Ezekiel 19-24 (New American Standard Bible)

Ezekiel 19

Lament for the Princes of Israel

 ¹"As for you, take up a ^(A)lamentation for the ^(B)princes of Israel

 ²and say,
         'What was your mother?
         A lioness among lions!
         She lay down among young lions,
         She reared her cubs.
    ³'When she brought up one of her cubs,
         He became a lion,
         And he learned to tear his prey;
         He devoured men.
    ⁴'Then nations heard about him;
         He was captured in their pit,
         And they ^(C)brought him with hooks
         To the land of Egypt.
    ⁵'When she saw, as she waited,
         That her hope was lost,
         She took another of her cubs
         And made him a young lion.
    ⁶'And he ^(D)walked about among the lions;
         He became a young lion,
         He learned to tear his prey;
         He devoured men.
    ⁷'He destroyed their fortified towers
         And laid waste their cities;
         And the land and its fullness were appalled
         Because of the sound of his roaring.
    ⁸'Then ^(E)nations set against him
         On every side from their provinces,
         And they spread their net over him;
         He was captured in their pit.
    ⁹'^(F)They put him in a cage with hooks
         And ^(G)brought him to the king of Babylon;
         They brought him in hunting nets
         So that his voice would be heard no more
         On the mountains of Israel.
    ¹⁰'Your mother was ^(H)like a vine in your vineyard,
         Planted by the waters;
         It was fruitful and full of branches
         Because of abundant waters.
    ¹¹'And it had ^(I)strong branches fit for scepters of rulers,
         And its ^(J)height was raised above the clouds
         So that it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.
    ¹²'But it was ^(K)plucked up in fury;
         It was ^(L)cast down to the ground;
         And the ^(M)east wind dried up its fruit
         Its ^(N)strong branch was torn off
         So that it withered;
         The fire consumed it.
    ¹³'And now it is planted in the ^(O)wilderness,
         In a dry and thirsty land.
    ¹⁴'And ^(P)fire has gone out from its branch;
         It has consumed its shoots and fruit,
         So that there is not in it a strong branch,
         A scepter to rule.'"
         This is a lamentation, and has become a lamentation.

Ezekiel 20

God's Dealings with Israel Rehearsed

 ¹Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, certain of the ^(Q)elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

 ²And 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, "Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "^(R)I will not be inquired of by you."'

 ⁴"Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? ^(S)Make them know the abominations of their fathers;

 ⁵and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "On the day when I ^(T)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, ^(U)I am the LORD your God,

 ⁶on that day I swore to them, ^(V)to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, ^(W)flowing with milk and honey, which is ^(X)the glory of all lands.

 ⁷"I said to them, '^(Y)Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and ^(Z)do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; ^(AA)I am the LORD your God.'

 ⁸"But they ^(AB)rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the ^(AC)idols of Egypt Then I resolved to ^(AD)pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

 ⁹"But I acted ^(AE)for the sake of My name, that it should ^(AF)not be profaned 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.

 ¹⁰"So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the ^(AG)wilderness.

 ¹¹"I gave them My ^(AH)statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by ^(AI)which, if a man observes them, he will live.

 ¹²"Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a ^(AJ)sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

 ¹³"But the house of Israel ^(AK)rebelled against Me in the wilderness They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, ^(AL)by which, if a man observes them, he will live; and My ^(AM)sabbaths they greatly profaned Then I resolved to ^(AN)pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.

 ¹⁴"But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out.

 ¹⁵"Also ^(AO)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 lands,

 ¹⁶because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their ^(AP)heart continually went after their idols.

 ¹⁷"Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their ^(AQ)annihilation in the wilderness.

 ¹⁸"I said to their ^(AR)children in the wilderness, '^(AS)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.

 ¹⁹'^(AT)I am the LORD your God; ^(AU)walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them.

 ²⁰'^(AV)Sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.'

 ²¹"But the ^(AW)children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness.

 ²²"But I ^(AX)withdrew My hand and acted ^(AY)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.

 ²³"Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would ^(AZ)scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands,

 ²⁴because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and ^(BA)their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.

