינָה לִּי וַתֵּלַדְנָה בָּנִים וּבָנוֹת וּשְׁמוֹתָן שֹׁמְרוֹן אָהֳלָה וִירוּשָׁלִַם אָהֳלִיבָה

Their names were Ohola, the elder, and Oholiva, her sister. After they had tasted the corrupt Egyptian culture, they became Mine. They married Me, so to speak, and they bore sons and daughters, and as for their names after they had borne children, Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel, is Ohola, which literally means “her tent,” alluding to the fact that the Kingdom of Israel had its own tent [ohel], a temple and cult that rivaled God’s chosen place of worship. And Jerusalem, the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, is Oholiva, which means “My tent [oholi] is in it [ba],” because Jerusalem housed the Temple and rite that God had chosen. Throughout this section, Ohola could alternately refer to the city of Samaria, the Kingdom of Israel, and the ten tribes, while Oholiva could alternately refer to Jerusalem, the Kingdom of Judah, and the Temple.

וַתִּזֶן אָהֳלָה תַּחְתָּי וַתַּעְגַּב עַל־מְאַהֲבֶיהָ אֶל־אַשּׁוּר קְרוֹבִים

Ezekiel proceeds to describe the sins of the sister kingdoms: Ohola engaged in licentiousness while with Me, and she lusted after her lovers, the northern kingdoms. She particularly lusted after the Assyrians, the king’s associates,dignitaries. Alternatively, these associates are the Assyrians in general, those who were close to her heart and with whom she enjoyed associating.

לְבֻשֵׁי תְכֵלֶת פַּחוֹת וּסְגָנִים בַּחוּרֵי חֶמֶד כֻּלָּם פָּרָשִׁים רֹכְבֵי סוּסִים

Her associates were those clothed in especially elegant garments of sky-blue wool, governors of provinces and senior deputies, officers, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding horses.

וַתִּתֵּן תַּזְנוּתֶיהָ עֲלֵיהֶם מִבְחַר בְּנֵי־אַשּׁוּר כֻּלָּם וּבְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־עָגְבָה בְּכָל־גִּלּוּלֵיהֶם נִטְמָאָה

She bestowed her harlotries, all her immoral lusts, upon them, all of them the choicest of Assyria’s sons, and she became defiled the more she associated and the more she shared her intimacy with all those after whom she lusted, with all their idols. Samaria’s diplomatic ties with the Assyrians and her reliance on their assistance led her to adopt foreign, idolatrous cults.

וְאֶת־תַּזְנוּתֶיהָ מִמִּצְרַיִם לֹא עָזָבָה כִּי אוֹתָהּ שָׁכְבוּ בִנְעוּרֶיהָ וְהֵמָּה עִשּׂוּ דַּדֵּי בְתוּלֶיהָ וַיִּשְׁפְּכוּ תַזְנוּתָם עָלֶיהָ

Not only that, she did not abandon her harlotries from Egypt, for they lay with her in her youth, and they kneaded her virgin breasts and poured out their harlotries upon her. Her decision to call out to Egypt for help stemmed from the ancient ties between the two nations. The Kingdom of Israel betrayed God on both religious and political levels.

לָכֵן נְתַתִּיהָ בְּיַד־מְאַהֲבֶיהָ בְּיַד בְּנֵי אַשּׁוּר אֲשֶׁר עָגְבָה עֲלֵיהֶם

Therefore, I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria after whom she lusted.

הֵמָּה גִּלּוּ עֶרְוָתָהּ בָּנֶיהָ וּבְנוֹתֶיהָ לָקָחוּ וְאוֹתָהּ בַּחֶרֶב הָרָגוּ וַתְּהִי שֵׁם לַנָּשִׁים וּשְׁפוּטִים עָשׂוּ בָהּ

They uncovered her nakedness, her shame. They took her sons and her daughters into captivity, and they killed her with the sword. They destroyed the kingdom entirely, and she became a byword among women, the other nations, as nothing remained of her but a bad memory, and punishments they inflicted upon her.

