Bible in 90 Days

⁴⁰ “Furthermore, you have even sent a messenger for men to come from far away; and behold, they came—those for whom you bathed, painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with ornaments; ⁴¹ and you sat on a splendid couch with a table arranged before it on which you had set My incense and My oil. ⁴² The sound of a carefree crowd was with her; and drunkards were brought from the wilderness with men of a common sort, who put bracelets on the hands of the women (both sisters) and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ “Then I said concerning the one (Oholah) worn out by adulteries, ‘Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’ ⁴⁴ But they committed adultery with her as they would with a prostitute. So they went in to Oholah (Israel) and to Oholibah (Judah), the lewd women. ⁴⁵ And they, righteous men, will judge and condemn them with the judgment (punishment) 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 horde (mob) against them and hand them over to terror and plunder. ⁴⁷ And the horde will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and burn down their houses with fire. ⁴⁸ Thus I will make lewdness cease from the land, that all women may be admonished and taught not to commit immoral acts as you have done. ⁴⁹ Thus your lewdness will be repaid to you, and you will suffer the penalty for your [sinful] idolatry; and you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.’”

Parable of the Boiling Pot

24 Again in the ninth year [of King Jehoiachin’s captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the tenth [day] of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, record the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ Speak a parable against the rebellious house [of Judah] and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

¹⁴ I the Lord have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not have compassion and I will not be sorry; in accordance with your ways and in accordance with your deeds I will judge and punish you,” says the Lord God.’”

Death of Ezekiel’s Wife Is a Sign

¹⁵ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, listen carefully, I am about to take away from you the desire of your eyes [your wife] with a single stroke. Yet you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not flow. ¹⁷ Sigh and groan in silence; do not mourn for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not cover your mustache or eat the bread of [mourners furnished by other] men.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and ^[a]in the evening my wife died. And the next morning I did as I was commanded. ¹⁹ The people said to me, “These things that you are doing—tell us, what do they mean for us?” ²⁰ Then 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 ^[b]profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind [in Jerusalem] will fall by the sword. ²² You will do as I [Ezekiel] have done; you shall not cover your mustache nor eat the bread of [mourning brought to you by other] men. ²³ Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will rot away in your sins and you will groan to one another.^{(A) 24} So Ezekiel will be a sign to you; in accordance with all that he has done you will do. And when this [destruction of the temple] comes, then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.’”

²⁵ ‘As for you, son of man, on the day when I take their strength and their stronghold from them, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes and ^[c]their heart’s [chief] delight (the temple), and I also take their sons and their daughters, ²⁶ that on that day a survivor will come to you to let you hear [of the destruction of Jerusalem] with your [own] ears. ²⁷ On that day ^[d]your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be mute. In this way you shall be a sign to them, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”

Judgment on Gentile Nations—Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward the ^[e]Ammonites and prophesy against them. ³ And say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God, for 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 made desolate and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, ⁴ therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession, and they will set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵ I will make Rabbah [your chief city] a pasture for camels and [the cities of] the Ammonites a resting place for flocks [of sheep]. And you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.” ⁶ For thus says the Lord God, “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the contempt, and malice, and spite of your soul against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore, behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and will hand you over as prey and spoil to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you. Then you shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”^(B)

Moab

⁸ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because ^[f]Moab and Seir (Edom) say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the [pagan] nations,’ ⁹ therefore, behold, I will deprive the flank of Moab of its cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon and Kiriathaim. ¹⁰ I will give it, along with the children of Ammon, to the people of the East as a possession, so that the children of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations [any longer]. ¹¹ Thus I will execute judgment and punishment on Moab, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”^(C)

Edom

¹² ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because ^[g]Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended and has incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,” ¹³ therefore thus says the Lord God, “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and I will cut off and destroy man and beast. I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. ¹⁴ I will take 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, and they will know and experience My vengeance,” says the Lord God.^(D)

Philistia

¹⁵ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because the ^[h]Philistines have acted revengefully and have taken vengeance [contemptuously] with malice in their hearts to destroy with everlasting hostility and hatred,” ¹⁶ therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the ^[i]Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes and chastisements and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance on them.”’”^(E)

