God’s Grace to Unfaithful Jerusalem

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(A)make known to Jerusalem her abominations, ³ and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[a]God says to Jerusalem: “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. ⁴ As for your birth, ^(B)on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. ⁵ No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the ^[b](C)open field, ^[c]for you were abhorred on the day you were born.

⁶ “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ ⁷ I ^(D)made you ^[d]very numerous, like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.

⁸ “Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, ^[e]you were at the time for love; so I ^(E)spread My ^[f]garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also ^(F)swore an oath to you and ^(G)entered into a covenant with you so that you ^(H)became Mine,” declares the Lord God. ⁹ “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and ^(I)anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I also clothed you with ^(J)colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of ^[g]fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I adorned you with jewelry, put ^(K)bracelets on your wrists, and a ^(L)necklace around your neck. ¹² I also put a ^(M)ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a ^(N)beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you were adorned with ^(O)gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colorfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to ^(P)royalty. ¹⁴ Then your ^(Q)fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was ^(R)perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁵ “But you ^(S)trusted in your beauty and ^(T)became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your ^[h]obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting. ¹⁶ You took some of your clothes, made for yourself ^[i]high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen. ¹⁷ You also took your beautiful ^[j](U)jewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images so that you might commit prostitution with them. ¹⁸ Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them. ¹⁹ Also ^(V)My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, ^[k]you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord God. ²⁰ “Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to ^(W)Me and ^(X)sacrificed them to ^[l]idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter? ²¹ You slaughtered ^(Y)My children and offered them to ^[m]idols by ^(Z)making them pass through the fire. ²² And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of ^(AA)your youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.

²³ “Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord God), ²⁴ that you built yourself a ^(AB)shrine and made yourself a ^(AC)high place in every public square. ²⁵ You built yourself a high place at the beginning of ^(AD)every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by and multiplied your obscene practice. ²⁶ You also committed prostitution with the Egyptians, your ^[n]lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to ^(AE)provoke Me to anger. ²⁷ So behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut back your rations. And I turned you over to the desire of those who hate you, the ^(AF)daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct. ²⁸ Moreover, you committed prostitution with the ^(AG)Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you committed prostitution with them and still were not satisfied. ²⁹ You also multiplied your obscene practice with the land of merchants, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.”’”

³⁰ “How ^(AH)feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord God, “while you do all these things, the action of a ^[o](AI)bold prostitute! ³¹ When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in ^(AJ)spurning a prostitute’s fee, you were not like a prostitute. ³² You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband! ³³ Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you ^(AK)give your gifts to all your lovers and lavish favors on them so that they will come to you from every direction for your obscene practices. ³⁴ So it is the opposite for you from those women in your obscene practices, in that you are not approached for prostitution, and in the fact that you pay a prostitute’s fee, and no fee is paid to you; so you are the opposite.”

³⁵ Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord. ³⁶ This is what the Lord God says: “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene practices with your lovers and with all your detestable ^(AL)idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to ^[p]idols, ³⁷ therefore, behold, I am going to ^(AM)gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you ^(AN)hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and ^(AO)expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness. ³⁸ So I will ^(AP)judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of ^(AQ)wrath and jealousy. ³⁹ I will also hand you over to ^[q]your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, ^(AR)strip you of your clothing, take away your ^[r]jewels, and will leave you naked and bare. ⁴⁰ They will ^[s]incite a ^(AS)crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ And they will ^(AT)burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will ^(AU)put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay ^[t]your lovers. ⁴² So I ^(AV)will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and ^(AW)no longer be angry. ⁴³ Since you have ^(AX)not remembered the days of your youth but ^[u]have ^(AY)caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will ^(AZ)bring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord God, “so that you will not commit this outrageous sin in addition to all your other abominations.