וַתֵּרֶא אֲחוֹתָהּ אָהֳלִיבָה וַתַּשְׁחֵת עַגְבָתָהּ מִמֶּנָּה וְאֶת־תַּזְנוּתֶיהָ מִזְּנוּנֵי אֲחוֹתָהּ

Her sister Oholiva saw this. The political system of Judah was similar to that of Israel. Since Oholiva was smaller than her sister Ohola, she had to rely even more on diplomacy for assistance and protection. Oholiva learned from Ohola how to engage in competing relationships with foreign nations. And yet little Oholiva was in no way better than her sister Ohola; rather, she, Oholiva, became more corrupt than her sister Ohola in her lust, and her, Oholiva’s, harlotries became more than the harlotries of her sister Ohola.

אֶל־בְּנֵי אַשּׁוּר עָגָבָה הפַּחוֹת וּסְגָנִים קְרֹבִים לְבֻשֵׁי מִכְלוֹל פָּרָשִׁים רֹכְבֵי סוּסִים בַּחוּרֵי חֶמֶד כֻּלָּם

She lusted after the sons of Assyria: governors and deputies, the king’s associates clothed in splendor, horsemen riding horses, all of them handsome young men. Here too, alongside the official diplomatic ties, Oholiva’s illicit relationship with Assyria affected her national culture.

וָאֵרֶא כִּי נִטְמָאָה דֶּרֶךְ אֶחָד לִשְׁתֵּיהֶן

I saw that she had been defiled; there was one way to the two of them. The process of associating with foreign superpowers was present in both cases and brought ruination and contamination upon Israel and Judah. Despite the people of Judah’s desire to maintain friendly ties with Assyria, the Assyrians invaded their kingdom on several occasions, almost destroying it.

וַתּוֹסֶף אֶל־תַּזְנוּתֶיהָ וַתֵּרֶא אַנְשֵׁי מְחֻקֶּה עַל־הַקִּיר צַלְמֵי כַשְׂדִּים חֲקֻקִים בַּשָּׁשַׁר

She, Oholiva, added to her harlotries, and she saw pictures of men engraved upon the wall. These were the images of the Chaldeans, who were becoming increasingly powerful at that time in distant Babylon, portrayed on the wall with vermilion, a brilliant red used for decorating royal houses.

חֲגוֹרֵי אֵזוֹר בְּמָתְנֵיהֶם סְרוּחֵי טְבוּלִים בְּרָאשֵׁיהֶם מַרְאֵה שָׁלִישִׁים כֻּלָּם דְּמוּת בְּנֵי־בָבֶל כַּשְׂדִּים אֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתָּם

Those men were girded with belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them with the look of important officers, the likeness of the sons of Babylon. Such ceremonial clothing was characteristic of Chaldea, the land of their birth.

וַתַּעְגְּבָ עֲלֵיהֶם לְמַרְאֵה עֵינֶיהָ וַתִּשְׁלַח מַלְאָכִים אֲלֵיהֶם כַּשְׂדִּימָה

She lusted after them from the sight of her eyes. After establishing senseless diplomatic relations with Assyria, Oholiva was seduced by flights of fancy, and sought to develop a relationship with Babylon, and to this end she sent messengers to them, to Chaldea.

וַיָּבֹאוּ אֵלֶיהָ בְנֵי־בָבֶל לְמִשְׁכַּב דֹּדִים וַיְטַמְּאוּ אוֹתָהּ בְּתַזְנוּתָם וַתִּטְמָא־בָם וַתֵּקַע נַפְשָׁהּ מֵהֶם

The Babylonians came to her, to a bed of love, and they defiled her with their harlotry; she was defiled by them, like a prostitute with her client, and she ultimately became revolted by them. The first Babylonian envoys visited Judah during Hizkiyahu’s reign, and he showed them the most prized treasures of his kingdom. The prophet Isaiah warned him at the time that eventually those treasures, along with Hizkiyahu’s descendants, would be taken to Babylon in captivity. Indeed, the overly warm relationship soon turned threatening and tyrannical, and Judah’s heart gradually distanced itself from Babylonia.