 ²⁵"I also gave them statutes that were ^(BB)not good and ordinances by which they could not live;

 ²⁶and I pronounced them ^(BC)unclean because of their gifts, in that they ^(BD)caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might ^(BE)know that I am the LORD."'

 ²⁷"Therefore, son of man, ^(BF)speak to the house of Israel and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Yet in this your fathers have ^(BG)blasphemed Me by ^(BH)acting treacherously against Me.

 ²⁸"When I had ^(BI)brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every ^(BJ)high hill and every leafy tree, and they offered there 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.

 ²⁹"Then I said to them, 'What is the high place to which you go?' So its name is called ^[a]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 ^(BK)fathers and play the harlot after their detestable things?

 ³¹"When you offer your gifts, when you ^(BL)cause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling 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.

 ³²"What ^(BM)comes into your mind will not come about, when you say: 'We will be like the nations, like the tribes of the lands, ^(BN)serving wood and stone.'

God Will Restore Israel to Her Land

 ³³"As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely with a mighty hand and with an ^(BO)outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be ^(BP)king over you.

 ³⁴"I will ^(BQ)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 ^(BR)wrath poured out;

 ³⁵and I will bring you into the ^(BS)wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.

 ³⁶"As I ^(BT)entered into judgment with your fathers in the ^(BU)wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you," declares the Lord GOD.

 ³⁷"I will make you ^(BV)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;

 ³⁸and I will ^(BW)purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will ^(BX)not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the LORD.

 ³⁹"As for you, O house of Israel," thus says the Lord GOD, "^(BY)Go, serve everyone his idols; but later you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will ^(BZ)profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols.

 ⁴⁰"For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel," declares the Lord GOD, "there the whole house of Israel, ^(CA)all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will ^(CB)accept them and there I will seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things.

 ⁴¹"As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I ^(CC)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself ^(CD)holy among you in the sight of the nations.

 ⁴²"And ^(CE)you will know that I am the LORD, ^(CF)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the ^(CG)land which I swore to give to your forefathers.

 ⁴³"There you will ^(CH)remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will ^(CI)loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.

 ⁴⁴"Then ^(CJ)you will know that I am the LORD when I have dealt with you ^(CK)for My name's sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD.'"

 ⁴⁵Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

 ⁴⁶"Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and speak out against the ^(CL)south and ^(CM)prophesy against the ^(CN)forest land of the Negev,

 ⁴⁷and say to the forest of the Negev, 'Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am about to ^(CO)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 be quenched and ^(CP)the whole surface from south to north will be burned by it.

 ⁴⁸"All flesh will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it shall ^(CQ)not be quenched."'"

 ⁴⁹Then I said, "Ah Lord GOD! They are saying of me, 'Is he not just speaking ^(CR)parables?'"

Ezekiel 21

Parable of the Sword of the LORD

 ¹And the word of the LORD came to me saying,

 ²"Son of man, ^(CS)set your face toward Jerusalem, and ^(CT)speak against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel;

 ³and say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, ^(CU)I am against you; and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the ^(CV)righteous and the wicked.

 ⁴"Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go forth from its sheath against ^(CW)all flesh from south to north.

 ⁵"Thus all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath. It will ^(CX)not return to its sheath again."'

 ⁶"As for you, son of man, groan with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight.

 ⁷"And when they say to you, 'Why do you groan?' you shall say, 'Because of the ^(CY)news that is coming; and ^(CZ)every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will happen,' declares the Lord GOD."

 ⁸Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

 ⁹"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD.' Say,
         '^(DA)A sword, a sword sharpened
         And also polished!
    ¹⁰'Sharpened to make a ^(DB)slaughter,
         Polished to flash like lightning!'
         Or shall we rejoice, the rod of My son ^(DC)despising every tree?

 ¹¹"It is given to be polished, that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

 ¹²"^(DD)Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the ^(DE)officials of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people, therefore strike your thigh.

 ¹³"For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will be no more?" declares the Lord GOD.

 ¹⁴"You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together; and let the sword be ^(DF)doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them,

 ¹⁵that their ^(DG)hearts may melt, and many ^(DH)fall at all their ^(DI)gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter.

 ¹⁶"Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is appointed.

 ¹⁷"I will also clap My hands together, and I will ^(DJ)appease My wrath; I, the LORD, have spoken."