Judgment on Tyre

26 Now in the eleventh year, on the first [day] of the month [after the capture of King Jehoiachin], the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, because ^[j]Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gateway of the people is broken; she is open to me. I will be filled, now that she is a desolate waste,’ ³ therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea makes its waves crest. ⁴ They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her dust and debris from her and make her as bare as [the top of] a rock. ⁵ Her island in the midst of the sea will become a dry place to spread nets, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God, ‘and she will become a prey and a spoil for the nations. ⁶ Also Tyre’s daughters (towns, villages) ^[k]on the mainland will be killed by the sword, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north ^[l]Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a great army. ⁸ He will kill your daughters on the mainland with the sword, and he shall make siege walls against you and build a siege ramp against you and raise [a roof of] large shields [as a defense] against you. ⁹ He will direct the [shocking] blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his crowbars. ¹⁰ Because of the great number of his horses, their dust will cover you; your walls [O Tyre] will shake from the noise of the horsemen and the wagons and the chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached. ¹¹ With the hoofs of his horses Nebuchadnezzar will trample all your streets; with the sword he will kill your people, and your strong pillars (obelisks) will fall to the ground. ¹² Also they will take your riches as spoil and plunder your merchandise, and tear down your walls and your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timber and the debris [from your city] out in the water. ¹³ So I will silence your songs, and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard. ¹⁴ I will make you [Tyre] a ^[m]bare rock; you will be a dry place on which to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.

¹⁵ Thus says the Lord God to Tyre, “Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst? ¹⁶ Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones and remove their robes and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble again and again, and be appalled at you. ¹⁷ They will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you and say to you,

¹⁹ For thus says the Lord God, “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit (the place of the dead), to the people of old, and I will make you [Tyre] live in the depths 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 set glory and splendor in the land of the living. ²¹ I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more. Though you will be sought, yet you will never be found again,” says the Lord God.

Dirge for Tyre

27 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Now you, son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for Tyre, ³ and say to Tyre, who lives at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

¹⁰ “Persia and Lud and Put (Libya) were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and the helmet on you; they gave you splendor. ¹¹ The men of Arvad with your army were upon your walls, all around, and the Gammadim (men of valor) were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls, all around; they perfected your beauty.

¹² “Tarshish [in Spain] was your customer and traded with you because of the abundance of your riches of all kinds; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they paid for your wares. ¹³ Javan (Greece), Tubal and Meshech (Asia Minor) traded with you; with the lives of men [taken as slaves] and vessels of bronze they paid for your merchandise. ¹⁴ Those from Beth-togarmah (Armenia) traded for your wares with [chariot] horses, war horses, and mules. ¹⁵ The men of ^[p]Dedan were your traders. Many coastlands were your markets; ivory tusks and ebony they brought to you in payment or as gifts. ^16 [q]Aram traded with you because of the abundance of the goods you made. They paid for your merchandise with emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders; with the wheat of Minnith [in Ammon], cakes, honey, oil, and balm they paid for your goods. ^18 [r]Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your handiworks and the immense wealth of every kind, with the wine of Helbon [Aleppo] and the white wool [of Sachar in Syria]. ¹⁹ Vedan and Javan traded with yarn from Uzal [in Arabia] for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were among your merchandise. ²⁰ Dedan traded with you in saddle blankets for riding. ²¹ Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were your customers for lambs, rams, and goats [favored by you]; for these they were your customers. ²² The merchants of Sheba and Raamah [in Arabia], they traded with you; they paid for your wares with the choicest of all kinds of spices and all kinds of precious stones and gold. ²³ Haran and Canneh and Eden [in Mesopotamia], the merchants of Sheba [on the Euphrates], Asshur and Chilmad traded with you. ²⁴ They traded with you in choice fabrics and garments, in clothes of blue or violet and embroidered work, and in [treasures of] multi-colored damask and knotted carpets bound with tightly wound cords, which were among your merchandise. ²⁵ The ships of Tarshish were the caravans for your merchandise,

Tyre’s King Overthrown

28 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ² “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord God,

¹¹ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

Judgment of Sidon

²⁰ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her ²² and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

²⁴ And there will no longer be a briar or a painful thorn to prick the house of Israel from all those around them who treated them with contempt; then they will know [with clarity] that I am the Lord God.”

Israel Regathered

²⁵ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “When I gather the house of Israel from the nations among whom they are scattered, and I manifest my Holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. ²⁶ They shall live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgment on all those around them who despise them. Then they will know [with clarity and confidence] that I am the Lord their God.”’”