וַתְּגַל תַּזְנוּתֶיהָ וַתְּגַל אֶת־עֶרְוָתָהּ וַתֵּקַע נַפְשִׁי מֵעָלֶיהָ כַּאֲשֶׁר נָקְעָה נַפְשִׁי מֵעַל אֲחוֹתָהּ

The prophet reemphasizes: She, Oholiva, uncovered her harlotries and uncovered her nakedness. The Kingdom of Judah sought to establish diplomatic ties with states that viewed each other as enemies. The ensuing complications led to the Kingdom of Judah’s betrayal of Babylon, and at the same time, the religious and cultural influence of those states on Judah increased, until I became revolted by her like My soul was revolted by her sister Ohola, whom I rejected.

וַתַּרְבֶּה אֶת־תַּזְנוּתֶיהָ לִזְכֹּר אֶת־יְמֵי נְעוּרֶיהָ אֲשֶׁר זָנְתָה בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם

Yet she still increased her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, as it were, in which she whored in the land of Egypt. The relationship Judah established with Egypt brought to the fore the people’s earlier perversities from when they became attached to Egyptian culture.

וַתַּעְגְּבָה עַל פִּלַגְשֵׁיהֶם אֲשֶׁר בְּשַׂר־חֲמוֹרִים בְּשָׂרָם וְזִרְמַת סוּסִים זִרְמָתָם

She, Oholiva, lusted with their Egyptian concubines, after those whose flesh, a euphemism for the male organ, is the flesh of donkeys, and whose seminal issue is like the issue of horses.

וַתִּפְקְדִי אֵת זִמַּת נְעוּרָיִךְ בַּעְשׂוֹת מִמִּצְרַיִם דַּדַּיִךְ לְמַעַן שְׁדֵי נְעוּרָיִךְ

You recalled the lewdness of your youth, when those from Egypt kneaded, massaged, your breasts for the sake of the bosoms of your youth. You returned to your earliest pagan sins.

לָכֵן אָהֳלִיבָה כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים הִנְנִי מֵעִיר אֶת־מְאַהֲבַיִךְ עָלַיִךְ אֵת אֲשֶׁר־נָקְעָה נַפְשֵׁךְ מֵהֶם וַהֲבֵאתִים עָלַיִךְ מִסָּבִיב

Therefore, Oholiva, so said the Lord God: Behold, I am rousing your lovers against you, from whom you were revolted, and I will bring them against you from all around, but not in friendship:

בְּנֵי בָבֶל וְכָל־ כַּשְׂדִּים פְּקוֹד וְשׁוֹעַ וְקוֹעַ כָּל־בְּנֵי אַשּׁוּר אוֹתָם בַּחוּרֵי חֶמֶד פַּחוֹת וּסְגָנִים כֻּלָּם שָׁלִשִׁים וּקְרוּאִים רֹכְבֵי סוּסִים כֻּלָּם

The sons of Babylon and all the kingdoms of the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, vassals of the Babylonian kingdom, and all the sons of Assyria with them; all of them handsome young men, governors and deputies, officers and nobles, all of them riding horses. The Babylonians will arrive in your land to fight you, accompanied by the various nations under their control.

וּבָאוּ עָלַיִךְ הֹצֶן רֶכֶב וְגַלְגַּל וּבִקְהַל עַמִּים צִנָּה וּמָגֵן וְקוֹבַע יָשִׂימוּ עָלַיִךְ סָבִיב וְנָתַתִּי לִפְנֵיהֶם מִשְׁפָּט וּשְׁפָטוּךְ בְּמִשְׁפְּטֵיהֶם

They will come upon you to conquer you with carriages of war, chariots, and wheels, and with an assembly of peoples, a massive army; they will array against you with large shields designed to flank the fighters using them, bucklers, and helmets all around; I will commit the capacity to carry out judgment to them, and they shall judge you with their harsh judgments, by which they try traitors. Since Judah is being judged for betraying God, it will not be sentenced merely to subjugation and the imposition of taxes as the Babylonians did to other countries they conquered.

