Ezekiel 19-27
New American Standard Bible
2and say, ‘ What was your mother? A lioness among lions! She lay down among young lions, She raised her cubs.
3When she brought up one of her cubs, He became a young lion, And he learned to tear his prey; He devoured people.
4Then nations heard about him; He was caught in their trap, And they brought him with hooks To the land of Egypt.
5When she saw, as she waited, That her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs And made him a young lion.
6And he walked about among the lions, He became a young lion; He learned to tear his prey; He devoured people.
7He destroyed their palaces And laid waste their cities; And the land and its fullness were appalled Because of the sound of his roaring.
8Then nations set against him On every side from their provinces, And they spread their net over him; He was caught in their trap.
9They put him in a wooden collar with hooks And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in hunting nets So that his voice would no longer be heard On the mountains of Israel.
10Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, Planted by the waters; It was fruitful and thick with branches Because of abundant waters.
11And it had strong stems fit for scepters of rulers, And its height was raised above the clouds So that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.
12But it was uprooted in fury; It was thrown down to the ground; And the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong stem was torn out So that it withered; The fire consumed it.
13And now it is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.
Chapter 20
1Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me. 2Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: 'Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live,' declares the Lord God, 'I certainly will not be inquired of by you.'?’ 4Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Make known to them the abominations of their fathers; 5and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: 'On the day when I chose Israel and swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God, 6on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands. 7And I said to them, ‘Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’
8But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away, each of them, the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. 'Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9But I acted for the sake of My name, that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
10So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
11I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them.
12Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
13But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.
14But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out.
15Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands,
16because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their heart continually followed their idols.
17Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their annihilation in the wilderness.
18Instead, I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.
19I am the Lord your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and follow them.
20Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’
21But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to follow My ordinances which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to use up My anger against them in the wilderness.
22But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
23Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands,
24because they had not complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.
25I also gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they could not live;
26and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they made all their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the Lord.'?’
27Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: 'Again, in this your fathers have blasphemed Me by being disloyal to Me.
28When I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every tree thick with branches, and there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings.
29Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.'?’
30Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: 'Will you defile yourselves in the way of your fathers and adulterously pursue their detestable things?
31And when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live,' declares the Lord God, 'I certainly will not be inquired of by you.
32And whatever comes into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, serving wood and stone.’
33As I live,' declares the Lord God, 'with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be king over you.
34I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out;
35and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
36Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,' declares the Lord God.
37I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
38and I will purge from you the rebels and those who revolt against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside, but they will not enter the land of Israel. So you will know that I am the Lord.
39As for you, house of Israel,' this is what the Lord God says: 'Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer defile with your gifts and your idols.
40For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,' declares the Lord God, 'there the entire house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will accept them and there I will demand your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things.
41As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will show Myself to be holy among you in the sight of the nations.
42And you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.
43And there you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.
44Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you in behalf of My name, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, house of Israel,' declares the Lord God.’?'
45Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
46Son of man, set your face toward the south, and speak prophetically against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev,
47and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: this is what the Lord God says: 'Behold, I am going to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not go out and the entire surface from south to north will be scorched by it.
48And all mankind will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it will not go out.'?’?'
49Then I said, 'Oh, Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking in riddles?’?'
Chapter 21
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem, and speak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: 'Behold, I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. 4Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against humanity from south to north. 5So humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again.'?’ 6As for you, son of man, groan with a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. 7And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news, for it is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord God.'
10Sharpened to make a slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning!’ Or shall we rejoice, the rod of My son despising every tree?
11And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer.
12Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore slap your thigh.
13For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will cease to be?' declares the Lord God.
14You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them,
15so that their hearts will waver, and many fall at all their gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter.
16Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is ordered.
17I will also clap My hands, and I will satisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.'
18And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
19Now as for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city.
20You shall mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver.
22Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to set up battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall.
23And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; they have sworn solemn oaths. But he makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.
24Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand.
25And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end,’
26this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high.
27Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’
28And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the sons of Ammon and their taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it consume, so that it may be like lightning—
29while they see false visions for you, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end.
30Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
31I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, craftsmen of destruction.
32You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’?'
Chapter 22
1Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations. 3And you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: 'A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement! 4You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands. 5Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil.
6Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood.
7They have treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the orphan and the widow among you.
8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
9Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed outrageous sin.
10Among you they have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was unclean in her menstruation.
11And one has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually abused his sister, his father’s daughter.
12Among you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest, you have injured your neighbors by oppression, and you have forgotten Me,' declares the Lord God.
13Behold, then, I strike with My hand your profit which you have made and the bloodshed which is among you.
14Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.
15And I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will eliminate your uncleanness from you.
16Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.'?’?'
17And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
18Son of man, the house of Israel has become waste metal to Me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the smelting furnace; they are the waste metal of silver.
19Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because all of you have become waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you.
21And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.
22As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My wrath on you.’?'
23And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
24Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’
25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her.
26Her priests have done violence to My Law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them.
27Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to make dishonest profit.
28And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.
29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the stranger without justice.
30I searched for a man among them who would build up a wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.
31So I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought their way upon their heads,' declares the Lord God.
Chapter 23
1The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother; 3and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled. 4Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
5Oholah prostituted herself while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors,
6who were clothed in purple, governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses.
7She bestowed her obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she defiled herself.
8She did not abandon her obscene practices from the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her.
9Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.
10They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.
11Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were more than the prostitution of her sister.
12She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, opulently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them handsome young men.
13And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took the same way.
14So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans drawn in bright red,
15wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.
16And when she saw them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17And the Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.
18She exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister in disgust.
19Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt.
20She lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses.
21So you longed for the outrageous sin of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.
22Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:
23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; handsome young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.
24And they will come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a contingent of peoples. They will attack you on every side with shield, buckler, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs.
25I will set My jealousy against you, so that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters; and your survivors will be consumed by the fire.
26They will also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewelry.
27So I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’
28For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you hate, to those from whom you turned away in disgust.
29They will deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.
30These things will be done to you because you have adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols.
31You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.’
32This is what the Lord God says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, Which is deep and wide. You will be laughed at and held in derision; Because it contains much.
33You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, A cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.
34And you will drink it and drain it. Then you will gnaw on its fragments And tear your breasts; for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God.
35Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and discarded Me behind your back, suffer on your own part the punishment for your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.’?'
36Moreover, the Lord said to me, 'Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.
37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. So they have committed adultery with their idols, and even made their sons, whom they bore to Me, pass through the fire to them as food.
38Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have profaned My Sabbaths.
39For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.
40Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, put makeup on your eyes, and adorned yourselves with jewelry;
41and you sat on a splendid couch with a table arranged in front of it on which you had set My incense and My oil.
42And the sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put bracelets on the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.
43Then I said concerning her who was worn out by adulteries, ‘ Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’
44But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women.
45But they, righteous people, will judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
46For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to terror and plunder.
47The contingent will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and burn their houses with fire.
48So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit outrageous sin as you have done.
49Your outrageous conduct will be repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord God.’?'
Chapter 24
1Now the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying, 2Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
3Present a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: 'Put on the pot, put it on and also pour water into it;
4 Put in it the pieces of meat, Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; Fill it with choice bones.
7For her blood is in her midst; She placed it on the bare rock; She did not pour it on the ground To cover it with dust.
8So that it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, So that it will not be covered.'
9Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: 'Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the wood pile great.
10Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, Cook the meat thoroughly And mix in the spices, And let the bones be burned up.
11Then set it empty on its burning coals So that it may be hot And its bronze may glow, And its filthiness may be melted in it, Its rust eliminated.
12She has wearied Me with work, Yet her great rust has not gone from her; Let her rust be in the fire!
15And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
16Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you what is precious to your eyes with a fatal blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come.
17Groan silently; do no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not cover your mustache, and do not eat the bread of other people.'
18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded.
19And the people said to me, 'Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?'
20Then I said to them, 'The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
21‘Speak to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.
22And you will do just as I have done; you will not cover your mustache, and you will not eat the bread of other people.
23Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep; but you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan to one another.
24So Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’?'
25‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters,
26that on that day the one who escapes will come to you with information for your ears?
27On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’?'
Chapter 25
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2Son of man, set your face against the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them, 3and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says: 'Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the people of the east as a possession, and they will set up their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the sons of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.' 6For this is what the Lord God says: 'Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, and have rejoiced with all the malice in your soul against the land of Israel, 7therefore, behold, I have reached out with My hand against you and I will give you as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and eliminate you from the lands. I will exterminate you. So you will know that I am the Lord.'
8‘The Lord God says this: 'Because Moab and Seir say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,’
9therefore, behold, I am going to deprive the flank of Moab of its cities, of its cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim;
10and I will give it as a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the people of the east, so that the sons of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations.
11So I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.'
12‘The Lord God says this: 'Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred great guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,'
13therefore this is what the Lord God says: 'I will also reach out with My hand against Edom and eliminate human and animal life from it. And I will turn it into ruins; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword.
14And I will inflict My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom in accordance with My anger and My wrath; so they will know My vengeance,' declares the Lord God.
15‘This is what the Lord God says: 'Because the Philistines have acted in revenge, and have taken vengeance with malice in their souls to destroy with everlasting hostility,'
16therefore this is what the Lord God says: 'Behold, I am going to reach out with My hand against the Philistines and eliminate the Cherethites; and I will destroy the remnant of the seacoast.
17I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict My vengeance on them.'?’?'
Chapter 26
1Now in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2Son of man, because Tyre has said in regard to Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ 3therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers; and I will sweep her debris away from her and make her a bare rock. 5She will become a dry place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God; ‘and she will become plunder for the nations. 6Also her daughters who are on the mainland will be killed by the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord.’?'
7For the Lord God says this: 'Behold, I am going to bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great army.
8He will kill your daughters on the mainland with the sword; and he will make siege walls against you, pile up an assault ramp against you, and raise up a large shield against you.
9And he will direct the blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his axes.
10Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots when he enters your gates as warriors enter a city that is breached.
11With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will go down to the ground.
12Also they will take your riches as spoils and plunder your merchandise, tear down your walls and destroy your delightful houses, and throw your stones, your timbers, and your debris into the water.
13So I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps will no longer be heard.
14I will turn you into a bare rock; you will become a dry place for the spreading of nets. You will not be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,' declares the Lord God.
15The Lord God says this to Tyre: 'Will the coastlands not shake from the sound of your downfall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter takes place in your midst?
16Then all the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their colorfully woven garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble again and again, and be appalled at you.
19For this is what the Lord God says: 'When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you,
20then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you remain in the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will put glory in the land of the living.
21I will cause you sudden terrors and you will no longer exist; though you will be sought, you will never be found again,' declares the Lord God.
Chapter 27
1Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2And you, son of man, take up a song of mourning over Tyre;
3and say to Tyre, who sits at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, ‘This is what the Lord God says: 'Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
4Your borders are in the heart of the seas; Your builders have perfected your beauty.