⁴⁴ “Behold, everyone who quotes ^(BA)proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like ^[v]mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the ^(BB)sister of your sisters, who ^(BC)loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Now your ^(BD)older sister is Samaria, who lives ^[w]north of you with her ^[x]daughters; and your younger sister, who lives ^[y]south of you, is ^(BE)Sodom with her ^[z]daughters. ⁴⁷ Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and ^[aa]committed their abominations; but, as if that were ^(BF)too little, you also acted ^(BG)more corruptly in all your conduct than they. ⁴⁸ As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have ^(BH)not done as you and your daughters have done! ⁴⁹ Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had ^(BI)arrogance, ^(BJ)plenty of food, and ^(BK)carefree ease, but she did not ^[ab]help the ^(BL)poor and needy. ⁵⁰ So they were haughty and committed ^(BM)abominations before Me. Therefore I ^(BN)removed them ^[ac]when I saw it. ⁵¹ Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear ^(BO)innocent by all your abominations which you have committed. ⁵² Also, bear your disgrace in that you have ^[ad]made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted ^(BP)more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent.

⁵³ “Nevertheless, I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and ^[ae]along with them your own fortunes, ⁵⁴ so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ^(BQ)ashamed for all that you have done when you become ^(BR)a consolation to them. ⁵⁵ Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, ^[af]will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. ⁵⁶ As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride, ⁵⁷ before your ^(BS)wickedness was uncovered, ^[ag]so now you have become the ^(BT)disgrace of the daughters of ^[ah]Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you. ⁵⁸ You have ^(BU)suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the Lord declares. ⁵⁹ For this is what the Lord God says: “I will also do with you as you have done, you who have ^(BV)despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

The Covenant Remembered

⁶⁰ “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an ^(BW)everlasting covenant with you. ⁶¹ Then you will ^(BX)remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. ⁶² So I will ^(BY)establish My covenant with you, and you shall ^(BZ)know that I am the Lord, ⁶³ so that you may ^(CA)remember and be ashamed, and ^(CB)not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have ^[ai](CC)forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares.

Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

17 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ask a riddle and present a ^(CD)parable to the house of Israel, ^3 [aj]saying, ‘This is what the Lord ^[ak]God says: “A great ^[al](CE)eagle with ^(CF)great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to ^[am](CG)Lebanon and took away the top of the ^[an]cedar. ⁴ He broke off the ^[ao]topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a ^[ap]city of traders. ⁵ He also took ^[aq]from the seed of the land and planted ^[ar]it in ^[as](CH)fertile soil, a ^[at]meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a ^(CI)willow. ⁶ Then it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine with its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced shoots and sent out branches.

⁷ “But there was ^[au]another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine turned its roots toward him and sent out its branches toward him from the beds where it was ^(CJ)planted, so that he might water it. ⁸ It was planted in good ^[av]soil beside abundant waters, so that it would produce branches and bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.”’ ⁹ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting shoots wither? And neither by great ^[aw]strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. ¹⁰ Behold, though it is planted, will it thrive? Will it not ^(CK)completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it—wither on the beds where it grew?”’”

Zedekiah’s Rebellion

¹¹ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Say now to the ^(CL)rebellious house, ‘Do you not ^(CM)know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the ^(CN)king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and leaders, and brought them to him in Babylon. ¹³ Then he took one of the royal ^[ax](CO)family and made a covenant with him, ^[ay]putting him under ^(CP)oath. He also took away the ^(CQ)mighty of the land, ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would ^(CR)be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. ¹⁵ But ^[az]he ^(CS)revolted against ^[ba]him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many ^[bb]troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things ^(CT)escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? ¹⁶ As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the ^[bc]country of the king who ^[bd]put him on the throne, whose oath he ^(CU)despised and whose covenant he broke, ^[be](CV)in Babylon he shall certainly die. ^17 (CW)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not ^[bf]help him in the war, when they pile up assault ramps and build siege walls to eliminate many lives. ¹⁸ Now he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, and behold, he ^[bg](CX)pledged his allegiance, yet did all these things; he shall not escape.’” ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “As I live, My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will certainly ^[bh]inflict on his head. ²⁰ And I will spread My ^(CY)net over him, and he will be ^(CZ)caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and ^(DA)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. ²¹ All the ^[bi](DB)choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

²² This is what the Lord God says: “I will also take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and ^[bj]set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a ^(DC)high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it, so that it may bring forth branches and bear fruit, and become a stately ^(DD)cedar. And ^[bk]birds of every ^[bl]kind will ^[bm]nest under it; they will ^[bn]nest in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ All the ^(DE)trees of the field will know that I am the Lord; I bring down the high tree, exalt the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree ^(DF)flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will perform it.”