וְנָתַתִּי קִנְאָתִי בָּךְ וְעָשׂוּ אוֹתָךְ בְּחֵמָה אַפֵּךְ וְאָזְנַיִךְ יָסִירוּ וְאַחֲרִיתֵךְ בַּחֶרֶב תִּפּוֹל הֵמָּה בָּנַיִךְ וּבְנֹתַיִךְ יִקָּחוּ וְאַחֲרִיתֵךְ תֵּאָכֵל בָּאֵשׁ

Rather, I will set My jealousy against you, and they will act against you with great fury. They will remove your nose and your ears, which was sometimes the punishment of an adulterous woman, and your remainder will fall by the sword; they, Babylonia and the accompanying kingdoms, will take your sons and your daughters into captivity, and the last of you will be consumed by the fire.

וְהִפְשִׁיטוּךְ אֶת־בְּגָדָיִךְ וְלָקְחוּ כְּלֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ

They will strip you of your clothes and take the vessels of your splendor as plunder.

וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי זִמָּתֵךְ מִמֵּךְ וְאֶת־זְנוּתֵךְ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְלֹא־תִשְׂאִי עֵינַיִךְ אֲלֵיהֶם וּמִצְרַיִם לֹא תִזְכְּרִי־עוֹד

I will eliminate your lewdness from you and your harlotry from the land of Egypt, and you will not raise your eyes to them, as Egypt does not honor its political accords, and you will not remember Egypt any longer, since Egypt itself will be unable to withstand the Babylonian and Assyrian armies.

כִּי כֹה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים הִנְנִי נֹתְנָךְ בְּיַד אֲשֶׁר שָׂנֵאת בְּיַד אֲשֶׁר־נָקְעָה נַפְשֵׁךְ מֵהֶם

For so said the Lord God: Behold, I am delivering you into the hand of those whom you loved and then hated, the Babylonians, into the hand of those by whom you were revolted, and those from whom you distanced yourself.

וְעָשׂוּ אוֹתָךְ בְּשִׂנְאָה וְלָקְחוּ כָּל־יְגִיעֵךְ וַעֲזָבוּךְ עֵרֹם וְעֶרְיָה וְנִגְלָה עֶרְוַת זְנוּנַיִךְ וְזִמָּתֵךְ וְתַזְנוּתָיִךְ

They will deal with you in hatred and take all the product of your toil, and they will leave you naked and bare. The nakedness, shame, of your harlotry will be uncovered, your lewdness and your harlotries. When Babylon’s hatred of Judah will be revealed before all, you will have nothing left but shame.

עָשׂה אֵלֶּה לָךְ בִּזְנוֹתֵךְ אַחֲרֵי גוֹיִם עַל אֲשֶׁר־נִטְמֵאת בְּגִלּוּלֵיהֶם

These things will be done to you for your straying after the nations, because you became defiled with their idols. The prophet again stresses that Judah will be punished severely for its worship of foreign idols and the moral corruption that steeped the land due to its close associations with gentile kingdoms.

בְּדֶרֶךְ אֲחוֹתֵךְ הָלָכְתְּ וְנָתַתִּי כוֹסָהּ בְּיָדֵךְ

You went after the way of your sister, and I will place her cup of bitterness and poison in your hand.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים כּוֹס אֲחוֹתֵךְ תִּשְׁתִּי הָעֲמֻקָּה וְהָרְחָבָה תִּהְיֶה לִצְחֹק וּלְלַעַג מִרְבָּה לְהָכִיל

So said the Lord God: You, Oholiva, will be tested like the woman accused by her husband of infidelity. You will drink your sister’s, Ohola’s, cup, which is deep and wide, and contains utter destruction; it, the cup, will be for scoffing and derision, containing much. Oholiva will prove to be guilty, and like the faithless woman made to drink the bitter waters, she will suffer a disgraceful and disgusting death.