5They have made all your planks of juniper trees from Senir; They have taken a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6Of oaks from Bashan they have made your rudders; With ivory they have inlaid your deck of boxwood from the coastlands of Cyprus.
7Your sail was of colorfully embroidered linen from Egypt So that it became your flag; Your awning was violet and purple from the coastlands of Elishah.
8The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; Your wise men, Tyre, were aboard; they were your sailors.
9The elders of Gebal and her wise men were with you repairing your leaks; All the ships of the sea and their sailors were with you in order to deal in your merchandise.
10Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army, your men of war. They hung up shield and helmet on you; they presented your splendor.
11The sons of Arvad and your army were on your walls, all around, and the Gammadim were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they perfected your beauty.
12Tarshish was your customer because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they paid for your merchandise.
13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your traders; with human lives and vessels of bronze they paid for your merchandise.
14Those from Beth-togarmah gave horses, war horses, and mules for your merchandise.
15The sons of Dedan were your traders. Many coastlands were your market; they brought ivory tusks and ebony as your payment.
16Aram was your customer because of the abundance of your goods; they paid for your merchandise with emeralds, purple, colorfully woven cloth, fine linen, coral, and rubies.
17Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders; with the wheat of Minnith, cakes, honey, oil, and balsam they paid for your merchandise.
18Damascus was your customer because of the abundance of your goods, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth, because of the wine of Helbon and white wool.
19Vedan and Javan paid for your merchandise from Uzal; wrought iron, cassia, and spice reed were among your merchandise.
20Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding.
21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were your customers for lambs, rams, and goats; for these they were your customers.
22The traders of Sheba and Raamah, they traded with you; they paid for your merchandise with the best of all balsam oil, and with all kinds of precious stones, and gold.
23Haran, Canneh, Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.
24They traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of violet and colorfully woven cloth, and in blankets of two colors, and tightly wound cords, which were among your merchandise.
25The ships of Tarshish were the carriers for your merchandise. And you were filled and were very glorious In the heart of the seas.
26'Your rowers have brought you Into great waters; The east wind has broken you In the heart of the seas.
27Your wealth, your wares, your merchandise, Your seamen and your sailors, Your repairers of leaks, your dealers in merchandise, And all your men of war who are in you, With all your contingent that is in your midst, Will fall into the heart of the seas On the day of your overthrow.
28At the sound of the cry of your sailors, The pasture lands will shake.
29All who handle the oar, The seamen and all the sailors of the sea Will come down from their ships; They will stand on the land,
30And they will make their voice heard over you And cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads, They will wallow in ashes.
31Also they will shave themselves bald for you And put on sackcloth; And they will weep for you in bitterness of soul With bitter mourning.
32Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a song of mourning for you And sing a song of mourning over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst of the sea?
33When your merchandise went out from the seas, You satisfied many peoples; With the abundance of your wealth and your merchandise You enriched the kings of the earth.
34 Now that you are broken by the seas In the depths of the waters, Your merchandise and all your company Have fallen in the midst of you.
35All the inhabitants of the coastlands Are appalled at you, And their kings are horribly afraid; They have a troubled look.
36The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; You have become terrified And you will cease to be forever.’?'?’?'
King James Version
Chapter 19
1Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.Chapter 20
1And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the Lord, and sat before me. 2Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying, 3Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.
4Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
5And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the Lord your God;
6In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
7Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
8But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
10Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.
11And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
12Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.
13But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
14But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
15Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
16Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
17Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.
18But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
19I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;
20And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.
21Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
22Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
23I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;
24Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
25Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;
26And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord.
27Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.
28For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.
29Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.
30Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?
31For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be enquired of by you.
32And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
33As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:
34And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
35And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
36Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God.
37And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
38And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
39As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
40For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.
41I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.
42And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.
43And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
44And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
45Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
46Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
47And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
48And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
Chapter 21
1And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 3And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. 4Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: 5That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
6Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
7And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.
8Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
12Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
13Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God.
14Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
16Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
17I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the Lord have said it.
18The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
19Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.
20Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
21For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
22At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.
23And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
24Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
25And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,
27I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
28And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:
Chapter 22
1Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations. 3Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord God, The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. 4Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. 5Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.
6Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood.
7In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.
8Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.
9In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.
10In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.
11And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.
12In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord God.
13Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.
14Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it.
15And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.
16And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
17And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
18Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
19Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
21Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.
22As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you.
23And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
24Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
26Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
27Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
28And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.
29The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God.
Chapter 23
1The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother: 3And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. 4And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
5And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
6Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
7Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
8Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
9Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
10These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
11And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.
12She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men.
13Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
14And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,
15Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
16And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
17And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.
18So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister.
19Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
22Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
23The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.
24And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
25And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
26They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
27Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
28For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated:
29And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
30I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
31Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand.
36The Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;
37That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
38Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
39For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.
40And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments,
41And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.
42And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
43Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?
44Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.
45And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
46For thus saith the Lord God; I will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.
47And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
48Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
49And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.
Chapter 24
1Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. 3And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:
13In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
14I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God.
15Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
16Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
17Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.
18So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so?
20Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
21Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
22And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
24Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord God.
25Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters,
26That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
27In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Chapter 25
1The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; 3And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; 4Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. 5And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 6For thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel; 7Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 8Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; 9Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim, 10Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. 11And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 12Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; 13Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God. 15Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; 16Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. 17And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.Chapter 26
1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: 3Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. 4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 5It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. 6And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
7For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
8He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee.
9And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
10By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
11With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.
12And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.
13And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
14And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
15Thus saith the Lord God to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
16Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee.
17And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
18Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
19For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;
20When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
21I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God.
Chapter 27
1The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus; 3And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.
11The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
12Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.
13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.
14They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.
15The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.
16Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.
17Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.
18Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.
19Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.
20Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.
21Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.
22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.
23Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.
24These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.
25The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.
Christian Standard Bible
2and say: What was your mother? A lioness! She lay down among the lions; she reared her cubs among the young lions.
3She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After he learned to tear prey, he devoured people.
4When the nations heard about him, he was caught in their pit. Then they led him away with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
6He prowled among the lions, and he became a young lion. After he learned to tear prey, he devoured people.
7He devastated their strongholds and destroyed their cities. The land and everything in it shuddered at the sound of his roaring.
8Then the nations from the surrounding provinces set out against him. They spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit.
9They put a wooden yoke on him with hooks and led him away to the king of Babylon. They brought him into the fortresses so his roar could no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water.
11It had strong branches, fit for the scepters of rulers; its height towered among the clouds. So it was conspicuous for its height as well as its many branches.
12But it was uprooted in fury, thrown to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were torn off and dried up; fire consumed them.
13Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
Chapter 20
1In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, some of Israel’s elders came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat down in front of me. 2Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3"Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Are you coming to inquire of me? As I live, I will not let you inquire of me. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’
4"Will you pass judgment against them, will you pass judgment, son of man? Explain the detestable practices of their fathers to them.
5Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of Jacob’s house and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, saying, "I am the Lord your God."
6On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
7I also said to them, "Throw away, each of you, the abhorrent things that you prize, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God."
8"‘But they rebelled against me and were unwilling to listen to me. None of them threw away the abhorrent things that they prized, and they did not abandon the idols of Egypt. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them, exhausting my anger against them within the land of Egypt.
9But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.
10"‘So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.
11Then I gave them my statutes and explained my ordinances to them—the person who does them will live by them.
12I also gave them my Sabbaths to serve as a sign between me and them, so that they would know that I am the Lord who consecrates them.
13"‘But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my statutes and they rejected my ordinances—the person who does them will live by them. They also completely profaned my Sabbaths. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them in the wilderness to put an end to them.
14But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
15However, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—the most beautiful of all lands, flowing with milk and honey—
16because they rejected my ordinances, profaned my Sabbaths, and did not follow my statutes. For their hearts went after their idols.
17Yet I spared them from destruction and did not bring them to an end in the wilderness.
18"‘Then I said to their children in the wilderness, "Don’t follow the statutes of your fathers, defile yourselves with their idols, or keep their ordinances.
19I am the Lord your God. Follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them.
20Keep my Sabbaths holy, and they will be a sign between me and you, so you may know that I am the Lord your God."
21"‘But the children rebelled against me. They did not follow my statutes or carefully keep my ordinances—the person who does them will live by them. They also profaned my Sabbaths. So I considered pouring out my wrath on them and exhausting my anger against them in the wilderness.
22But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I brought them out.
23However, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries.
24For they did not practice my ordinances but rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.
25I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances they could not live by.
26When they sacrificed every firstborn in the fire, I defiled them through their gifts in order to devastate them so they would know that I am the Lord.’
27"Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: In this way also your fathers blasphemed me by committing treachery against me:
28When I brought them into the land that I swore to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices and presented their offensive offerings there. They also sent up their pleasing aromas and poured out their drink offerings there.
29So I asked them, "What is this high place you are going to?" And it is still called Bamah today.’
30"Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Are you defiling yourselves the way your fathers did, and prostituting yourselves with their abhorrent things?
31When you offer your gifts, sacrificing your children in the fire, you still continue to defile yourselves with all your idols today. So should I let you inquire of me, house of Israel? As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God —I will not let you inquire of me!
32"‘When you say, "Let us be like the nations, like the clans of other countries, serving wood and stone," what you have in mind will never happen.
33As I live—the declaration of the Lord God —I will reign over you with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath.
34I will bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you were scattered, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath.
35I will lead you into the wilderness of the peoples and enter into judgment with you there face to face.
36Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you. This is the declaration of the Lord God.
37I will make you pass under the rod and will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
38I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they live as foreign residents, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39"‘As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to me, and you will no longer defile my holy name with your gifts and idols.
40For on my holy mountain, Israel’s high mountain—the declaration of the Lord God —there the entire house of Israel, all of them, will serve me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your contributions and choicest gifts, all your holy offerings.
41When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will demonstrate my holiness through you in the sight of the nations.
42When I lead you into the land of Israel, the land I swore to give your fathers, you will know that I am the Lord.
43There you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourself, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil things you have done.
44You will know that I am the Lord, house of Israel, when I have dealt with you for the sake of my name rather than according to your evil ways and corrupt acts. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’"
45The word of the Lord came to me:
46"Son of man, face the south and preach against it. Prophesy against the forest land in the Negev,
47and say to the forest there, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says: I am about to ignite a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The blazing flame will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be scorched by it.
48Then all people will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it. It will not be extinguished.’"
Chapter 21
1The word of the Lord came to me again: 2"Son of man, face Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel, 3and say to it, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4Since I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will therefore come out of its sheath against all people from the south to the north. 5So all people will know that I, the Lord, have taken my sword from its sheath—it will not be sheathed again.’
6"But you, son of man, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart right before their eyes.