Judgment of Egypt

29 In the tenth year [of the captivity of King Jehoiachin by the king of Babylon], in the tenth month, on the twelfth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. ³ Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

⁸ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am going to bring a sword on you and cut off (destroy) both man and animal, ⁹ and the land of Egypt will be a desolation and a wasteland. And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

“Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine and I have made it,’ ¹⁰ behold (hear this), therefore, I am against you and against your rivers (the Nile, its tributaries), and I will make the land of Egypt a complete waste and a desolation, from [northern] Migdol to [southern] ^[v]Syene, even as far as the border of Ethiopia (Cush). ¹¹ No man’s foot will pass through it, no animal’s foot will pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹² So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation [plundered and ruined] among desolated lands; and her cities, among cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and [I will] disperse them through the lands.”

¹³ ‘For thus says the Lord God, “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations among whom they were scattered.^{(J) 14} I will reverse the fortunes of Egypt [as I will that of Israel] and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It will be the lowliest of the kingdoms, and it will ^[w]never again exalt itself above the nations; I will diminish the Egyptians so they will never again rule over the nations. ¹⁶ And Egypt will never again have the confidence of the house of Israel; their wickedness will be remembered whenever Israel looks toward them [for help]. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord God.”’”

¹⁷ In the twenty-seventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army ^[x]work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became ^[y]bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].” ¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoil and seize her plunder; and it shall be the wages for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for the hard work which he did [against Tyre], because they did it for Me,” says the Lord God.

²¹ “In that day I will make a horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord [when I renew their strength].”

Dirge for Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

⁵ Ethiopia (Cush), Put, Lud, all ^[z]Arabia, Libya (Cub) and the people of the land of the covenant [the Jews who had taken refuge in Egypt] will fall with the Egyptians by the sword.”

⁹ On that day [swift] messengers will go from Me in ships to frighten the careless and unsuspecting Ethiopians, and there will be anguish and trembling in them as in the day of [judgment for] Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”

¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God,

Victory for Babylon

²⁰ In the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon], in the first month, on the seventh of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up to heal or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to hold and wield the sword. ²² Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand. ²³ I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and will disperse them throughout the lands. ²⁴ I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms and he will groan before him (Nebuchadnezzar) with the groanings of a [mortally] wounded man. ²⁵ But I will strengthen and hold up the arms of the king of Babylon and the arms of Pharaoh will fall down. Then the people [of Egypt] will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. ²⁶ When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the lands, then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh Warned of Assyria’s Fate

31 In the eleventh year [after King Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon], in the third month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes,

¹⁰ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Because it is high in stature and has set its top among the thick boughs and the clouds, and its heart is proud of its height,^{(K) 11} I will ^[ad]hand it over to a mighty one and a mighty one of the nations; he will most certainly deal with it. I have driven it away in accordance with its wickedness. ¹² Alien tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; its foliage has fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys and its branches have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the nations of the earth have come from under its shade and have left it. ¹³ All the birds of the sky will nest in its ruins, and all the animals of the field will rest on its fallen branches ¹⁴ so that none of the trees by the waters may exalt themselves because of their height, nor set their top among the clouds, nor their well-watered mighty ones stand [arrogantly] in their height. For they have all been handed over to death, to the earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit (the grave).”

¹⁵ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day when Assyria went down to Sheol (the place of the dead) I caused mourning; I closed the deep [subterranean waters] over it and restrained its rivers. And the many waters [that contributed to its prosperity] were held back; and I made [the heart of] Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away because of it. ¹⁶ I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit; and all the well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon, will be comforted in the earth beneath [at Assyria’s downfall]. ¹⁷ They also went down to Sheol with it to those who were slain by the sword; those who were its strength lived under its shade among the nations.

¹⁸ “Which among the trees of Eden do you equal in glory and in greatness [O Egypt]? Yet you [also] will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath (nether world). You will lie among the ^[ae]uncircumcised (the barbaric, the boorish, the crude) with those who were slain by the sword. This is how it shall be with Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ says the Lord God.”^(L)

Dirge for Pharaoh and Egypt

32 In the twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile by the king of Babylon], in the twelfth month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,

³ Thus says the Lord God,

⁹ I will also put fear into the hearts of many peoples when I bring your destruction [and captivity] among the nations, into countries which you have not known. ¹⁰ I will make many peoples appalled at you [at your judgment and your defeat], and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword [of judgment] before them; they will tremble and shudder every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your downfall.”

