God’s Razor of Judgment

“Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor(A) to shave(B) your head and your beard.(C) Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. When the days of your siege come to an end, burn(D) a third(E) of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind.(F) For I will pursue them with drawn sword.(G) But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.(H) Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire(I) and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.(J) Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.(K)

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even[a] conformed to the standards of the nations around you.(L)

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.(M) Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.(N) 10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents.(O) I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.(P) 11 Therefore as surely as I live,(Q) declares the Sovereign(R) Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary(S) with all your vile images(T) and detestable practices,(U) I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.(V) 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds(W) and pursue with drawn sword.(X)

13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath(Y) against them will subside, and I will be avenged.(Z) And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.(AA)

14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.(AB) 15 You will be a reproach(AC) and a taunt, a warning(AD) and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke.(AE) I the Lord have spoken.(AF) 16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.(AG) 17 I will send famine and wild beasts(AH) against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed(AI) will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.(AJ)

Doom for the Mountains of Israel

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face(AK) against the mountains(AL) of Israel; prophesy against them(AM) and say: ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys:(AN) I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.(AO) Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars(AP) will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.(AQ) I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones(AR) around your altars.(AS) Wherever you live,(AT) the towns will be laid waste and the high places(AU) demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols(AV) smashed and ruined, your incense altars(AW) broken down, and what you have made wiped out.(AX) Your people will fall slain(AY) among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(AZ)

“‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape(BA) the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.(BB) Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember(BC) me—how I have been grieved(BD) by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols.(BE) They will loathe themselves for the evil(BF) they have done and for all their detestable practices.(BG) 10 And they will know that I am the Lord;(BH) I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.(BI)

11 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.(BJ) 12 One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath(BK) on them.(BL) 13 And they will know that I am the Lord, when their people lie slain among their idols(BM) around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak(BN)—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.(BO) 14 And I will stretch out my hand(BP) against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah[b]—wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(BQ)’”

The End Has Come

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:

“‘The end!(BR) The end has come
    upon the four corners(BS) of the land!
The end is now upon you,
    and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct(BT)
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.(BU)
I will not look on you with pity;(BV)
    I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.

“‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’(BW)

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Disaster!(BX) Unheard-of[c] disaster!
    See, it comes!
The end(BY) has come!
    The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
    See, it comes!
Doom has come upon you,
    upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day(BZ) is near!(CA)
    There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
I am about to pour out my wrath(CB) on you
    and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.(CC)
I will not look on you with pity;
    I will not spare you.(CD)
I will repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.(CE)

“‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.(CF)

10 “‘See, the day!
    See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
    the rod(CG) has budded,
    arrogance has blossomed!
11 Violence(CH) has arisen,[d]
    a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
    none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
    nothing of value.(CI)
12 The time has come!
    The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer(CJ) rejoice
    nor the seller grieve,
    for my wrath is on the whole crowd.(CK)
13 The seller will not recover
    the property that was sold—
    as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
    will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
    will preserve their life.(CL)

14 “‘They have blown the trumpet,(CM)
    they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
    for my wrath(CN) is on the whole crowd.
15 Outside is the sword;
    inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
    will die by the sword;
those in the city
    will be devoured by famine and plague.(CO)
16 The fugitives(CP) who escape
    will flee to the mountains.
Like doves(CQ) of the valleys,
    they will all moan,
    each for their own sins.(CR)
17 Every hand will go limp;(CS)
    every leg will be wet with urine.(CT)
18 They will put on sackcloth(CU)
    and be clothed with terror.(CV)
Every face will be covered with shame,
    and every head will be shaved.(CW)

19 “‘They will throw their silver into the streets,(CX)
    and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
    will not be able to deliver them
    in the day of the Lord’s wrath.(CY)
It will not satisfy(CZ) their hunger
    or fill their stomachs,
    for it has caused them to stumble(DA) into sin.(DB)
20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
    and used it to make(DC) their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;(DD)
    therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.(DE)
21 I will give their wealth as plunder(DF) to foreigners
    and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
    who will defile it.(DG)
22 I will turn my face(DH) away from the people,
    and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
    and will defile it.(DI)

23 “‘Prepare chains!
    For the land is full of bloodshed,(DJ)
    and the city is full of violence.(DK)
24 I will bring the most wicked of nations
    to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
    and their sanctuaries(DL) will be desecrated.(DM)
25 When terror comes,
    they will seek peace in vain.(DN)
26 Calamity upon calamity(DO) will come,
    and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,(DP)
    priestly instruction in the law will cease,
    the counsel of the elders will come to an end.(DQ)
27 The king will mourn,
    the prince will be clothed with despair,(DR)
    and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,(DS)
    and by their own standards I will judge them.

“‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.(DT)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 5:7 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac You have
  2. Ezekiel 6:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts Riblah
  3. Ezekiel 7:5 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Disaster after
  4. Ezekiel 7:11 Or The violent one has become

And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.

Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.

Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.

And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

10 Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.

11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

12 A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

14 Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.

15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it.

16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee: and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it.

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,

And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.

And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.

And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.

In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.

And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

10 And they shall know that I am the Lord, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.

11 Thus saith the Lord God; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.

12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.

13 Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.

14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.

Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.

And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord God; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.

An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.

The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.

Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.

And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the Lord that smiteth.

10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.

11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of their's: neither shall there be wailing for them.

12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.

14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

16 But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.

17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.

18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.

19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.

21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.

22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.

23 Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.

25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.

26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.

27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,”(A) they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”(B)

25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

27 He answered, “I have told you already(C) and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!(D) 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”(E)

30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.(F) 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God,(G) he could do nothing.”

34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth;(H) how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.(I)

Spiritual Blindness

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe(J) in the Son of Man?”(K)

36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”(L)

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”(M)

38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.(N)

39 Jesus said,[a] “For judgment(O) I have come into this world,(P) so that the blind will see(Q) and those who see will become blind.”(R)

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”(S)

41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.(T)

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Footnotes

  1. John 9:39 Some early manuscripts do not have Then the man said … 39 Jesus said.

24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.

25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?

27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?

28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.

29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.

30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.

31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.

33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.

34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

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