7And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ then say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will become weak. Every spirit will be discouraged, and all knees will run with urine. Yes, it is coming and it will happen. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’"
9"Son of man, prophesy, ‘This is what the Lord says!’ You are to proclaim, ‘A sword! A sword is sharpened and also polished.
10It is sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice? The scepter of my son, the sword despises every tree.
11The sword is given to be polished, to be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened, and it is polished, to be put in the hand of the slayer.’
12"Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel! They are given over to the sword with my people. Therefore strike your thigh in grief.
13Surely it will be a trial! And what if the sword despises even the scepter? The scepter will not continue." This is the declaration of the Lord God.
14"So you, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together: Let the sword strike two times, even three. It is a sword for massacre, a sword for great massacre— it surrounds them!
15I have appointed a sword for slaughter at all their gates, so that their hearts may melt and many may stumble. Yes! It is ready to flash like lightning; it is drawn for slaughter.
16Slash to the right; turn to the left— wherever your blade is directed.
18The word of the Lord came to me:
19"Now you, son of man, mark out two roads that the sword of Babylon’s king can take. Both of them should originate from the same land. And make a signpost at the fork in the road to each city.
20Mark out a road that the sword can take to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
21For the king of Babylon stands at the split in the road, at the fork of the two roads, to practice divination: he shakes the arrows, consults the idols, and observes the liver.
22The answer marked Jerusalem appears in his right hand, indicating that he should set up battering rams, give the order to slaughter, raise a battle cry, set battering rams against the gates, build a ramp, and construct a siege wall.
23It will seem like false divination to those who have sworn an oath to the Babylonians, but it will draw attention to their guilt so that they will be captured.
24"Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your actions—since you have done this, you will be captured by them.
25And you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your punishment.
26"This is what the Lord God says: Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are; exalt the lowly and bring down the exalted.
27A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! Yet this will not happen until he comes; I have given the judgment to him.
29While they offer false visions and lying divinations about you, the time has come to put you to the necks of the profane wicked ones; the day has come for final punishment.
30"‘Return it to its sheath! "‘I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your origin.
31I will pour out my indignation on you; I will blow the fire of my fury on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, skilled at destruction.
32You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will be spilled within the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’"
Chapter 22
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"As for you, son of man, will you pass judgment? Will you pass judgment against the city of blood? Then explain all her detestable practices to her. 3You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A city that sheds blood within her walls so that her time of judgment has come and who makes idols for herself so that she is defiled! 4You are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled from the idols you have made. You have brought your judgment days near and have come to your years of punishment. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands. 5Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of turmoil.
6"‘Look, every prince of Israel within you has used his strength to shed blood.
7Father and mother are treated with contempt, and the resident alien is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you.
8You despise my holy things and profane my Sabbaths.
9There are men within you who slander in order to shed blood. People who live in you eat at the mountain shrines; they commit depraved acts within you.
10Men within you have sexual intercourse with their father’s wife and violate women during their menstrual impurity.
11One man within you commits a detestable act with his neighbor’s wife; another defiles his daughter-in-law with depravity; and yet another violates his sister, his father’s daughter.
12People who live in you accept bribes in order to shed blood. You take interest and profit on a loan and brutally extort your neighbors. You have forgotten me. This is the declaration of the Lord God.
13"‘Now look, I clap my hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.
14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the days when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will act.
15I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you among the countries; I will purge your uncleanness.
16You will be profaned in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’"
17The word of the Lord came to me:
18"Son of man, the house of Israel has become merely dross to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are just dross from silver.
19Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because all of you have become dross, I am about to gather you into Jerusalem.
20Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to blow fire on them and melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and wrath, put you inside, and melt you.
21Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted within the city.
22As silver is melted inside a furnace, so you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my wrath on you."
23The word of the Lord came to me:
24"Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed, that has not received rain in the day of indignation.’
25The conspiracy of her prophets within her is like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they devour people, seize wealth and valuables, and multiply the widows within her.
26Her priests do violence to my instruction and profane my holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the clean and the unclean. They close their eyes to my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
27"Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make profit dishonestly.
28Her prophets plaster for them with whitewash by seeing false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.
29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and unlawfully exploited the resident alien.
30I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.
31So I have poured out my indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of my fury. I have brought their conduct down on their own heads." This is the declaration of the Lord God.
Chapter 23
1The word of the Lord came to me again: 2"Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother, 3who acted like prostitutes in Egypt, behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed. 4The older one was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah represents Samaria and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.
5"Oholah acted like a prostitute even though she was mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians: warriors
6dressed in blue, governors and prefects, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on steeds.
7She offered her sexual favors to them; all of them were the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all those she lusted after and with all their idols.
8She didn’t give up her promiscuity that began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin nipples, and poured out their lust on her.
9Therefore, I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians she lusted for.
10They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. Since they executed judgment against her, she became notorious among women.
11"Now her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was even more depraved in her lust than Oholah, and made her promiscuous acts worse than those of her sister.
12She lusted after the Assyrians: governors and prefects, warriors splendidly dressed, horsemen riding on steeds, all of them desirable young men.
13And I saw that she had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.
14But she increased her promiscuity when she saw male figures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans, engraved in bright red,
15wearing belts on their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like officers, a depiction of the Babylonians in Chaldea, their native land.
16At the sight of them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. But after she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.
18When she flaunted her promiscuity and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust just as I turned away from her sister.
19Yet she multiplied her acts of promiscuity, remembering the days of her youth when she acted like a prostitute in the land of Egypt
20and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.
21So you revisited the depravity of your youth, when the Egyptians caressed your nipples to enjoy your youthful breasts.
22"Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to incite your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side:
23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans; Pekod, Shoa, and Koa; and all the Assyrians with them—desirable young men, all of them governors and prefects, officers and administrators, all of them riding on steeds.
24They will come against you with an assembly of peoples and with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will set themselves against you on every side with large and small shields and helmets. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards.
25When I vent my jealous rage on you, they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and ears, and the rest of you will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and the rest of you will be consumed by fire.
26They will strip off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry.
27So I will put an end to your depravity and sexual immorality, which began in the land of Egypt, and you will not look longingly at them or remember Egypt anymore.
28"For this is what the Lord God says: I am going to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.
29They will treat you with hatred, take all you have worked for, and leave you stark naked, so that the shame of your debauchery will be exposed, both your depravity and promiscuity.
30These things will be done to you because you acted like a prostitute with the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.
31You have followed the path of your sister, so I will put her cup in your hand."
32This is what the Lord God says: "You will drink your sister’s cup, which is deep and wide. You will be an object of ridicule and scorn, for it holds so much.
33You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.
36Then the Lord said to me: "Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare their detestable practices to them.
37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols. And the children they bore to me they have sacrificed in the fire as food for the idols.
38They also did this to me: they defiled my sanctuary on that same day and profaned my Sabbaths.
39On the same day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to profane it. Yes, that is what they did inside my house.
40"In addition, they sent for men who came from far away when a messenger was dispatched to them. And look how they came! You bathed, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry for them.
41You sat on a luxurious couch with a table spread before it, on which you had set my incense and oil.
42The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women’s hands and beautiful tiaras on their heads.
43Then I said concerning this woman worn out by adultery: Will they now have illicit sex with her, even her?
44Yet they had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. This is how they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those depraved women.
45But righteous men will judge them the way adulteresses and those who shed blood are judged, for they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
46"This is what the Lord God says: Summon an assembly against them and consign them to terror and plunder.
47The assembly will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses.
48So I will put an end to depravity in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your depraved behavior.
49They will punish you for your depravity, and you will bear the consequences for your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Lord God."
Chapter 24
1The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month: 2"Son of man, write down today’s date, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
3Now speak a parable to the rebellious house. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Put the pot on the fire— put it on, and then pour water into it!
4Place the pieces of meat in it, every good piece— thigh and shoulder. Fill it with choice bones.
5Take the choicest of the flock and also pile up the fuel under it. Bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.
6"‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Woe to the city of bloodshed, the pot that has corrosion inside it, and its corrosion has not come out of it! Empty it piece by piece; lots should not be cast for its contents.
7For the blood she shed is still within her. She put it out on the bare rock; she didn’t pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.
8In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.
9"‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Woe to the city of bloodshed! I myself will make the pile of kindling large.
10Pile on the logs and kindle the fire! Cook the meat well and mix in the spices! Let the bones be burned!
11Set the empty pot on its coals so that it becomes hot and its copper glows. Then its impurity will melt inside it; its corrosion will be consumed.
12It has frustrated every effort; its thick corrosion will not come off. Into the fire with its corrosion!
13Because of the depravity of your uncleanness— since I tried to purify you, but you would not be purified from your uncleanness— you will not be pure again until I have satisfied my wrath on you.
15Then the word of the Lord came to me:
16"Son of man, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a fatal blow. But you must not lament or weep or let your tears flow.
17Groan quietly; do not observe mourning rites for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners."
18I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. The next morning I did just as I was commanded.
19Then the people asked me, "Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?"
20So I answered them: "The word of the Lord came to me:
21Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.
22Then you will do just as I have done: You will not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners.
23Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not lament or weep but will waste away because of your iniquities and will groan to one another.
24Now Ezekiel will be a sign for you. You will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.’
25"As for you, son of man, know that on that day I will take from them their stronghold—their pride and joy, the delight of their eyes, and the longing of their hearts—as well as their sons and daughters.
26On that day a fugitive will come to you and report the news.
27On that day your mouth will be opened to talk with him; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign for them, and they will know that I am the Lord."
Chapter 25
1Then the word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, face the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God: This is what the Lord God says: Because you said, "Aha!" about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4therefore I am about to give you to the people of the east as a possession. They will set up their encampments and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
6"‘For this is what the Lord God says: Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced over the land of Israel with wholehearted contempt,
7therefore I am about to stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and eliminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the Lord.
8"‘This is what the Lord God says: Because Moab and Seir said, "Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations."
9Therefore I am about to expose Moab’s flank beginning with its frontier cities, the splendor of the land: Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.
10I will give it along with Ammon to the people of the east as a possession, so that Ammon will not be remembered among the nations.
11So I will execute judgments against Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.
12"‘This is what the Lord God says: Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah and incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,
13therefore this is what the Lord God says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off both man and animal from it. I will make it a wasteland; they will fall by the sword from Teman to Dedan.
14I will take my vengeance on Edom through my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to my anger and wrath. So they will know my vengeance. This is the declaration of the Lord God.
15"‘This is what the Lord God says: Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with deep contempt, destroying because of their perpetual hatred,
16therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, cutting off the Cherethites and wiping out what remains of the coastal peoples.
17I will execute severe vengeance against them with furious rebukes. They will know that I am the Lord when I take my vengeance on them.’"