The Instrument of God's Judgment

 ¹⁸The word of the LORD came to me saying,

 ¹⁹"As for you, son of man, ^(DK)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.

 ²⁰"You shall mark a way for the sword to come to ^(DL)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into ^(DM)fortified Jerusalem.

 ²¹"For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use ^(DN)divination; he ^(DO)shakes the arrows, he consults the ^(DP)household idols, he looks at the liver.

 ²²"Into his right hand came the divination, 'Jerusalem,' to ^(DQ)set battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall.

 ²³"And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; ^(DR)they have sworn solemn oaths But he ^(DS)brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized.

 ²⁴"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have made your iniquity 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 will be seized with the hand.

 ²⁵'And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose ^(DT)day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end,'

 ²⁶thus says the Lord GOD, 'Remove the turban and take off the ^(DU)crown; this will no longer be the same ^(DV)Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high.

 ²⁷'^(DW)A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it This also will be no more until ^(DX)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 sons of Ammon and concerning their ^(DY)reproach,' and say: 'A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it to ^(DZ)consume, that it may be like lightning--

 ²⁹while they see for you ^(EA)false visions, while they divine lies for you--to place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the ^(EB)time of the punishment of the end.

 ³⁰'^(EC)Return it to its sheath In the ^(ED)place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.

 ³¹'I will ^(EE)pour out My indignation on you; I will ^(EF)blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, ^(EG)skilled in destruction.

 ³²'You will be ^(EH)fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land You will ^(EI)not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.'"

Ezekiel 22

The Sins of Israel

 ¹Then 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 cause her to know all her abominations.

 ³"You shall say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "A city ^(EJ)shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement!

 ⁴"You have become ^(EK)guilty by the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made Thus you have brought your day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a ^(EL)reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands.

 ⁵"Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute, full of ^(EM)turmoil.

 ⁶"Behold, the ^(EN)rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood.

 ⁷"They have ^(EO)treated father and mother lightly within you The ^(EP)alien they have oppressed in your midst; the ^(EQ)fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you.

 ⁸"You have ^(ER)despised My holy things and ^(ES)profaned My sabbaths.

 ⁹"Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have ^(ET)committed acts of lewdness.

 ¹⁰"In you they have ^(EU)uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was ^(EV)unclean in her menstrual impurity.

 ¹¹"One has committed abomination with his ^(EW)neighbor's wife and another has lewdly defiled his ^(EX)daughter-in-law And another in you has ^(EY)humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

 ¹²"In you they have ^(EZ)taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken ^(FA)interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by ^(FB)oppression, and you have ^(FC)forgotten Me," declares the Lord GOD.

 ¹³"Behold, then, I smite My hand at your ^(FD)dishonest gain which you have acquired and at the bloodshed which is among you.

 ¹⁴"Can ^(FE)your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? ^(FF)I, the LORD, have spoken and will act.

 ¹⁵"I will ^(FG)scatter you among the nations and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will ^(FH)consume your uncleanness from you.

 ¹⁶"You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^(FI)know that I am the LORD."'"

 ¹⁷And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

 ¹⁸"Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^(FJ)dross to Me; all of them are ^(FK)bronze and tin and iron and lead in the ^(FL)furnace; they are the dross of silver.

 ¹⁹"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

 ²⁰'As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the ^(FM)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 lay you there and melt you.

 ²¹'I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.

 ²²'As 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 ^(FN)poured out My wrath 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 ^(FO)not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.'

 ²⁵"There is a ^(FP)conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey They have ^(FQ)devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ^(FR)widows in the midst of her.

 ²⁶"Her ^(FS)priests have done violence to My law and have ^(FT)profaned My holy things; they have made no ^(FU)distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the ^(FV)unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

 ²⁷"Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and ^(FW)destroying lives in order to get ^(FX)dishonest gain.

 ²⁸"Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing ^(FY)false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.

 ²⁹"The people of the land have practiced ^(FZ)oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have ^(GA)oppressed the sojourner without justice.

 ³⁰"I ^(GB)searched for a man among them who would ^(GC)build up the wall and ^(GD)stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.