God Deals Justly with Individuals

18 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “^(DG)What do you people mean by using this proverb about the land of Israel, saying,

³ As I live,” declares the Lord ^[bp]God, “you certainly are not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. ⁴ Behold, ^(DI)all ^[bq]souls are Mine; the ^[br]soul of the father as well as the ^[bs]soul of the son is Mine. The ^[bt]soul who ^(DJ)sins will die.

⁵ “But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, ⁶ if he does not ^(DK)eat at the mountain shrines or ^(DL)raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or ^(DM)defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period— ⁷ and if a man does not oppress anyone, but ^(DN)restores to the debtor his pledge, ^(DO)does not commit robbery, but ^(DP)gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, ⁸ and if he does not ^[bu]lend money at ^(DQ)interest or take ^[bv](DR)interest, if he keeps his hand from injustice and ^(DS)executes true justice between one person and another, ⁹ if he walks in ^(DT)My statutes and keeps My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—^(DU)he is righteous and will certainly ^(DV)live,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁰ “However, he may father a violent son who sheds blood, and does any one of these things to a brother ¹¹ (though he himself did not do any of these things), that is, he even eats at the mountain shrines, and ^(DW)defiles his neighbor’s wife, ¹² oppresses the ^(DX)poor and needy, ^(DY)commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but raises his eyes to the idols and ^(DZ)commits abomination, ^13 (EA)lends money at interest and takes ^[bw]interest; will he live? He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he shall certainly be put to death; his ^(EB)blood will be on himself.

¹⁴ “Now behold, he has fathered a son who saw all his father’s sins which he committed, but he has ^(EC)seen them and does not do likewise. ¹⁵ He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; he has not defiled his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶ nor oppressed anyone, nor retained a pledge, nor committed robbery; instead, he ^(ED)gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, ¹⁷ he keeps his hand from ^[bx]the poor, does not take any kind of interest on loans, but executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; ^(EE)he will not die for his father’s guilt, he will certainly live. ¹⁸ As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his guilt.

¹⁹ “Yet you say, ‘^(EF)Why should the son not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt?’ When the son has practiced ^(EG)justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall certainly live. ²⁰ The person who ^(EH)sins will die. A ^(EI)son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the ^(EJ)righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

²¹ “But if the ^(EK)wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. ^22 (EL)All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his ^(EM)righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. ^23 (EN)Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “^[by]rather than that he would ^(EO)turn from his ways and live?

²⁴ “But when a righteous person ^(EP)turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? ^(EQ)All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his ^(ER)treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. ²⁵ Yet you say, ‘^(ES)The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, house of Israel! Is ^(ET)My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? ²⁶ When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and dies because of it, for his injustice which he has committed he dies. ²⁷ But when a wicked person turns away ^(EU)from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life. ²⁸ Since he understood and turned away from all his offenses which he had committed, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. ²⁹ But the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Are My ways not right, house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?

³⁰ “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “^(EV)Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you. ^31 (EW)Hurl away from you all your offenses which you have committed and make yourselves a ^(EX)new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, house of Israel? ³² For I take ^(EY)no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live!”

Song of Mourning for the Leaders of Israel

19 “As for you, take up a ^(EZ)song of mourning for the ^(FA)leaders of Israel ² and say,

This is a song of mourning, and has become a song of mourning.