Chapter 26
1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gateway to the peoples is shattered. She has been turned over to me. I will be filled now that she lies in ruins,’ 3therefore this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Tyre! I will raise up many nations against you, just as the sea raises its waves. 4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and turn her into a bare rock. 5She will become a place in the sea to spread nets, for I have spoken." This is the declaration of the Lord God. "She will become plunder for the nations, 6and her villages on the mainland will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord."
7For this is what the Lord God says: "See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a huge assembly of troops.
8He will slaughter your villages on the mainland with the sword. He will set up siege works, build a ramp, and raise a wall of shields against you.
9He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and tear down your towers with his iron tools.
10His horses will be so numerous that their dust will cover you. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.
11He will trample all your streets with the hooves of his horses. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.
12They will take your wealth as spoil and plunder your merchandise. They will also demolish your walls and tear down your beautiful homes. Then they will throw your stones, timber, and soil into the water.
13I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard.
14I will turn you into a bare rock, and you will be a place to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken." This is the declaration of the Lord God.
15This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: "Won’t the coasts and islands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan and slaughter occurs within you?
16All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble continually, and be appalled at you.
17Then they will lament for you and say of you, ‘How you have perished, city of renown, you who were populated from the seas! She who was powerful on the sea, she and all of her inhabitants inflicted their terror.
18Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall; the islands in the sea are alarmed by your demise.’"
19For this is what the Lord God says: "When I make you a ruined city like other deserted cities, when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you,
20then I will bring you down to be with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the underworld like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or display your splendor in the land of the living.
21I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist. You will be sought but will never be found again." This is the declaration of the Lord God.
3Say to Tyre, who is located at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coasts and islands, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Tyre, you declared, "I am perfect in beauty."
4Your realm was in the heart of the sea; your builders perfected your beauty.
5They constructed all your planking with pine trees from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6They made your oars of oaks from Bashan. They made your deck of cypress wood from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory.
7Your sail was made of fine embroidered linen from Egypt, and served as your banner. Your awning was of blue and purple fabric from the coasts of Elishah.
8The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers. Your wise men were within you, Tyre; they were your captains.
9The elders of Gebal and its wise men were within you, repairing your leaks. "‘All the ships of the sea and their sailors came to you to barter for your goods.
10Men of Persia, Lud, and Put were in your army, serving as your warriors. They hung shields and helmets in you; they gave you splendor.
11Men of Arvad and Helech were stationed on your walls all around, and Gammadites were in your towers. They hung their shields all around your walls; they perfected your beauty.
12"‘Tarshish was your trading partner because of your abundant wealth of every kind. They exchanged silver, iron, tin, and lead for your merchandise.
13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your goods.
14Those from Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your merchandise.
15Men of Dedan were also your merchants; many coasts and islands were your regular markets. They brought back ivory tusks and ebony as your payment.
16Aram was your trading partner because of your numerous products. They exchanged turquoise, purple and embroidered cloth, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your merchandise.
17Judah and the land of Israel were your merchants. They exchanged wheat from Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm, for your goods.
18Damascus was also your trading partner because of your numerous products and your abundant wealth of every kind, trading in wine from Helbon and white wool.
19Vedan and Javan from Uzal dealt in your merchandise; wrought iron, cassia, and aromatic cane were exchanged for your goods.
20Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.
21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your business partners, trading with you in lambs, rams, and goats.
22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you. For your merchandise they exchanged the best of all spices and all kinds of precious stones as well as gold.
23Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.
24They were your merchants in choice garments, cloaks of blue and embroidered materials, and multicolored carpets, which were bound and secured with cords in your marketplace.
25Ships of Tarshish were the carriers for your goods. "‘So you became full and heavily loaded in the heart of the sea.
26Your rowers have brought you onto the high seas, but the east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the sea.
27Your wealth, merchandise, and goods, your sailors and captains, those who repair your leaks, those who barter for your goods, and all the warriors on board, with all the other people within you, sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.
28"‘The countryside shakes at the sound of your sailors’ cries.
29All the oarsmen disembark from their ships. The sailors and all the captains of the sea stand on the shore.
30Because of you, they raise their voices and cry out bitterly. They throw dust on their heads; they roll in ashes.
31They shave their heads because of you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They weep over you with deep anguish and bitter mourning.
32"‘In their wailing they lament for you, mourning over you: "Who was like Tyre, silenced in the middle of the sea?
33When your merchandise was unloaded from the seas, you satisfied many peoples. You enriched the kings of the earth with your abundant wealth and goods.
34Now you are wrecked by the sea in the depths of the waters; your goods and the people within you have gone down.
35All the inhabitants of the coasts and islands are appalled at you. Their kings shudder with fear; their faces are contorted.
36Those who trade among the peoples scoff at you; you have become an object of horror and will never exist again."’"
New Living Translation
2'What is your mother? A lioness among lions! She lay down among the young lions and reared her cubs.
3She raised one of her cubs to become a strong young lion. He learned to hunt and devour prey, and he became a man-eater.
4Then the nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him away with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5'When the lioness saw that her hopes for him were gone, she took another of her cubs and taught him to be a strong young lion.
6He prowled among the other lions and stood out among them in his strength. He learned to hunt and devour prey, and he, too, became a man-eater.
7He demolished fortresses and destroyed their towns and cities. Their farms were desolated, and their crops were destroyed. The land and its people trembled in fear when they heard him roar.
8Then the armies of the nations attacked him, surrounding him from every direction. They threw a net over him and captured him in their pit.
9With hooks, they dragged him into a cage and brought him before the king of Babylon. They held him in captivity, so his voice could never again be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10'Your mother was like a vine planted by the water’s edge. It had lush, green foliage because of the abundant water.
11Its branches became strong — strong enough to be a ruler’s scepter. It grew very tall, towering above all others. It stood out because of its height and its many lush branches.
12But the vine was uprooted in fury and thrown down to the ground. The desert wind dried up its fruit and tore off its strong branches, so that it withered and was destroyed by fire.
13Now the vine is transplanted to the wilderness, where the ground is hard and dry.
Chapter 20
1On August 14, during the seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, some of the leaders of Israel came to request a message from the Lord. They sat down in front of me to wait for his reply. 2Then this message came to me from the Lord: 3Son of man, tell the leaders of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: How dare you come to ask me for a message? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing!’
4Son of man, bring charges against them and condemn them. Make them realize how detestable the sins of their ancestors really were.
5Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: When I chose Israel — when I revealed myself to the descendants of Jacob in Egypt — I took a solemn oath that I, the Lord, would be their God.
6I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to a land I had discovered and explored for them — a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere.
7Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, for I am the Lord your God.’
8But they rebelled against me and would not listen. They did not get rid of the vile images they were obsessed with, or forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I threatened to pour out my fury on them to satisfy my anger while they were still in Egypt.
9But I didn’t do it, for I acted to protect the honor of my name. I would not allow shame to be brought on my name among the surrounding nations who saw me reveal myself by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.
10So I brought them out of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.
11There I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could find life by keeping them.
12And I gave them my Sabbath days of rest as a sign between them and me. It was to remind them that I am the Lord, who had set them apart to be holy.
13But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days. So I threatened to pour out my fury on them, and I made plans to utterly consume them in the wilderness.
14But again I held back in order to protect the honor of my name before the nations who had seen my power in bringing Israel out of Egypt.
15But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would not bring them into the land I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful place on earth.
16For they had rejected my regulations, refused to follow my decrees, and violated my Sabbath days. Their hearts were given to their idols.
17Nevertheless, I took pity on them and held back from destroying them in the wilderness.
18Then I warned their children not to follow in their parents’ footsteps, defiling themselves with their idols.
19‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations,
20and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’
21But their children, too, rebelled against me. They refused to keep my decrees and follow my regulations, even though obedience would have given them life. And they also violated my Sabbath days. So again I threatened to pour out my fury on them in the wilderness.
22Nevertheless, I withdrew my judgment against them to protect the honor of my name before the nations that had seen my power in bringing them out of Egypt.
23But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would scatter them among all the nations
24because they did not obey my regulations. They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors.
25I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life.
26I let them pollute themselves with the very gifts I had given them, and I allowed them to give their firstborn children as offerings to their gods — so I might devastate them and remind them that I alone am the Lord.
27Therefore, son of man, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Your ancestors continued to blaspheme and betray me,
28for when I brought them into the land I had promised them, they offered sacrifices on every high hill and under every green tree they saw! They roused my fury as they offered up sacrifices to their gods. They brought their perfumes and incense and poured out their liquid offerings to them.
29I said to them, ‘What is this high place where you are going?’ (This kind of pagan shrine has been called Bamah — ‘high place’ — ever since.)
30Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Do you plan to pollute yourselves just as your ancestors did? Do you intend to keep prostituting yourselves by worshiping vile images?
31For when you offer gifts to them and give your little children to be burned as sacrifices, you continue to pollute yourselves with idols to this day. Should I allow you to ask for a message from me, O people of Israel? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing.
32You say, ‘We want to be like the nations all around us, who serve idols of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.
33As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will rule over you with an iron fist in great anger and with awesome power.
34And in anger I will reach out with my strong hand and powerful arm, and I will bring you back from the lands where you are scattered.
35I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you face to face.
36I will judge you there just as I did your ancestors in the wilderness after bringing them out of Egypt, says the Sovereign Lord.
37I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant.
38I will purge you of all those who rebel and revolt against me. I will bring them out of the countries where they are in exile, but they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols.
40For on my holy mountain, the great mountain of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord, the people of Israel will someday worship me, and I will accept them. There I will require that you bring me all your offerings and choice gifts and sacrifices.
41When I bring you home from exile, you will be like a pleasing sacrifice to me. And I will display my holiness through you as all the nations watch.
42Then when I have brought you home to the land I promised with a solemn oath to give to your ancestors, you will know that I am the Lord.
43You will look back on all the ways you defiled yourselves and will hate yourselves because of the evil you have done.
44You will know that I am the Lord, O people of Israel, when I have honored my name by treating you mercifully in spite of your wickedness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!'
45Then this message came to me from the Lord:
46Son of man, turn and face the south and speak out against it; prophesy against the brushlands of the Negev.
47Tell the southern wilderness, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Hear the word of the Lord! I will set you on fire, and every tree, both green and dry, will be burned. The terrible flames will not be quenched and will scorch everything from south to north.
48And everyone in the world will see that I, the Lord, have set this fire. It will not be put out.’'
Chapter 21
1Then this message came to me from the Lord: 2Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries. 3Tell her, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people — the righteous and the wicked alike. 4Yes, I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked! I will draw my sword against everyone in the land from south to north. 5Everyone in the world will know that I am the Lord. My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished.’
6Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart.
7When they ask why you are groaning, tell them, ‘I groan because of the terrifying news I have heard. When it comes true, the boldest heart will melt with fear; all strength will disappear. Every spirit will faint; strong knees will become as weak as water. And the Sovereign Lord says: It is coming! It’s on its way!’'
9Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord: 'A sword, a sword is being sharpened and polished.
10It is sharpened for terrible slaughter and polished to flash like lightning! Now will you laugh? Those far stronger than you have fallen beneath its power!
11Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner.
12'Son of man, cry out and wail; pound your thighs in anguish, for that sword will slaughter my people and their leaders — everyone will die!
13It will put them all to the test. What chance do they have? says the Sovereign Lord.
14'Son of man, prophesy to them and clap your hands. Then take the sword and brandish it twice, even three times, to symbolize the great massacre, the great massacre facing them on every side.
15Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning and is polished for slaughter!
16O sword, slash to the right, then slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want.
17I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the Lord, have spoken!'
18Then this message came to me from the Lord:
19Son of man, make a map and trace two routes on it for the sword of Babylon’s king to follow. Put a signpost on the road that comes out of Babylon where the road forks into two —
20one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem.
21The king of Babylon now stands at the fork, uncertain whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbah. He calls his magicians to look for omens. They cast lots by shaking arrows from the quiver. They inspect the livers of animal sacrifices.
22The omen in his right hand says, ‘Jerusalem!’ With battering rams his soldiers will go against the gates, shouting for the kill. They will put up siege towers and build ramps against the walls.
23The people of Jerusalem will think it is a false omen, because of their treaty with the Babylonians. But the king of Babylon will remind the people of their rebellion. Then he will attack and capture them.
26This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'Take off your jeweled crown, for the old order changes. Now the lowly will be exalted, and the mighty will be brought down.
27Destruction! Destruction! I will surely destroy the kingdom. And it will not be restored until the one appears who has the right to judge it. Then I will hand it over to him.
28And now, son of man, prophesy concerning the Ammonites and their mockery. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: 'A sword, a sword is drawn for your slaughter. It is polished to destroy, flashing like lightning!
29Your prophets have given false visions, and your fortune-tellers have told lies. The sword will fall on the necks of the wicked for whom the day of final reckoning has come.
30'Now return the sword to its sheath, for in your own country, the land of your birth, I will pass judgment upon you.
31I will pour out my fury on you and blow on you with the fire of my anger. I will hand you over to cruel men who are skilled in destruction.
32You will be fuel for the fire, and your blood will be spilled in your own land. You will be utterly wiped out, your memory lost to history, for I, the Lord, have spoken!'
Chapter 22
1Now this message came to me from the Lord: 2Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins, 3and give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: O city of murderers, doomed and damned — city of idols, filthy and foul — 4you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world. 5O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near.
6Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.
7Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.
8You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.
9People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.
10Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating.
11Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters.
12There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.
13But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.
14How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said.
15I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.
16And when I have been dishonored among the nations because of you, you will know that I am the Lord.'
17Then this message came to me from the Lord:
18Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over — a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.
19So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.
20Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.
21I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,
22and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.’'
23Again a message came to me from the Lord:
24Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will be like a polluted land, a land without rain.
25Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.
26Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.
27Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!
28And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them.
29Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.
30I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.
31So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!'
Chapter 23
1This message came to me from the Lord: 2Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother. 3They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts. 4The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrian officers.
6They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, charioteers driving their horses.
7And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols and defiling herself.
8For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute.
9And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much.
10They stripped her, took away her children as their slaves, and then killed her. After she received her punishment, her reputation was known to every woman in the land.
11Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution.
12She fawned over all the Assyrian officers — those captains and commanders in handsome uniforms, those charioteers driving their horses — all of them attractive young men.
13I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister.
14Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall — pictures of Babylonian military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms.
15Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia.
16When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her.
17So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust.
18In the same way, I became disgusted with Oholibah and rejected her, just as I had rejected her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts.
19Yet she turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt.
20She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse.
21And so, Oholibah, you relived your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed your breasts to be fondled.
22Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will send your lovers against you from every direction — those very nations from which you turned away in disgust.
23For the Babylonians will come with all the Chaldeans from Pekod and Shoa and Koa. And all the Assyrians will come with them — handsome young captains, commanders, chariot officers, and other high-ranking officers, all riding their horses.
24They will all come against you from the north with chariots, wagons, and a great army prepared for attack. They will take up positions on every side, surrounding you with men armed with shields and helmets. And I will hand you over to them for punishment so they can do with you as they please.
25I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal harshly with you. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any survivors will then be slaughtered by the sword. Your children will be taken away as captives, and everything that is left will be burned.
26They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels.
27In this way, I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you brought from Egypt. You will never again cast longing eyes on those things or fondly remember your time in Egypt.
28For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will surely hand you over to your enemies, to those you loathe, those you rejected.
29They will treat you with hatred and rob you of all you own, leaving you stark naked. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed to all the world.
30You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols.
31Because you have followed in your sister’s footsteps, I will force you to drink the same cup of terror she drank.
32Yes, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'You will drink from your sister’s cup of terror, a cup that is large and deep. It is filled to the brim with scorn and derision.
33Drunkenness and anguish will fill you, for your cup is filled to the brim with distress and desolation, the same cup your sister Samaria drank.
34You will drain that cup of terror to the very bottom. Then you will smash it to pieces and beat your breast in anguish. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
36The Lord said to me, 'Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins.
37They have committed both adultery and murder — adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning as sacrifices the children they bore to me.
38Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day!
39On the very day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they boldly came into my Temple to worship! They came in and defiled my house.
40You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them.
41You sat with them on a beautifully embroidered couch and put my incense and my special oil on a table that was spread before you.
42From your room came the sound of many men carousing. They were lustful men and drunkards from the wilderness, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your heads.
43Then I said, ‘If they really want to have sex with old worn-out prostitutes like these, let them!’
44And that is what they did. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameless prostitutes.
45But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are — adulterers and murderers.
46Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered.
47For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes.
48In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to all women not to follow your wicked example.
49You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution — your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.'
Chapter 24
1On January 15, during the ninth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2Son of man, write down today’s date, because on this very day the king of Babylon is beginning his attack against Jerusalem.
3Then give these rebels an illustration with this message from the Sovereign Lord: 'Put a pot on the fire, and pour in some water.
4Fill it with choice pieces of meat — the rump and the shoulder and all the most tender cuts.
5Use only the best sheep from the flock, and heap fuel on the fire beneath the pot. Bring the pot to a boil, and cook the bones along with the meat.
6'Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits Jerusalem, the city of murderers! She is a cooking pot whose corruption can’t be cleaned out. Take the meat out in random order, for no piece is better than another.
7For the blood of her murders is splashed on the rocks. It isn’t even spilled on the ground, where the dust could cover it!
8So I will splash her blood on a rock for all to see, an expression of my anger and vengeance against her.
9'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits Jerusalem, the city of murderers! I myself will pile up the fuel beneath her.
10Yes, heap on the wood! Let the fire roar to make the pot boil. Cook the meat with many spices, and afterward burn the bones.
11Now set the empty pot on the coals. Heat it red hot! Burn away the filth and corruption.
12But it’s hopeless; the corruption can’t be cleaned out. So throw it into the fire.
13Your impurity is your lewdness and the corruption of your idolatry. I tried to cleanse you, but you refused. So now you will remain in your filth until my fury against you has been satisfied.
15Then this message came to me from the Lord:
16Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears.
17Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends.'
18So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do.
19Then the people asked, 'What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?'
20So I said to them, 'A message came to me from the Lord,
21and I was told to give this message to the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will defile my Temple, the source of your security and pride, the place your heart delights in. Your sons and daughters whom you left behind in Judah will be slaughtered by the sword.
22Then you will do as Ezekiel has done. You will not mourn in public or console yourselves by eating the food brought by friends.
23Your heads will remain covered, and your sandals will not be taken off. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins. You will groan among yourselves for all the evil you have done.
24Ezekiel is an example for you; you will do just as he has done. And when that time comes, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.'
25Then the Lord said to me, 'Son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold — their joy and glory, their heart’s desire, their dearest treasure — I will also take away their sons and daughters.
26And on that day a survivor from Jerusalem will come to you in Babylon and tell you what has happened.
27And when he arrives, your voice will suddenly return so you can talk to him, and you will be a symbol for these people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.'
Chapter 25
1Then this message came to me from the Lord: 2Son of man, turn and face the land of Ammon and prophesy against its people. 3Give the Ammonites this message from the Sovereign Lord: Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord! Because you cheered when my Temple was defiled, mocked Israel in her desolation, and laughed at Judah as she went away into exile, 4I will allow nomads from the eastern deserts to overrun your country. They will set up their camps among you and pitch their tents on your land. They will harvest all your fruit and drink the milk from your livestock. 5And I will turn the city of Rabbah into a pasture for camels, and all the land of the Ammonites into a resting place for sheep and goats. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
6This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you clapped and danced and cheered with glee at the destruction of my people,
7I will raise my fist of judgment against you. I will give you as plunder to many nations. I will cut you off from being a nation and destroy you completely. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
8This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the people of Moab have said that Judah is just like all the other nations,
9I will open up their eastern flank and wipe out their glorious frontier towns — Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.
10And I will hand Moab over to nomads from the eastern deserts, just as I handed over Ammon. Yes, the Ammonites will no longer be counted among the nations.
11In the same way, I will bring my judgment down on the Moabites. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
12This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Edom have sinned greatly by avenging themselves against the people of Judah.
13Therefore, says the Sovereign Lord, I will raise my fist of judgment against Edom. I will wipe out its people and animals with the sword. I will make a wasteland of everything from Teman to Dedan.
14I will accomplish this by the hand of my people of Israel. They will carry out my vengeance with anger, and Edom will know that this vengeance is from me. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
15This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Philistia have acted against Judah out of bitter revenge and long-standing contempt.
16Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will raise my fist of judgment against the land of the Philistines. I will wipe out the Kerethites and utterly destroy the people who live by the sea.
17I will execute terrible vengeance against them to punish them for what they have done. And when I have inflicted my revenge, they will know that I am the Lord.'
Chapter 26
1On February 3, during the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2Son of man, Tyre has rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Ha! She who was the gateway to the rich trade routes to the east has been broken, and I am the heir! Because she has been made desolate, I will become wealthy!’
3Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am your enemy, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the waves of the sea crashing against your shoreline.
4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down its towers. I will scrape away its soil and make it a bare rock!
5It will be just a rock in the sea, a place for fishermen to spread their nets, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord. Tyre will become the prey of many nations,
6and its mainland villages will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7This is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre. He is king of kings and brings his horses, chariots, charioteers, and great army.
8First he will destroy your mainland villages. Then he will attack you by building a siege wall, constructing a ramp, and raising a roof of shields against you.
9He will pound your walls with battering rams and demolish your towers with sledgehammers.
