Ezekiel 23:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And her spouses were mocked; her purity was compromised. Samaria remained attached to the Assyrians, her neighboring nation, and she also connected herself to the idols of the Assyrians; for her primary desire was to satisfy the Assyrians: she engaged in unfaithfulness and sullied herself by adhering to idols. Consequently, she became a subject of ridicule among the allied cities.

And the Lord declares that Oolah shall be cast aside by Him and shall indulge in her desires. In reference to the unfaithful wife, the term "lustful" is employed to signify the demons to whom she rendered her service. This reveals the various forms of evil. As the Assyrians approach her, adorned in the guise of worms, with elders and leaders among them, and young men selected from their cavalry on horseback, she surrendered her unfaithfulness to them. The chosen son of Assyria, in all his thoughts, became defiled. By those young men, dressed in fine garments, he enigmatically refers to the idols they depicted in familiar forms. Indeed, those who were not revered in antiquity crafted their deities to mirror the most ordinary aspects of their lives.