God’s Dealings with Israel Rehearsed

20 Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the ^(FR)elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me. ² Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[ck]God says: “Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “^(FS)I certainly will not be inquired of by you.”’ ⁴ Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? ^(FT)Make known to them the abominations of their fathers; ⁵ and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day when I ^(FU)chose Israel and ^[cl]swore to the ^[cm]descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I ^[cn]swore to them, saying, ^(FV)I am the Lord your God, ⁶ on that day I swore to them, ^(FW)to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had ^[co]selected for them, ^(FX)flowing with milk and honey, which is ^(FY)the glory of all the lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ‘^(FZ)Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and ^(GA)do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; ^(GB)I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸ But they ^(GC)rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away, each of them, the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they abandon the ^(GD)idols of Egypt.

“Then I ^[cp]resolved to ^(GE)pour out My wrath on them, to ^[cq]use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ⁹ But I acted ^(GF)for the sake of My name, that it would ^(GG)not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the ^(GH)wilderness. ¹¹ I gave them My ^(GI)statutes and informed them of My ordinances, ^(GJ)which, if ^[cr]a person ^[cs]follows them, then he will live by them. ¹² Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a ^(GK)sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ¹³ But the house of Israel ^(GL)rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, ^(GM)which, if ^[ct]a person ^[cu]follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My ^(GN)Sabbaths. Then I ^[cv]resolved to ^(GO)pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Also ^(GP)I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their ^(GQ)heart continually followed their idols. ¹⁷ Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their ^(GR)annihilation in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “Instead, I said to their ^[cw](GS)children in the wilderness, ‘^(GT)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (GU)I am the Lord your God; ^(GV)walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and ^[cx]follow them. ^20 (GW)Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ ²¹ But the ^(GX)children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to ^[cy]follow My ordinances which, if ^[cz]a person ^[da]follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I ^[db]resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to ^[dc]use up My anger against them in the wilderness. ²² But I ^(GY)withdrew My hand and acted ^(GZ)for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. ²³ Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would ^(HA)scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, ²⁴ because they had not ^[dd]complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and ^(HB)their eyes were ^[de]on the idols of their fathers. ²⁵ I also gave them statutes that were ^(HC)not good, and ordinances by which they could not live; ²⁶ and I pronounced them ^(HD)unclean because of their gifts, in that they ^(HE)made all ^[df]their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might ^(HF)know that I am the Lord.”’

²⁷ “Therefore ^(HG)speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Again, in this your fathers have ^(HH)blasphemed Me by ^(HI)being disloyal to Me. ²⁸ When I had ^(HJ)brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every ^(HK)high hill and every tree thick with branches, and there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called ^[dg]Bamah to this day.”’ ³⁰ Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will you defile yourselves in the way of your ^(HL)fathers and adulterously pursue their detestable things? ³¹ And ^[dh]when you offer your gifts, when you ^(HM)make your sons pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “I certainly will not be inquired of by you. ³² And whatever ^(HN)comes ^[di]into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, ^(HO)serving wood and stone.’

God Will Restore Israel to Her Land

³³ “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “with a mighty hand and with an ^(HP)outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be ^(HQ)king over you. ³⁴ I will ^(HR)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 ^(HS)wrath poured out; ³⁵ and I will bring you into the ^(HT)wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. ³⁶ Just as I ^(HU)entered into judgment with your fathers in the ^(HV)wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God. ³⁷ “I will make you ^(HW)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; ³⁸ and I will ^(HX)purge from you the rebels and those who revolt against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside, but they will ^(HY)not enter the ^[dj]land of Israel. So you will know that I am the Lord.