10The hooves of his horses will choke the city with dust, and the noise of the charioteers and chariot wheels will shake your walls as they storm through your broken gates.
11His horsemen will trample through every street in the city. They will butcher your people, and your strong pillars will topple.
12They will plunder all your riches and merchandise and break down your walls. They will destroy your lovely homes and dump your stones and timbers and even your dust into the sea.
13I will stop the music of your songs. No more will the sound of harps be heard among your people.
14I will make your island a bare rock, a place for fishermen to spread their nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken. Yes, the Sovereign Lord has spoken!
15This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: The whole coastline will tremble at the sound of your fall, as the screams of the wounded echo in the continuing slaughter.
16All the seaport rulers will step down from their thrones and take off their royal robes and beautiful clothing. They will sit on the ground trembling with horror at your destruction.
17Then they will wail for you, singing this funeral song: 'O famous island city, once ruler of the sea, how you have been destroyed! Your people, with their naval power, once spread fear around the world.
18Now the coastlands tremble at your fall. The islands are dismayed as you disappear.
19This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will make Tyre an uninhabited ruin, like many others. I will bury you beneath the terrible waves of enemy attack. Great seas will swallow you.
20I will send you to the pit to join those who descended there long ago. Your city will lie in ruins, buried beneath the earth, like those in the pit who have entered the world of the dead. You will have no place of respect here in the land of the living.
21I will bring you to a terrible end, and you will exist no more. You will be looked for, but you will never again be found. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!'
3that mighty gateway to the sea, the trading center of the world. Give Tyre this message from the Sovereign Lord: 'You boasted, O Tyre, ‘My beauty is perfect!’
4You extended your boundaries into the sea. Your builders made your beauty perfect.
5You were like a great ship built of the finest cypress from Senir. They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6They carved your oars from the oaks of Bashan. Your deck of pine from the coasts of Cyprus was inlaid with ivory.
7Your sails were made of Egypt’s finest linen, and they flew as a banner above you. You stood beneath blue and purple awnings made bright with dyes from the coasts of Elishah.
8Your oarsmen came from Sidon and Arvad; your helmsmen were skilled men from Tyre itself.
9Wise old craftsmen from Gebal did the caulking. Ships from every land came with goods to barter for your trade.
10Men from distant Persia, Lydia, and Libya served in your great army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, giving you great honor.
11Men from Arvad and Helech stood on your walls. Your towers were manned by men from Gammad. Their shields hung on your walls, completing your beauty.
12Tarshish sent merchants to buy your wares in exchange for silver, iron, tin, and lead.
13Merchants from Greece, Tubal, and Meshech brought slaves and articles of bronze to trade with you.
14From Beth-togarmah came riding horses, chariot horses, and mules, all in exchange for your goods.
15Merchants came to you from Dedan. Numerous coastlands were your captive markets; they brought payment in ivory tusks and ebony wood.
16Syria sent merchants to buy your rich variety of goods. They traded turquoise, purple dyes, embroidery, fine linen, and jewelry of coral and rubies.
17Judah and Israel traded for your wares, offering wheat from Minnith, figs, honey, olive oil, and balm.
18Damascus sent merchants to buy your rich variety of goods, bringing wine from Helbon and white wool from Zahar.
19Greeks from Uzal came to trade for your merchandise. Wrought iron, cassia, and fragrant calamus were bartered for your wares.
20Dedan sent merchants to trade their expensive saddle blankets with you.
21The Arabians and the princes of Kedar sent merchants to trade lambs and rams and male goats in exchange for your goods.
22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah came with all kinds of spices, jewels, and gold in exchange for your wares.
23Haran, Canneh, Eden, Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad came with their merchandise, too.
24They brought choice fabrics to trade — blue cloth, embroidery, and multicolored carpets rolled up and bound with cords.
25The ships of Tarshish were your ocean caravans. Your island warehouse was filled to the brim!
26'But look! Your oarsmen have taken you into stormy seas! A mighty eastern gale has wrecked you in the heart of the sea!
27Everything is lost — your riches and wares, your sailors and pilots, your ship builders, merchants, and warriors. On the day of your ruin, everyone on board sinks into the depths of the sea.
28Your cities by the sea tremble as your pilots cry out in terror.
29All the oarsmen abandon their ships; the sailors and pilots stand on the shore.
30They cry aloud over you and weep bitterly. They throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.
31They shave their heads in grief for you and dress themselves in burlap. They weep for you with bitter anguish and deep mourning.
32As they wail and mourn over you, they sing this sad funeral song: ‘Was there ever such a city as Tyre, now silent at the bottom of the sea?
33The merchandise you traded satisfied the desires of many nations. Kings at the ends of the earth were enriched by your trade.
34Now you are a wrecked ship, broken at the bottom of the sea. All your merchandise and crew have gone down with you.
35All who live along the coastlands are appalled at your terrible fate. Their kings are filled with horror and look on with twisted faces.
36The merchants among the nations shake their heads at the sight of you, for you have come to a horrible end and will exist no more.’'
English Standard Version
Chapter 19
1And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2and say: What was your mother? A lioness! Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions she reared her cubs.
3And she brought up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.
4The nations heard about him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
6He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men,
7and seized their widows. He laid waste their cities, and the land was appalled and all who were in it at the sound of his roaring.
8 Then the nations set against him from provinces on every side; they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.
9With hooks they put him in a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water.
11Its strong stems became rulers ' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.
12But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered. As for its strong stem, fire consumed it.
13 Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.
14 And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots, has consumed its fruit, so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling. This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.
Chapter 20
1In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me. 2And the word of the Lord came to me: 3"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you. 4Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers, 5and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob, making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. 6On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. 7And I said to them, ‘Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’ 8But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
10So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
11I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live.
12Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
13But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.
14But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
15Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands,
16because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
17Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.
18"And I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
19I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules,
20and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’
21But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.
22But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
23Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries,
24because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers ' idols.
25Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life,
26and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord.
27"Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me.
28For when I had brought them into the land that I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings.
29(I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.)
30"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things?
31When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.
33"As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you.
34I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out.
35And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
36As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God.
37I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
38I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
40"For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings.
41As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.
42And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your fathers.
43And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed.
44And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name 's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God."
45And the word of the Lord came to me:
46"Son of man, set your face toward the southland; preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb.
47Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it.
48All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched."
49Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not a maker of parables?’"
Chapter 21
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. 4Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. 5And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.
6"As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes.
7And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’" declares the Lord God.
8And the word of the Lord came to me:
9"Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: "A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished,
10 sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! (Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.)
11So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer.
12Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh.
13For it will not be a testing — what could it do if you despise the rod?" declares the Lord God.
14"As for you, son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, three times, the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them,
15that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; it is taken up for slaughter.
16Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed.
17I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the Lord have spoken."
18The word of the Lord came to me again:
19"As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city.
20Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified.
21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver.
22Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers.
23But to them it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken.
24"Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear — because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.
25And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment,
26thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted.
27A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.
28"And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning —
29while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you — to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.
30Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
31And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy.
32You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I the Lord have spoken."
Chapter 22
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2"And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. 3You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! 4You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. 5Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.
6"Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.
7Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.
8You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths.
9There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst.
10In you men uncover their fathers ' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity.
11One commits abomination with his neighbor 's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father 's daughter.
12In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.
13"Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst.
14Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.
15I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you.
16And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord."
17And the word of the Lord came to me:
18"Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver.
19Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.
21I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.
22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you."
23And the word of the Lord came to me:
24"Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation.
25The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
26Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
28And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken.
29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.
30And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
31Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God."
Chapter 23
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. 3They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled. 4Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5"Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors
6clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.
7She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted.
8She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her.
9Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.
10These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women, when judgment had been executed on her.
11"Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister.
12She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.
13And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way.
14But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,
15wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.
16When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust.
18When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister.
19Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt
20and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses.
21Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts."
22Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:
23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.
24And they shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments.
25And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire.
26They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels.
27Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.
28"For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust,
29and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring
30have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
31You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.
32Thus says the Lord God: "You shall drink your sister 's cup that is deep and large; you shall be laughed at and held in derision, for it contains much;
33you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria;
34 you shall drink it and drain it out, and gnaw its shards, and tear your breasts; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
35Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring."
36The Lord said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations.
37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.
38Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths.
39For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house.
40They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
41You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.
42The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads.
43"Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!’
44For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women!
45But righteous men shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands."
46For thus says the Lord God: "Bring up a vast host against them, and make them an object of terror and a plunder.
47And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses.
48Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done.
49And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord God."
Chapter 24
1In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3And utter a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: "Set on the pot, set it on; pour in water also;
4put in it the pieces of meat, all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with choice bones.
5Take the choicest one of the flock; pile the logs under it; boil it well; seethe also its bones in it.
6"Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.
7For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust.
8To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered.
9Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.
10Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up.
11Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, that its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed.
12She has wearied herself with toil; its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion!
13On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, you shall not be cleansed anymore till I have satisfied my fury upon you.
14I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God."
15The word of the Lord came to me:
16"Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.
17Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men."
18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.
19And the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?"
20Then I said to them, "The word of the Lord came to me:
21‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
22And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another.
24Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’
25"As for you, son of man, surely on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul 's desire, and also their sons and daughters,
26on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news.
27On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord."
Chapter 25
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 6For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel, 7therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
8"Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’
9therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.
10I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations,
11and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
12"Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them,
13therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.
14And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.
15"Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity,
16therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast.
17I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them."
Chapter 26
1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ 3therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. 5She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, 6and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7"For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers.
8He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you.
9He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.
10His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached.
11With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.
12They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters.
13And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.
14I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the Lord; I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
15"Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst?
16Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you.
17And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you, "‘How you have perished, you who were inhabited from the seas, O city renowned, who was mighty on the sea; she and her inhabitants imposed their terror on all her inhabitants!
18Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall, and the coastlands that are on the sea are dismayed at your passing.’
19"For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you,
20then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living.
21I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God."
Chapter 27
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"Now you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre, 3and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord God: "O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
4Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders made perfect your beauty.
5They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6Of oaks of Bashan they made your oars; they made your deck of pines from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory.
7 Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail, serving as your banner; blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was your awning.
8The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you; they were your pilots.
9The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you, caulking your seams; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to barter for your wares.
10"Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor.
11Men of Arvad and Helech were on your walls all around, and men of Gamad were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they made perfect your beauty.
12"Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares.
13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
14From Beth-togarmah they exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.
15The men of Dedan traded with you. Many coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony.
16Syria did business with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and ruby.
17Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm.
18Damascus did business with you for your abundant goods, because of your great wealth of every kind; wine of Helbon and wool of Sahar
19and casks of wine from Uzal they exchanged for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were bartered for your merchandise.
20Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding.
21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they did business with you.