¹¹ For thus says the Lord God, “The sword of the king of Babylon will come on you. ¹² I will make your horde [of people] fall by the swords of the mighty—all of them are tyrants among the nations,

¹⁶ This is the dirge (funeral poem to be sung) and they shall sing it [for her]. The daughters of the nations shall sing it; for Egypt and for all her hordes they shall sing it,” says the Lord God.

¹⁷ In the twelfth year [after King Jehoiachin of Judah was taken into exile], on the fifteenth of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and cast them down, both her and the daughters of the powerful and majestic nations, to the nether world (the place of the dead), with those who go down to the pit;

²⁰ They will fall among those who are slain by the sword. She (Egypt) is handed over to the sword; they have drawn her and all her hordes away [to judgment]. ²¹ The strong among the mighty rulers will say of him (Pharaoh) and his allies from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down [defeated]; they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

²² “Assyria is there with all her warriors; their graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, ²³ whose graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit and her army is all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

²⁴ “^[af]Elam [a conquest of Assyria] is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who made their terror spread in the land of the living and bore their shame and defeat with those who went down to the pit. ²⁵ They have made a bed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it; they are all uncircumcised (barbaric, boorish, crude), slain by the sword (for their terror had been spread in the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; they were laid among the slain.

²⁶ “Meshech, Tubal, and all their hordes are there; their graves ^[ag]surround them. All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. ²⁷ Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads. The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, for the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living. ²⁸ But you will be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and you will lie [without honors] with those who are slain by the sword.

²⁹ “Edom is there also, her kings and all her princes, who for all their power and strength are laid with those who were slain by the sword; they will lie [in shame and defeat] with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.

³⁰ “The princes of the north are there also, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their power, have gone down in shame with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.

³¹ “Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his army,” says the Lord God. ³² “Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” says the Lord God.^(M)

The Watchman’s Duty

33 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people [who are exiled in Babylon] and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword on a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, ³ and he sees the sword coming on the land, and he blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his [own] head. ⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood shall be on himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. ⁶ But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, he is taken away because of his corruption and sin; but I will require his blood from the watchman’s hand.’

⁷ “Now as for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you shall hear a message from My mouth and give them a warning from Me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will certainly die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man will die because of his sin; but I will require his blood from your hand. ⁹ But if you on your part warn the wicked man to turn from his [evil] way and he does not turn from his [evil] way, he will die in his sin; but you have saved your life.

¹⁰ “Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you have said, “Truly our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we are rotting away because of them; how then can we live?”’ ¹¹ Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back (change your way of thinking), turn back [in repentance] from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ ¹² And you, son of man, say to the sons of your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stagger because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, whereas a righteous man will not be able to live because of his [previous acts of] righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ ¹³ When I say to the righteous that he will most certainly live, and he trusts in his [previous acts of] righteousness [to save him] and commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but he will die for his injustice that he committed. ¹⁴ But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and he turns from his sin and practices that which is just (fair) and right— ¹⁵ if a wicked man returns [what he took as] a pledge, pays back what he had taken by robbery, walks in the statutes which ensure life, without committing injustice, he will certainly live; he will not die. ¹⁶ None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced that which is just (fair) and right; he will most certainly live.

¹⁷ “Yet your people [who are in exile in Babylon] say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right;’ but as for them, it is their own way that is not right. ¹⁸ When the righteous turns back from his righteousness and commits injustice, he will also die because of it. ¹⁹ But when a wicked man turns back from his wickedness and practices what is just (fair) and right, he will live because of it. ²⁰ Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ O house of Israel, I will judge you, every one [of you] in accordance with his own ways!”

Word of Jerusalem’s Capture

²¹ In the twelfth year of our exile [in Babylon], on the fifth of the tenth month, a survivor from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city has been captured.” ²² Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the survivor came. And He ^[ah]opened my mouth at the time he came to me in the morning; so my mouth was opened [in readiness] and I was no longer mute.

²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, those [back in Palestine] who inhabit these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was [only] one man and he took possession of the land, but we are many; the land has [most certainly] been given to us [to possess] as property.’ ²⁵ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “You eat meat with the blood in it and raise your eyes to your idols and shed blood. Should you take possession of the land?^{(N) 26} You rely on your sword [as your security]; you commit outrageous and disgraceful acts and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then take possession of the land?”’ ²⁷ You shall say this to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “As I live, those who are in the ruins certainly will fall by the sword, and I will give whoever is in the open field to the [predatory] animals to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves will die of virulent diseases. ²⁸ And I will make the land [of Israel] a desolation and a ruin, and her pride in her power will be brought to an end; and the mountains of Israel will be so deserted that no one will pass through. ²⁹ Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord, when I make the land a desolation and a ruin because of all the atrocities which they have committed.”’