³⁹ “As for you, house of Israel,” this is what the Lord God says: “^(HZ)Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; ^[dk]but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer ^(IA)defile with your gifts and your idols. ⁴⁰ For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “there the entire house of Israel, ^(IB)all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will ^(IC)accept them and there I will demand your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. ^41 [dl]As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I ^(ID)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will show Myself to be ^(IE)holy among you in the sight of the nations. ⁴² And ^(IF)you will know that I am the Lord, ^(IG)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the ^(IH)land which I swore to give to your forefathers. ⁴³ And there you will ^(II)remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves; and you will ^(IJ)loathe yourselves in your own ^[dm]sight for all the evil things that you have done. ⁴⁴ Then ^(IK)you will know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you ^(IL)in behalf of My name, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’”

^45 [dn]Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁴⁶ “Son of man, set your face toward the south, and speak prophetically against the ^(IM)south and ^(IN)prophesy against the ^(IO)forest ^[do]land of the Negev, ⁴⁷ and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to ^(IP)kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every ^[dp]green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not go out and ^[dq](IQ)the entire surface from south to north will be scorched by it. ⁴⁸ And all ^[dr]mankind will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it will ^(IR)not go out.”’” ⁴⁹ Then I said, “Oh, Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking in ^(IS)riddles?’”

Parable of the Sword of the Lord

21 ^[ds]And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(IT)set your face against Jerusalem, and ^[dt](IU)speak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; ³ and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, ^(IV)I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the ^(IW)righteous and the wicked. ⁴ Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against ^[du](IX)humanity from south to north. ⁵ So ^[dv]humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will ^(IY)not return to its sheath again.”’ ⁶ As for you, son of man, groan with ^[dw]a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. ⁷ And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the ^(IZ)news, for it is coming; and ^(JA)every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all ^[dx]knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord ^[dy]God.”

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Say,

Or shall we rejoice, the ^[ea]rod of My son ^(JD)despising every tree? ¹¹ And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer. ^12 (JE)Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the ^(JF)officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore ^[eb]slap your thigh. ¹³ For there is a testing; and what if even the ^[ec]rod which despises will cease to be?” declares the Lord God.

¹⁴ “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be ^(JG)doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, ¹⁵ so that their ^(JH)hearts will waver, and many ^(JI)fall at all their ^(JJ)gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter. ¹⁶ Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your ^[ed]edge is ordered. ¹⁷ I will also clap My hands, and I will ^(JK)satisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Instrument of God’s Judgment

¹⁸ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁹ “Now as for you, son of man, ^[ee](JL)make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And ^[ef]make a signpost; ^[eg]make it at the head of the way to the city. ²⁰ You shall ^[eh]mark a way for the sword to come to ^(JM)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into ^(JN)fortified Jerusalem. ²¹ For the king of Babylon stands at the ^[ei]parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use ^(JO)divination; he ^(JP)shakes the arrows, he consults the ^[ej](JQ)household idols, he looks at the liver. ²² Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to ^(JR)set up battering rams, to open the mouth ^[ek]for ^[el]slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall. ²³ And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; ^(JS)they have sworn solemn oaths. But he ^(JT)makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.

²⁴ “Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand. ²⁵ And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose ^(JU)day has come, in the time of the ^[em]punishment of the end,’ ²⁶ this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the ^[en]turban and take off the ^(JV)crown; this will ^[eo]no longer be the same. ^(JW)Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. ^27 (JX)Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until ^(JY)He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’

²⁸ “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the sons of Ammon and their ^(JZ)taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it ^[ep](KA)consume, so that it may be like lightning— ²⁹ while they see ^(KB)false visions for you, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the ^(KC)time of the ^[eq]punishment of the end. ^30 (KD)Return it to its sheath. In the ^(KE)place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. ³¹ I will ^(KF)pour out My indignation on you; I will ^(KG)blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, ^(KH)craftsmen of destruction. ³² You will be ^[er](KI)fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will ^(KJ)not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

The Sins of Israel

22 Then 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 inform her of all her abominations. ³ And you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[es]God says: “A city ^(KK)shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement! ⁴ You have become ^(KL)guilty by ^[et]the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a ^(KM)disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands. ⁵ Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of ^(KN)turmoil.