שִׁכָּרוֹן וְיָגוֹן תִּמָּלֵאִי כּוֹס שַׁמָּה וּשְׁמָמָה כּוֹס אֲחוֹתֵךְ שֹׁמְרוֹן

You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow with the cup of destruction and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.

וְשָׁתִית אוֹתָהּ וּמָצִית ואֶת־חֲרָשֶׂיהָ תְּגָרֵמִי וְשָׁדַיִךְ תְּנַתֵּקִי כִּי אֲנִי דִבַּרְתִּי נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים

You, Oholiva, will drink from the cup of destruction that I shall pass to you from Ohola, and you will drain it, and you will break it and even gnaw at its shards and use them to sever your breasts out of pain and despair, for I have spoken – the utterance of the Lord God.

לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים יַעַן שָׁכַחַתְּ אוֹתִי וַתַּשְׁלִיכִי אוֹתִי אַחֲרֵי גַוֵּךְ וְגַם־אַתְּ שְׂאִי זִמָּתֵךְ וְאֶת־תַּזְנוּתָיִךְ

Therefore, so said the Lord God: Because you forgot Me and cast Me behind your back while you were preoccupied with your illicit affairs, you too shall bear the consequences of your lewdness and your harlotries.

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלַי בֶּן־אָדָם הֲתִשְׁפּוֹט אֶת־אָהֳלָה וְאֶת־אָהֳלִיבָה וְהַגֵּד לָהֶן אֵת תּוֹעֲבוֹתֵיהֶן

The Lord said to me: Son of man, will you judge Ohola and Oholiva and tell them in detail of their abominations?

כִּי נִאֵפוּ ודָם בִּידֵיהֶן וְאֶת־גִּלּוּלֵיהֶן נִאֵפוּ וְגַם אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶן אֲשֶׁר יָלְדוּ־לִי הֶעֱבִירוּ לָהֶם לְאָכְלָה

Here, the line between parable and reality becomes blurred: For they have literally committed adultery and the blood of murdered innocents is on their hands, and with their idols they committed the figurative adultery of idol worship. Moreover, their Israelite children whom they bore to worship for Me, they transferred to them, the idols, to be consumed in pagan sacrifice.

עוֹד זֹאת עָשׂוּ לִי טִמְּאוּ אֶת־מִקְדָּשִׁי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְאֶת־שַׁבְּתוֹתַי חִלֵּלוּ

They have also done this to Me: They defiled My Sanctuary on that day that they sacrificed their children, and they profaned My Sabbaths.

וּבְשַׁחֲטָם אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם לְגִלּוּלֵיהֶם וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל־מִקְדָּשִׁי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לְחַלְּלוֹ וְהִנֵּה־כֹה עָשׂוּ בְּתוֹךְ בֵּיתִי

When they slaughtered their children to their idols, they came to My Sanctuary on that day to profane it; and behold, they did so in My House. The people of Judah had become full-fledged idol worshippers, and yet they continued to visit the Temple, as though there was no contradiction between the two, thus profaning the Temple.

וְאַף כִּי תִשְׁלַחְנָה לַאֲנָשִׁים בָּאִים מִמֶּרְחָק אֲשֶׁר מַלְאָךְ שָׁלוּחַ אֲלֵיהֶם וְהִנֵּה־בָאוּ לַאֲשֶׁר רָחַצְתְּ כָּחַלְתְּ עֵינַיִךְ וְעָדִית עֶדִי

Moreover, you, Ohola and Oholiva, sent for men who come from afar for fornication, to whom a messenger was sent, to distant kingdoms to see which of them might be amenable to political and military cooperation. However, we have no records of these missions. And behold, they came, they for whom you bathed, painted your eyes, and donned ornaments. You beautified yourself and made great efforts to find favor in the eyes of foreigners, as you sought to display your greatness and goodwill,

וְיָשַׁבְתְּ עַל־מִטָּה כְבוּדָּה וְשֻׁלְחָן עָרוּךְ לְפָנֶיהָ וקְטָרְתִּי וְשַׁמְנִי שַׂמְתְּ עָלֶיהָ

and you sat upon a stately divan with a table set before it, and My incense and My fine oil you placed upon it for your own pleasure.