³⁰ “But as for you, son of man, your people who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses say one to another, every one to his brother, ‘Come now and hear what the message is that comes from the Lord.’ ³¹ They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not practice them; for with their mouth they express loving devotion, but their heart goes after their (unlawful) gain. ³² Behold, you are to them like a love song by one who has a pleasant voice and plays well on a stringed instrument [merely to entertain them]; for they hear your words but do not practice them. ³³ So when it comes to pass—as it most certainly will—then they will know [without any doubt] that a prophet has been among them.”

Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

34 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, the [spiritual] shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe (judgment is coming) to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the fat [the choicest of meat], and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the best of the livestock, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ You have not strengthened those who are weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bandaged the crippled, you have not brought back those gone astray, you have not looked for the lost; but you have ruled them with force and violence. ⁵ They were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the predators of the field. ⁶ My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth and no one searched or sought them.”’”^(O)

⁷ Therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; ⁹ therefore, you [spiritual] shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My flock from them and make them stop tending the flock, so that the shepherds cannot feed themselves anymore. I will rescue My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

The Restoration of Israel

¹¹ For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd cares for his sheep on the day that he is among his scattered flock, so I will care for My sheep; and I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My flock and I will let them lie down [to rest],” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment.^(P)

¹⁷ “And as for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats [between the righteous and the unrighteous]. ¹⁸ Is it too little a thing for you that you [unrighteous ones who are well-fed] feed in the best pasture, yet you must trample down with your feet [of wickedness] the rest of your pastures? Or that you drink clear [still] water, yet you must muddy with your feet [of wickedness] the rest [of the water]? ¹⁹ As for My flock (the righteous), they must feed on what you trample with your feet and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

²⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord God to them, “Behold, I Myself will judge between the [well-fed] fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and shoulder, and gore with your horns all those that have become weak and sick until you have scattered them away, ²² therefore, I will rescue My flock, and they shall no longer be prey; and I will judge between one sheep [ungodly] and another [godly].

²³ “Then I will appoint over them one shepherd and he will feed them, [a ruler like] My servant ^[ai]David; he will feed them and be their shepherd.^{(Q) 24} And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.

²⁵ “I will make a covenant of peace with them and will eliminate the predatory animals from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep [safely] in the woods.^{(R) 26} I will make them and the places around My hill (Jerusalem, Zion) a blessing. And I will make showers come down in their season; there will be [abundant] showers of blessing (divine favor). ²⁷ Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its produce; and My people will be secure on their land. Then they will know [with confidence] that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have rescued them from the hand of those who made them slaves. ²⁸ They will no longer be prey to the nations, and the predators of the earth will not devour them; but they will live safely, and no one will make them afraid [in the ^[aj]day of the Messiah’s reign].^{(S) 29} I will prepare for them a place renowned for planting [crops], and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations any longer. ³⁰ Then they will know [with assurance] that I the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God. ³¹ “As for you, My flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.

Prophecy against Mount Seir

35 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir (Edom), and prophesy against it ³ and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

⁵ Because you [descendants of Esau] have had an everlasting hatred [for Jacob (Israel)] and you handed over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their tragedy, at the time of their final punishment [the Babylonian conquest],^{(T) 6} therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will hand you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you since you have not hated bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. ⁷ I will make Mount Seir (Edom) a ruin and a desolate wasteland and I will cut off from it the one who passes through it and the one who returns. ⁸ I will fill its mountains with its slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, and in your valleys, and in all your ravines. ⁹ I will make you an everlasting desolation and your ^[ak]cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Because you [descendants of Esau] have said, ‘These two nations [Israel and Judah] and these two lands shall be mine, and we will take possession of them,’ although the Lord was there, ¹¹ therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will deal with you in accordance with the anger and envy you showed because of your hatred for them; and I will make Myself known among them [as Judge] when I judge and punish you. ¹² Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all your scornful speeches which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They have been made a wasteland; they have been given to us as food.’ ¹³ So you have boasted and spoken arrogantly against Me, and have multiplied your words against Me; I have heard it.” ¹⁴ Thus says the Lord God, “While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you a wasteland. ¹⁵ As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you; you will be a desolate waste, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’