⁶ “Behold, the ^(KO)rulers of Israel, each according to his ^[eu]power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷ They have ^(KP)treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the ^(KQ)stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the ^(KR)orphan and the widow among you. ⁸ You have ^(KS)despised My holy things and ^(KT)profaned My Sabbaths. ⁹ Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have ^(KU)committed outrageous sin. ¹⁰ Among you ^[ev]they have ^(KV)uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was ^(KW)unclean in her menstruation. ¹¹ And one has committed abomination with his ^(KX)neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his ^(KY)daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually ^(KZ)abused his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² Among you they have ^(LA)taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken ^[ew](LB)interest, you have injured your neighbors by ^(LC)oppression, and you have ^(LD)forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

¹³ “Behold, then, I strike with My hand your ^(LE)profit which you have made and ^[ex]the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴ Can ^(LF)your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? ^(LG)I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵ And I will ^(LH)scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will ^(LI)eliminate your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^(LJ)know that I am the Lord.”’”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^[ey](LK)waste metal to Me; all of them are ^(LL)bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the ^(LM)smelting furnace; they are the ^[ez]waste metal of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because all of you have become ^[fa]waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰ As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the ^(LN)smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you. ²¹ And 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 ^(LO)poured out My wrath on you.’”

²³ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is ^(LP)not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵ There is a ^(LQ)conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have ^(LR)devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ^(LS)widows in the midst of her. ²⁶ Her ^(LT)priests have done violence to My Law and have ^(LU)profaned My holy things; they have made no ^(LV)distinction between the holy and the ^[fb]common, and they have not taught the difference between the ^(LW)unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them. ²⁷ Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and ^(LX)destroying lives in order to make ^(LY)dishonest profit. ²⁸ And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing ^(LZ)false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have practiced ^(MA)extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have ^(MB)oppressed the stranger without justice. ³⁰ I ^(MC)searched for a man among them who would ^(MD)build up a wall and ^(ME)stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found ^[fc]no one. ³¹ So I have poured out My ^(MF)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought ^(MG)their way upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.

Oholah and Oholibah’s Sin and Its Consequences

23 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ² “Son of man, there were ^(MH)two women, the daughters of one mother; ³ and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They ^(MI)prostituted themselves in their youth; there their breasts were squeezed and there their virgin breasts were handled. ⁴ Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister. And they became Mine, and they gave birth to sons and daughters. And as for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.

⁵ “Oholah prostituted herself ^[fd]while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the ^(MJ)Assyrians, her neighbors, ⁶ who were clothed in purple, ^(MK)governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ She bestowed her ^[fe]obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest ^[ff]men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she ^(ML)defiled herself. ⁸ She did not abandon her obscene practices ^(MM)from the time in Egypt; for in her youth ^[fg]men had slept with her, and they handled her virgin breasts and poured out their obscene practice on her. ⁹ Therefore, I handed her over to her ^(MN)lovers, to the ^[fh]Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ¹⁰ They ^(MO)uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a ^[fi]subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹¹ “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was ^(MP)more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were ^[fj]more than the prostitution of her sister. ¹² She lusted after the ^[fk](MQ)Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, opulently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them handsome young men. ¹³ And I saw that she had defiled herself; they both took ^[fl]the same way. ¹⁴ So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men ^(MR)carved on the wall, images of the ^(MS)Chaldeans drawn in bright red, ¹⁵ wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, ^[fm]like the ^[fn]Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. ¹⁶ And ^[fo]when she saw them she ^(MT)lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ And the ^[fp](MU)Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, ^[fq]she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸ She ^(MV)exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then ^[fr]I turned away from her in ^(MW)disgust, just as ^[fs]I had turned away from her ^(MX)sister in disgust. ¹⁹ Yet she multiplied her obscene practices, remembering the days of her youth, when she prostituted herself in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ She ^(MY)lusted after their lovers, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys and whose discharge is like the discharge of horses. ²¹ So you longed for the ^(MZ)outrageous sin of your youth, when ^[ft]the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.