 ³¹"Thus I have poured out My ^(GE)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; ^(GF)their way I have brought upon their heads," declares the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 23

Oholah and Oholibah's Sin and Its Consequences

 ¹The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,

 ²"Son of man, there were ^(GG)two women, the daughters of one mother;

 ³and they played the harlot in Egypt. They ^(GH)played the harlot in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and there their virgin bosom was handled.

 ⁴"Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

 ⁵"Oholah played the harlot while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the ^(GI)Assyrians, her neighbors,

 ⁶who were clothed in purple, ^(GJ)governors and officials, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.

 ⁷"She bestowed her harlotries on them, all of whom were the choicest men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she ^(GK)defiled herself.

 ⁸"She did not forsake her harlotries ^(GL)from the time in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her, and they handled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.

 ⁹"Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her ^(GM)lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.

 ¹⁰"They ^(GN)uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they slew her with the sword. Thus she became a byword among women, and they executed judgments on her.

 ¹¹"Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was ^(GO)more corrupt in her lust than she, and her harlotries were more than the harlotries of her sister.

 ¹²"She lusted after the ^(GP)Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, magnificently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.

 ¹³"I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took the same way.

 ¹⁴"So she increased her harlotries. And she saw men ^(GQ)portrayed on the wall, images of the ^(GR)Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion,

 ¹⁵girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth.

 ¹⁶"When she saw them she ^(GS)lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

 ¹⁷"The ^(GT)Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their harlotry. And when she had been defiled by them, she became disgusted with them.

 ¹⁸"She ^(GU)uncovered her harlotries and uncovered her nakedness; then I became ^(GV)disgusted with her, as I had become disgusted with her ^(GW)sister.

 ¹⁹"Yet she multiplied her harlotries, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt.

 ²⁰"She ^(GX)lusted after their paramours, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

 ²¹"Thus you longed for the ^(GY)lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom because of the breasts of your youth.

 ²²"Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold I will arouse your lovers against you, from whom you were alienated, and I will bring them against you from every side:

 ²³the ^(GZ)Babylonians and all the ^(HA)Chaldeans, ^(HB)Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the ^(HC)Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.

 ²⁴'They will come against you with weapons, ^(HD)chariots and wagons, and with a company of peoples They will set themselves against you on every side with buckler and shield and helmet; and I will commit the ^(HE)judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs.

 ²⁵'I will set My ^(HF)jealousy against you, 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 ^(HG)sons and your daughters; and your survivors will be consumed by the fire.

 ²⁶'They will also ^(HH)strip you of your clothes and take away your ^(HI)beautiful jewels.

 ²⁷'Thus ^(HJ)I will make your lewdness and your harlotry brought from the land of Egypt to cease from you, so that you will not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.'

 ²⁸"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will give you into the hand of those whom you ^(HK)hate, into the hand of those from whom you were alienated.

 ²⁹'They will ^(HL)deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your harlotries will be uncovered, both your lewdness and your harlotries.

 ³⁰'These things will be done to you because you have ^(HM)played the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols.

 ³¹'You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will give ^(HN)her cup into your hand.'

 ³²"Thus says the Lord GOD,
         'You will ^(HO)drink your sister's cup,
         Which is deep and wide
         You will be ^(HP)laughed at and held in derision;
         It contains much.
    ³³'You will be filled with ^(HQ)drunkenness and sorrow,
         The cup of horror and desolation,
         The cup of your sister Samaria.
    ³⁴'You will ^(HR)drink it and drain it.
         Then you will gnaw its fragments
         And tear your breasts;
         for I have spoken,' declares the Lord GOD.

 ³⁵"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have ^(HS)forgotten Me and ^(HT)cast Me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your harlotries.'"

 ³⁶Moreover, the LORD said to me, "Son of man, will you ^(HU)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then ^(HV)declare to them their abominations.

 ³⁷"For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, ^(HW)whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to them as food.

 ³⁸"Again, they have done this to Me: they have ^(HX)defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have ^(HY)profaned My sabbaths.

 ³⁹"For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My ^(HZ)sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and lo, thus they did within My house.