22The traders of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; they exchanged for your wares the best of all kinds of spices and all precious stones and gold.
23Haran, Canneh, Eden, traders of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.
24In your market these traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of blue and embroidered work, and in carpets of colored material, bound with cords and made secure.
25The ships of Tarshish traveled for you with your merchandise. So you were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas.
26"Your rowers have brought you out into the high seas. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.
27Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you, with all your crew that is in your midst, sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall.
28At the sound of the cry of your pilots the countryside shakes,
29and down from their ships come all who handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea stand on the land
30 and shout aloud over you and cry out bitterly. They cast dust on their heads and wallow in ashes;
31they make themselves bald for you and put sackcloth on their waist, and they weep over you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning.
32In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you and lament over you: ‘Who is like Tyre, like one destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33When your wares came from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.
34Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your crew in your midst have sunk with you.
35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you, and the hair of their kings bristles with horror; their faces are convulsed.
36 The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.’"
New International Version
2and say: " ‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay down among them and reared her cubs.
3She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
4The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5" ‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled, her expectation gone, she took another of her cubs and made him a strong lion.
6He prowled among the lions, for he was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
7He broke down their strongholds and devastated their towns. The land and all who were in it were terrified by his roaring.
8Then the nations came against him, those from regions round about. They spread their net for him, and he was trapped in their pit.
9With hooks they pulled him into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.
10" ‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water.
11Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches.
12But it was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them.
13Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land.
2Then the word of the Lord came to me:
3"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.’
4"Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors
5and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, "I am the Lord your God."
6On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
7And I said to them, "Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God."
8" ‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.
9But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites.
10Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
11I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live.
12Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.
13" ‘Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws—by which the person who obeys them will live—and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the wilderness.
14But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
15Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands—
16because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols.
17Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or put an end to them in the wilderness.
18I said to their children in the wilderness, "Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols.
19I am the Lord your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
20Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God."
21" ‘But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws, of which I said, "The person who obeys them will live by them," and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.
22But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
23Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries,
24because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents’ idols.
25So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live;
26I defiled them through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn—that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord.’
27"Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me:
28When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings.
29Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?’ " (It is called Bamah to this day.)
30"Therefore say to the Israelites: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images?
31When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.
32" ‘You say, "We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone." But what you have in mind will never happen.
33As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.
34I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered—with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.
35I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you.
36As I judged your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord.
37I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
38I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39" ‘As for you, people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols.
40For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord, there in the land all the people of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.
41I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be proved holy through you in the sight of the nations.
42Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I had sworn with uplifted hand to give to your ancestors.
43There you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done.
44You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ "
45The word of the Lord came to me:
46"Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest of the southland.
47Say to the southern forest: ‘Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.
48Everyone will see that I the Lord have kindled it; it will not be quenched.’ "
Chapter 21
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel 3and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’
6"Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.
7And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord."
11" ‘The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer.
12Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast.
14"So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword for slaughter— a sword for great slaughter, closing in on them from every side.
15So that hearts may melt with fear and the fallen be many, I have stationed the sword for slaughter at all their gates. Look! It is forged to strike like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter.
16Slash to the right, you sword, then to the left, wherever your blade is turned.
17I too will strike my hands together, and my wrath will subside. I the Lord have spoken."
18The word of the Lord came to me:
19"Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city.
20Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.
21For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.
22Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works.
23It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.
25" ‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax,
26this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.
27A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.’
29Despite false visions concerning you and lying divinations about you, it will be laid on the necks of the wicked who are to be slain, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax.
30" ‘Let the sword return to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your ancestry, I will judge you.
31I will pour out my wrath on you and breathe out my fiery anger against you; I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, men skilled in destruction.
32You will be fuel for the fire, your blood will be shed in your land, you will be remembered no more; for I the Lord have spoken.’ "
Chapter 22
1The word of the Lord came to me:
2"Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices
3and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols,
4you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries.
5Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.
6" ‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.
7In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the foreigner and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
8You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.
9In you are slanderers who are bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts.
10In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean.
11In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.
12In you are people who accept bribes to shed blood; you take interest and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord.
13" ‘I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst.
14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.
15I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness.
16When you have been defiled in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.’ "
17Then the word of the Lord came to me:
18"Son of man, the people of Israel have become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver.
19Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem.
20As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.
21I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her.
22As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath on you.’ "
23Again the word of the Lord came to me:
24"Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’
25There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.
26Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.
28Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken.
29The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice.
30"I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.
31So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord."
Chapter 23
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. 3They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed. 4The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
5"Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—warriors
6clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen.
7She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.
8She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.
9"Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.
10They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her.
11"Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.
12She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.
13I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.
14"But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeans portrayed in red,
15with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.
16As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.
18When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.
19Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt.
20There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.
21So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.
22"Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side—
23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.
24They will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment, and they will punish you according to their standards.
25I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters, and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire.
26They will also strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry.
27So I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.
28"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to deliver you into the hands of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.
29They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you stark naked, and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your lewdness and promiscuity
30have brought this on you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
31You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup into your hand.
32"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup large and deep; it will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much.
33You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of ruin and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.
36The Lord said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices,
37for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them.
38They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths.
39On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.
40"They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup and put on your jewelry.
41You sat on an elegant couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and olive oil that belonged to me.
42"The noise of a carefree crowd was around her; drunkards were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets on the wrists of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads.
43Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is.’
44And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah.
45But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood, because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.
46"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder.
47The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.
48"So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you.
49You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord."
Chapter 24
1In the ninth year, in the tenth month on the tenth day, the word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, record this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
3Tell this rebellious people a parable and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: " ‘Put on the cooking pot; put it on and pour water into it.
4Put into it the pieces of meat, all the choice pieces—the leg and the shoulder. Fill it with the best of these bones;
5take the pick of the flock. Pile wood beneath it for the bones; bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.
6" ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: " ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now encrusted, whose deposit will not go away! Take the meat out piece by piece in whatever order it comes.
7" ‘For the blood she shed is in her midst: She poured it on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground, where the dust would cover it.
8To stir up wrath and take revenge I put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.
9" ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: " ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed! I, too, will pile the wood high.
10So heap on the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred.
11Then set the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows, so that its impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away.
12It has frustrated all efforts; its heavy deposit has not been removed, not even by fire.
15The word of the Lord came to me:
16"Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears.
17Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners."
20So I said to them, "The word of the Lord came to me:
21Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.
22And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.
23You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves.
24Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’
25"And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart’s desire, and their sons and daughters as well—
26on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news.
27At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord."
Chapter 25
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said "Aha!" over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, 4therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 6For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, 7therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the Lord.’ "
8"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, "Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,"
9therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns—Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon and Kiriathaim—the glory of that land.
10I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations;
11and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’ "
12"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so,
13therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword.
14I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’ "
15"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah,
16therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will wipe out the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast.
17I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I take vengeance on them.’ "
Chapter 26
1In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2"Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ 3therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. 4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. 5Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, 6and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army.
8He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.
9He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.
10His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through.
11The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.
12They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.
13I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more.
14I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.
15"This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you?
16Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.
17Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you: " ‘How you are destroyed, city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there.
18Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.’
19"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you,
20then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living.
21I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord."
3Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: " ‘You say, Tyre, "I am perfect in beauty."
4Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection.
5They made all your timbers of juniper from Senir ; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of cypress wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, adorned with ivory.
7Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail and served as your banner; your awnings were of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.
8Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; your skilled men, Tyre, were aboard as your sailors.
9Veteran craftsmen of Byblos were on board as shipwrights to caulk your seams. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to trade for your wares.
10" ‘Men of Persia, Lydia and Put served as soldiers in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, bringing you splendor.
11Men of Arvad and Helek guarded your walls on every side; men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they brought your beauty to perfection.
18" ‘Damascus did business with you because of your many products and great wealth of goods. They offered wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar
19and casks of wine from Izal in exchange for your wares: wrought iron, cassia and calamus.
23" ‘Harran, Kanneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Ashur and Kilmad traded with you.
24In your marketplace they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multicolored rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.
25" ‘The ships of Tarshish serve as carriers for your wares. You are filled with heavy cargo as you sail the sea.
26Your oarsmen take you out to the high seas. But the east wind will break you to pieces far out at sea.
27Your wealth, merchandise and wares, your mariners, sailors and shipwrights, your merchants and all your soldiers, and everyone else on board will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck.
28The shorelands will quake when your sailors cry out.
29All who handle the oars will abandon their ships; the mariners and all the sailors will stand on the shore.
30They will raise their voice and cry bitterly over you; they will sprinkle dust on their heads and roll in ashes.
31They will shave their heads because of you and will put on sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and with bitter mourning.
32As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament concerning you: "Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?"
33When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth.
34Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you.
35All who live in the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder with horror and their faces are distorted with fear.
36The merchants among the nations scoff at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’ "
New King James Version
2and say: ‘What is your mother? A lioness: She lay down among the lions; Among the young lions she nourished her cubs.
3She brought up one of her cubs, And he became a young lion; He learned to catch prey, And he devoured men.
4The nations also heard of him; He was trapped in their pit, And they brought him with chains to the land of Egypt.
5‘When she saw that she waited, that her hope was lost, She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
6 He roved among the lions, And became a young lion; He learned to catch prey; He devoured men.
7He knew their desolate places, And laid waste their cities; The land with its fullness was desolated By the noise of his roaring.
8 Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side, And spread their net over him; He was trapped in their pit.
9 They put him in a cage with chains, And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in nets, That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10‘Your mother was like a vine in your bloodline, Planted by the waters, Fruitful and full of branches Because of many waters.
11She had strong branches for scepters of rulers. She towered in stature above the thick branches, And was seen in her height amid the dense foliage.
12But she was plucked up in fury, She was cast down to the ground, And the east wind dried her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered; The fire consumed them.
13And now she is planted in the wilderness, In a dry and thirsty land.
Chapter 20
1It came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me. 2Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will not be inquired of by you.” ’ 4Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then make known to them the abominations of their fathers.
5“Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day when I chose Israel and raised My hand in an oath to the descendants of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised My hand in an oath to them, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God.’
6On that day I raised My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands.
7Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, throw away the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’
8But they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, ‘I will pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.’
9But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
10“Therefore I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
11And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’
12Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.
14But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out.
15So I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands,
16because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
17Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.
18“But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
19I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them;
20hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’
21“Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness.
22Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out.
23Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries,
24because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.
25“Therefore I also gave them up to statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they could not live;
26and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the Lord.” ’
27“Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “In this too your fathers have blasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me.
28When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings.
29Then I said to them, ‘What is this high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.” ’
30Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your fathers, and committing harlotry according to their abominations?
31For when you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will not be inquired of by you.
32What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’
33“ As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you.
34I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.
35And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face.
36Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord God.