וְקוֹל הָמוֹן שָׁלֵו בָהּ וְאֶל אֲנָשִׁים מֵרֹב אָדָם מוּבָאִים סָבָאִים מִמִּדְבָּר וַיִּתְּנוּ צְמִידִים אֶל־יְדֵיהֶן וַעֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת עַל־רָאשֵׁיהֶן

The sound of a tranquil multitude was in it, Jerusalem. Jerusalem made a great impression on those strangers, and along with men, with numerous people, Seva’ites were brought from the wilderness.They also arrived in Judah to establish diplomatic relations, and they put bracelets on their hosts’ hands and crowns of splendor on their hosts’ heads in order to win their hearts.

וָאֹמַר לַבָּלָה נִאוּפִים! עַתָּ יִזְנוּ תַזְנוּתֶיהָ וָהִיא

I said of Oholiva, the one who was too old for such behavior and worn out by adulteries: Now her harlotries will depart, but she remains as she is. Alternatively, this means: It is time that her harlotries should be removed from her. The verse can also be read as a question: I said: Are adulteries for she who is worn out?

וַיָּבוֹא אֵלֶיהָ כְּבוֹא אֶל־אִשָּׁה זוֹנָה כֵּן בָּאוּ אֶל־אָהֳלָה וְאֶל־אָהֳלִיבָה אִשֹּׁת הַזִּמָּה

Any one of the nations who wished to do so consorted with her, Oholiva, as one disrespectfully consorts with and takes advantage of a harlot; so they consorted with Ohola and with Oholiva, the women of lewdness.

ואֲנָשִׁים צַדִּיקִם הֵמָּה יִשְׁפְּטוּ אוֹתְהֶם מִשְׁפַּט נֹאֲפוֹת וּמִשְׁפַּט שֹׁפְכוֹת דָּם כִּי נֹאֲפֹת הֵנָּה וְדָם בִּידֵיהֶן

But righteous men, Samaria and Judah’s enemies, they will ultimately judge them, Ohola and Oholiva, with the judgment of adulteresses and the judgment of murderesses. It is difficult to understand why Samaria and Judah’s enemies are called righteous here. Some explain that the verse means men shall judge their case righteously, or that they are called righteous relative to Samaria and Judah, or that here the term righteous means victorious. They will be judged in this manner for they are adulteresses, due to their straying after false gods, and blood is on their hands as a result of internal corruption and greed.

כִּי כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים הַעֲלֵה עֲלֵיהֶם קָהָל וְנָתֹן אֶתְהֶן לְזַעֲוָה וְלָבַז

For so said the Lord God: Bring up an assembly against them, the adulteresses and murderesses, and consign them to horror and to plunder.

וְרָגְמוּ עֲלֵיהֶן אֶבֶן קָהָל וּבָרֵא אוֹתְהֶן בְּחַרְבוֹתָם בְּנֵיהֶם וּבְנוֹתֵיהֶם יַהֲרֹגוּ וּבָתֵּיהֶן בָּאֵשׁ יִשְׂרֹפוּ

The assembly will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters, and their houses they will burn in fire.

וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי זִמָּה מִן־הָאָרֶץ וְנִוַּסְּרוּ כָּל־הַנָּשִׁים וְלֹא תַעֲשֶׂינָה כְּזִמַּתְכֶנָה

I will eliminate lewdness from the land, and all the women will be chastised and learn their lesson, and they will not act in accordance with your lewdness. The punishment of Ohola and Oholiva will deter other nations from following in their path.

וְנָתְנוּ זִמַּתְכֶנָה עֲלֵיכֶן וַחֲטָאֵי גִלּוּלֵיכֶן תִּשֶּׂאינָה וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי ה' אֱלוֹהִים

They will place the consequences of your lewdness upon you, and the guilt for the sins of your idols you will bear, and you will know that I am the Lord God.