²² “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord ^[fu]God says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom ^[fv]you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ the ^[fw](NA)Babylonians and all the ^(NB)Chaldeans, ^(NC)Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the ^[fx](ND)Assyrians with them; handsome young men, governors and officials all of them, officers and ^[fy]men of renown, all of them riding on horses. ²⁴ And they will come against you with weapons, ^(NE)chariots, and ^[fz]wagons, and with a contingent of peoples. They will attack you on every side with shield, ^[ga]buckler, and helmet; and I will commit the ^(NF)judgment to them, and they will judge you according to their customs. ²⁵ I will set My ^(NG)jealousy against you, so that they may deal with you in wrath. They will remove your nose and your ears; and your ^[gb]survivors will fall by the sword. They will take your ^(NH)sons and your daughters; and your ^[gc]survivors will be consumed by the fire. ²⁶ They will also ^(NI)strip you of your clothes and take away your ^(NJ)beautiful jewelry. ²⁷ So ^(NK)I will remove from you your outrageous sin and your prostitution that you brought from the land of Egypt, so that you will not raise your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.’ ²⁸ For this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand you over to those whom you ^(NL)hate, to those from whom ^[gd]you turned away in disgust. ²⁹ They will ^(NM)deal with you in hatred, take all your property, and leave you naked and bare. And the nakedness of your prostitution will be exposed, both your outrageous sin and your obscene practices. ³⁰ These things will be done to you because you have ^(NN)adulterously pursued the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols. ³¹ You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore I will put ^(NO)her cup in your hand.’ ³² This is what the Lord God says:

for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God. ³⁵ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have ^(NT)forgotten Me and ^(NU)discarded Me behind your back, suffer on your own part the punishment for your outrageous sin and your obscene practices.’”

³⁶ Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you ^(NV)judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then ^(NW)declare to them their abominations. ³⁷ For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. So they have committed adultery with their idols, and even made their sons, ^(NX)whom they bore to Me, pass through the fire to ^[gf]them as food. ³⁸ Again, they have done this to Me: they have ^(NY)defiled My sanctuary on the same day, and have ^(NZ)profaned My Sabbaths. ³⁹ For when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My ^(OA)sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and behold, this is what they did within My house.

⁴⁰ “Furthermore, ^[gg]they have even sent for men who come from a great distance, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came—for whom you bathed, ^(OB)put makeup on your eyes, and ^(OC)adorned yourselves with jewelry; ⁴¹ and you sat on a splendid ^(OD)couch with a ^(OE)table arranged in front of it on which you had set My ^(OF)incense and My ^(OG)oil. ⁴² And the sound of a ^[gh](OH)carefree multitude was with her; and ^(OI)heavy drinkers were brought from the wilderness with people from the multitude of humanity. And they put ^(OJ)bracelets on ^[gi]the wrists of the women and beautiful crowns on their heads.

⁴³ “Then I said concerning her who was ^(OK)worn out by adulteries, ‘^[gj]Will they now commit adultery with her when she is like this?’ ^44 [gk]But they went in to her as they would go in to a prostitute. This is how they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, the lewd women. ⁴⁵ But they, righteous people, will ^(OL)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 this is what the Lord God says: ‘Bring up a contingent against them and turn them over to ^(OM)terror and plunder. ⁴⁷ The contingent will ^(ON)stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and ^(OO)burn their houses with fire. ⁴⁸ So I will eliminate outrageous conduct from the land, so that all women will take warning and not commit ^[gl]outrageous sin as you have done. ⁴⁹ Your outrageous conduct ^[gm]will be ^(OP)repaid to you, and you will bear the guilt for your idols; so you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

Parable of the Boiling Pot

24 Now 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 ^[gn]has ^(OQ)laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ Present a ^(OR)parable to the ^(OS)rebellious house and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[go]God says:

⁶ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

¹⁴ I, the Lord, have spoken; it is ^(PF)coming and I will act. I will not overlook, I will not ^(PG)pity, and I will not be sorry; ^(PH)according to your ways and according to your deeds ^[gw]I will judge you,” declares the Lord God.’”