37“I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
38I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
39“As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God: “Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols.
40For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things.
41I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles.
42Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers.
43And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed.
44Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.’ ”
45Furthermore the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
46“Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the South,
47and say to the forest of the South, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree and every dry tree in you; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be scorched by it.
48All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ’ ”
Chapter 21
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you. 4Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north, 5that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return anymore.” ’ 6Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. 7And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”
9“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say: ‘A sword, a sword is sharpened And also polished!
10Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning! Should we then make mirth? It despises the scepter of My son, As it does all wood.
11And He has given it to be polished, That it may be handled; This sword is sharpened, and it is polished To be given into the hand of the slayer.’
12“Cry and wail, son of man; For it will be against My people, Against all the princes of Israel. Terrors including the sword will be against My people; Therefore strike your thigh.
14“You therefore, son of man, prophesy, And strike your hands together. The third time let the sword do double damage. It is the sword that slays, The sword that slays the great men, That enters their private chambers.
15I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, That the heart may melt and many may stumble. Ah! It is made bright; It is grasped for slaughter:
16“Swords at the ready! Thrust right! Set your blade! Thrust left— Wherever your edge is ordered!
17“I also will beat My fists together, And I will cause My fury to rest; I, the Lord, have spoken.”
18The word of the Lord came to me again, saying:
19“And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city.
20Appoint a road for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem.
21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver.
22In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to lift the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall.
23And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.
26thus says the Lord God: “Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing shall remain the same. Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
27Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer, Until He comes whose right it is, And I will give it to Him.” ’
28“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, Polished for slaughter, For consuming, for flashing—
29While they see false visions for you, While they divine a lie to you, To bring you on the necks of the wicked, the slain Whose day has come, Whose iniquity shall end.
30‘Return it to its sheath. I will judge you In the place where you were created, In the land of your nativity.
31I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow against you with the fire of My wrath, And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to destroy.
32You shall be fuel for the fire; Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall not be remembered, For I the Lord have spoken.’ ”
Chapter 22
1Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! 3Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself. 4You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries. 5Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.
6“Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.
7In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.
9In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.
10In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.
11One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter.
12In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.
13“Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.
14Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it.
15I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.
16You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
17The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
18“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.
19Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.
21Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.
22As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My fury on you.’ ”
23And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
24“Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’
25The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
26Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
28Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken.
29The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger.
30So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
31Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.
2“Son of man, there were two women, The daughters of one mother.
3 They committed harlotry in Egypt, They committed harlotry in their youth; Their breasts were there embraced, Their virgin bosom was there pressed.
4Their names: Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; They were Mine, And they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah.
5“Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; And she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians,
6 Who were clothed in purple, Captains and rulers, All of them desirable young men, Horsemen riding on horses.
7Thus she committed her harlotry with them, All of them choice men of Assyria; And with all for whom she lusted, With all their idols, she defiled herself.
8She has never given up her harlotry brought from Egypt, For in her youth they had lain with her, Pressed her virgin bosom, And poured out their immorality upon her.
9“Therefore I have delivered her Into the hand of her lovers, Into the hand of the Assyrians, For whom she lusted.
10They uncovered her nakedness, Took away her sons and daughters, And slew her with the sword; She became a byword among women, For they had executed judgment on her.
12“She lusted for the neighboring Assyrians, Captains and rulers, Clothed most gorgeously, Horsemen riding on horses, All of them desirable young men.
13Then I saw that she was defiled; Both took the same way.
14But she increased her harlotry; She looked at men portrayed on the wall, Images of Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,
15Girded with belts around their waists, Flowing turbans on their heads, All of them looking like captains, In the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, The land of their nativity.
16 As soon as her eyes saw them, She lusted for them And sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17“Then the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, And they defiled her with their immorality; So she was defiled by them, and alienated herself from them.
18She revealed her harlotry and uncovered her nakedness. Then I alienated Myself from her, As I had alienated Myself from her sister.
19“Yet she multiplied her harlotry In calling to remembrance the days of her youth, When she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20For she lusted for her paramours, Whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, And whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21Thus you called to remembrance the lewdness of your youth, When the Egyptians pressed your bosom Because of your youthful breasts.
22“Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will stir up your lovers against you, From whom you have alienated yourself, And I will bring them against you from every side:
23The Babylonians, All the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, All the Assyrians with them, All of them desirable young men, Governors and rulers, Captains and men of renown, All of them riding on horses.
24And they shall come against you With chariots, wagons, and war-horses, With a horde of people. They shall array against you Buckler, shield, and helmet all around. ‘I will delegate judgment to them, And they shall judge you according to their judgments.
25I will set My jealousy against you, And they shall deal furiously with you; They shall remove your nose and your ears, And your remnant shall fall by the sword; They shall take your sons and your daughters, And your remnant shall be devoured by fire.
26 They shall also strip you of your clothes And take away your beautiful jewelry.
27‘Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and your harlotry Brought from the land of Egypt, So that you will not lift your eyes to them, Nor remember Egypt anymore.’
28“For thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hand of those you hate, into the hand of those from whom you alienated yourself.
29They will deal hatefully with you, take away all you have worked for, and leave you naked and bare. The nakedness of your harlotry shall be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotry.
30I will do these things to you because you have gone as a harlot after the Gentiles, because you have become defiled by their idols.
31You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.’
32“Thus says the Lord God: ‘You shall drink of your sister’s cup, The deep and wide one; You shall be laughed to scorn And held in derision; It contains much.
33You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.
34You shall drink and drain it, You shall break its shards, And tear at your own breasts; For I have spoken,’ Says the Lord God.
36The Lord also said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.
37For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them.
38Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths.
39For after they had slain their children for their idols, on the same day they came into My sanctuary to profane it; and indeed thus they have done in the midst of My house.
40“Furthermore you sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and there they came. And you washed yourself for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
41You sat on a stately couch, with a table prepared before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil.
42The sound of a carefree multitude was with her, and Sabeans were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort, who put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.
43Then I said concerning her who had grown old in adulteries, ‘Will they commit harlotry with her now, and she with them?’
44Yet they went in to her, as men go in to a woman who plays the harlot; thus they went in to Oholah and Oholibah, the lewd women.
45But righteous men will judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.
46“For thus says the Lord God: ‘Bring up an assembly against them, give them up to trouble and plunder.
47The assembly shall stone them with stones and execute them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire.
48Thus I will cause lewdness to cease from the land, that all women may be taught not to practice your lewdness.
49They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall pay for your idolatrous sins. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”
Chapter 24
1Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day.
3And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Put on a pot, set it on, And also pour water into it.
4Gather pieces of meat in it, Every good piece, The thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with choice cuts;
5Take the choice of the flock. Also pile fuel bones under it, Make it boil well, And let the cuts simmer in it.”
6‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the bloody city, To the pot whose scum is in it, And whose scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, On which no lot has fallen.
7For her blood is in her midst; She set it on top of a rock; She did not pour it on the ground, To cover it with dust.
8That it may raise up fury and take vengeance, I have set her blood on top of a rock, That it may not be covered.”
9‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the bloody city! I too will make the pyre great.
10Heap on the wood, Kindle the fire; Cook the meat well, Mix in the spices, And let the cuts be burned up.
11“Then set the pot empty on the coals, That it may become hot and its bronze may burn, That its filthiness may be melted in it, That its scum may be consumed.
12She has grown weary with lies, And her great scum has not gone from her. Let her scum be in the fire!
13In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed, You will not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore, Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.
14 I, the Lord, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you,” Says the Lord God.’ ”
15Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
16“Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.
17Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”
20Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
21‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
22And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow.
23Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.
24Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”
25‘And you, son of man— will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters:
26that on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears?
27On that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”
Chapter 25
1The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them. 3Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God: “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, 4indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels and Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”
6‘For thus says the Lord God: “Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel,
7indeed, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
8‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations,’
9therefore, behold, I will clear the territory of Moab of cities, of the cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kirjathaim.
10To the men of the East I will give it as a possession, together with the Ammonites, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations.
11And I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”
12‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them,”
13therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; Dedan shall fall by the sword.
14I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance,” says the Lord God.
15‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred,”
16therefore thus says the Lord God: “I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.
17I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”
Chapter 26
1And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’
3“Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up.
4And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
5It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations.
6Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’
7“For thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, and with horsemen, and an army with many people.
8He will slay with the sword your daughter villages in the fields; he will heap up a siege mound against you, build a wall against you, and raise a defense against you.
9He will direct his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.
10Because of the abundance of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and the chariots, when he enters your gates, as men enter a city that has been breached.
11With the hooves of his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people by the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.
12They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water.
13I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more.
14I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,’ says the Lord God.
15“Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you?
16Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment, and be astonished at you.
17And they will take up a lamentation for you, and say to you: “How you have perished, O one inhabited by seafaring men, O renowned city, Who was strong at sea, She and her inhabitants, Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants!
18Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at your departure.” ’
19“For thus says the Lord God: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you,
20then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living.
21I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God.”
Chapter 27
1The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2“Now, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre,
3and say to Tyre, ‘You who are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord God: “O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
4Your borders are in the midst of the seas. Your builders have perfected your beauty.
5They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast.
6 Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks With ivory from the coasts of Cyprus.
7Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail; Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you.
8“Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you; They became your pilots.
9Elders of Gebal and its wise men Were in you to caulk your seams; All the ships of the sea And their oarsmen were in you To market your merchandise.
10“Those from Persia, Lydia, and Libya Were in your army as men of war; They hung shield and helmet in you; They gave splendor to you.
11Men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around, And the men of Gammad were in your towers; They hung their shields on your walls all around; They made your beauty perfect.
12“Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods.
13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
14Those from the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules.
15The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment.
16Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies.
17Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm.
18Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool.
19Dan and Javan paid for your wares, traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise.
20Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.
21Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats.
22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold.
23Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants.
24These were your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace.
25“The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise. You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas.
26Your oarsmen brought you into many waters, But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.
27“Your riches, wares, and merchandise, Your mariners and pilots, Your caulkers and merchandisers, All your men of war who are in you, And the entire company which is in your midst, Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.
28The common-land will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots.
29“All who handle the oar, The mariners, All the pilots of the sea Will come down from their ships and stand on the shore.
30They will make their voice heard because of you; They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads; They will roll about in ashes;
31They will shave themselves completely bald because of you, Gird themselves with sackcloth, And weep for you With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
32In their wailing for you They will take up a lamentation, And lament for you: ‘What city is like Tyre, Destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33‘When your wares went out by sea, You satisfied many people; You enriched the kings of the earth With your many luxury goods and your merchandise.
34But you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters; Your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst.
35 All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you; Their kings will be greatly afraid, And their countenance will be troubled.
36The merchants among the peoples will hiss at you; You will become a horror, and be no more forever.’ ” ’ ”
