But Oholibah carried her prostitution even further. She saw the men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in vermilion,
The prophet Hosea, in his time, observed that the two tribes retained their integrity, in a great measure, when the ten tribes had apostatized (Hos 11:12, Ephraim indeed compasses me about with lies, but Judah yet rules with God and is faithful with the saints; and this was justly expected from them: Hos 4:15, Though thou Israel play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend); but this lasted not long.
Commenting on Ezekiel 23:11-21
And that she increased her whoredoms,.... Added to the number of her idols, increased her idols, and even was guilty of more than her sister: for when she saw men portrayed on the wall; of the temple, as idols were, Eze 8:10 or upon the wall of a private house, where they were worshipped as household gods: the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion...
vermilion--the peculiar color of the Chaldeans, as purple was of the Assyrians. In striking agreement with this verse is the fact that the Assyrian sculptures lately discovered have painted and colored bas-reliefs in red, blue, and black. The Jews (for instance Jehoiakim, Jer 22:14) copied these (compare Eze 8:10).