Ezekiel 23:20
“She lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.”
What does Ezekiel 23:20 mean?
This is a shockingly crude verse that uses graphic animal imagery to describe unfaithfulness. Ezekiel is using extremely vulgar language intentionally, the way a prophet might shock people awake to something serious they've been ignoring. In the larger context, chapters 22 and 23 use the metaphor of two unfaithful sisters (representing Israel's northern and southern kingdoms) to show how the people have abandoned God and pursued other nations and their gods. The crude sexual language isn't there to be titillating, but to convey deep betrayal and shame, cutting through politeness to show how offensive this spiritual infidelity is. It's the prophetic equivalent of someone yelling to get your attention about something that matters desperately. If this verse troubles you, that reaction makes sense, and it's okay. The Bible sometimes includes hard, uncomfortable language to make a point that couldn't be made any other way.