 ⁴⁰"Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came--for whom you bathed, ^(IA)painted your eyes and ^(IB)decorated yourselves with ornaments;

 ⁴¹and you sat on a splendid ^(IC)couch with a ^(ID)table arranged before it on which you had set My ^(IE)incense and My ^(IF)oil.

 ⁴²"The sound of a ^(IG)carefree multitude was with her; and ^(IH)drunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of the common sort And they put ^(II)bracelets on the hands of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

 ⁴³"Then I said concerning her who was ^(IJ)worn out by adulteries, 'Will they now commit adultery with her when she is thus?'

 ⁴⁴"But they went in to her as they would go in to a harlot. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women.

 ⁴⁵"But they, righteous men, will ^(IK)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.

 ⁴⁶"For thus says the Lord GOD, 'Bring up a company against them and give them over to ^(IL)terror and plunder.

 ⁴⁷'The company will ^(IM)stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will slay their sons and their daughters and ^(IN)burn their houses with fire.

 ⁴⁸'Thus I will make lewdness cease from the land, that all women may be admonished and not commit lewdness as you have done.

 ⁴⁹'Your lewdness will be ^(IO)requited upon you, and you will bear the penalty of worshiping your idols; thus you will know that I am the Lord GOD.'"

Ezekiel 24

Parable of the Boiling Pot

 ¹And the word of the LORD came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying,

 ²"Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has ^(IP)laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

 ³"Speak a ^(IQ)parable to the ^(IR)rebellious house and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,
         "Put on the ^(IS)pot, put it on and also pour water in it;
    ^4(IT)Put in it the pieces,
         Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder;
         Fill it with choice bones.
    ⁵"Take the ^(IU)choicest of the flock,
         And also pile wood under the pot.
         Make it boil vigorously.
         Also seethe its bones in it."

 ⁶'Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
         "Woe to the ^(IV)bloody city,
         To the pot in which there is rust
         And whose rust has not gone out of it!
         Take out of it piece after piece,
         Without making a choice.
    ⁷"For her blood is in her midst;
         She placed it on the bare rock;
         She did not ^(IW)pour it on the ground
         To cover it with dust.
    ⁸"That it may ^(IX)cause wrath to come up to take vengeance,
         I have put her blood on the bare rock,
         That it may not be covered."

 ⁹'Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
         "^(IY)Woe to the bloody city!
         I also will make the pile great.
    ¹⁰"Heap on the wood, kindle the fire,
         Boil the flesh well
         And mix in the spices,
         And let the bones be burned.
    ¹¹"Then ^(IZ)set it empty on its coals
         So that it may be hot
         And its bronze may glow
         And its ^(JA)filthiness may be melted in it,
         Its rust consumed.
    ¹²"She has ^(JB)wearied Me with toil,
         Yet her great rust has not gone from her;
         Let her rust be in the fire!
    ¹³"In your filthiness is lewdness.
         Because I would have cleansed you,
         Yet you are ^(JC)not clean,
         You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again
         Until I have ^(JD)spent My wrath on you.

 ¹⁴"I, the LORD, have spoken; it is ^(JE)coming and I will act I will not relent, and I will not ^(JF)pity and I will not be sorry; ^(JG)according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you," declares the Lord GOD.'"

Death of Ezekiel's Wife Is a Sign

 ¹⁵And the word of the LORD came to me saying,

 ¹⁶"Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the ^(JH)desire of your eyes with a ^(JI)blow; but you shall not ^(JJ)mourn and you shall not weep, and your ^(JK)tears shall not come.

 ¹⁷"Groan silently; make ^(JL)no mourning for the dead Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache and ^(JM)do not eat the bread of men."

 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.

 ¹⁹The people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?"

 ²⁰Then I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me saying,

 ²¹'Speak to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the ^(JN)desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul; and your ^(JO)sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword.

 ²²'You will do as I have done; you will not cover your mustache and you will not eat the bread of men.

 ²³'Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You ^(JP)will not mourn and you will not weep, but ^(JQ)you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another.

 ²⁴'Thus Ezekiel will be a ^(JR)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 ^(JS)stronghold, the joy of their pride, the desire of their eyes and their heart's delight, their sons and their daughters,

 ²⁶that on that day he who ^(JT)escapes will come to you with information for your ears?

 ²⁷'On that day your ^(JU)mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.'"