Death of Ezekiel’s Wife Is a Sign

¹⁵ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you ^(PI)what is precious to your eyes with a ^(PJ)fatal blow; but you shall not ^(PK)mourn and you shall not weep, and your ^(PL)tears shall not come. ¹⁷ Groan silently; do ^(PM)no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet, and do not ^[gx]cover your mustache, and ^(PN)do not eat the ^[gy]bread of other people.” ¹⁸ So 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. ¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are doing?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, ^(PO)that which is precious in your eyes and the longing of your soul; and your ^(PP)sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. ²² And you will do just as I have done; you will not ^[gz]cover your mustache, and you will not eat the ^[ha]bread of other people. ²³ Your turbans will be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You ^(PQ)will not mourn and you will not weep; but ^(PR)you will rot away in your guilty deeds, and you will groan ^[hb]to one another. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be a ^(PS)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 ^(PT)stronghold, the joy of their splendor, that which is precious in their eyes and their ^[hc]heart’s longing, their sons and their daughters, ²⁶ that on that day the one who ^(PU)escapes will come to you with information for your ears? ²⁷ On that day your ^(PV)mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and no longer be silenced. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Judgment on Gentile Nations—Ammon

25 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against the ^(PW)sons of Ammon and prophesy against them, ³ and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord ^[hd]God! This is what the Lord God says: “Because you said, ‘^(PX)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 ^[he](PY)people of the east as a possession, and they will set up their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will ^(PZ)eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵ I will make ^(QA)Rabbah a pasture for camels, and the sons of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ⁶ For this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have ^(QB)clapped your hands and stamped your feet, and have ^(QC)rejoiced with all the malice in your soul against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore, behold, I have ^(QD)reached out with My hand against you and I will give you as ^(QE)plunder to the nations. And I will ^(QF)cut you off from the peoples and ^(QG)eliminate you from the lands. I will exterminate you. So you will ^(QH)know that I am the Lord.”

Moab

⁸ ‘The Lord God says this: “Because ^(QI)Moab and Seir say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ therefore, behold, I am going to ^[hf]deprive the flank of Moab of its cities, of its cities ^[hg]which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, ^(QJ)Beth-jeshimoth, ^(QK)Baal-meon, and ^(QL)Kiriathaim; ¹⁰ and I will give it as a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the ^[hh](QM)people of the east, so that the sons of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ So I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Edom

¹² ‘The Lord God says this: “Because ^(QN)Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred great guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,” ¹³ therefore this is what the Lord God says: “I will also ^(QO)reach out with My hand against Edom and ^(QP)eliminate human and animal life from it. And I will turn it into ruins; from ^(QQ)Teman even to ^(QR)Dedan they will fall by the sword. ¹⁴ And ^(QS)I will inflict My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom ^(QT)in accordance with My anger and My wrath; so they will know My vengeance,” declares the Lord God.

Philistia

¹⁵ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Because the Philistines have acted in ^(QU)revenge, and have taken vengeance with malice in their souls to destroy with everlasting hostility,” ¹⁶ therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to ^(QV)reach out with My hand against the Philistines and eliminate the ^(QW)Cherethites; and I will destroy the remnant of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will ^(QX)know that I am the Lord, when I inflict My vengeance on them.”’”

Judgment on Tyre

26 Now in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, because ^(QY)Tyre has said in regard to Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The ^(QZ)gateway of the peoples is broken; it has ^[hi](RA)opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ ³ therefore this is what the Lord ^[hj]God says: ‘Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring up ^(RB)many nations against you, as the ^(RC)sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They will ^(RD)destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers; and I will sweep her debris away from her and make her a bare rock. ⁵ She will become a dry place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God; ‘and she will become ^(RE)plunder for the nations. ⁶ Also her ^(RF)daughters who are ^[hk]on the mainland will be killed by the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^(RG)king of kings, with horses, ^(RH)chariots, cavalry, and ^[hl]a great army. ⁸ He will kill your daughters ^[hm]on the mainland with the sword; and he will make ^(RI)siege walls against you, pile up an ^(RJ)assault ramp against you, and raise up a large shield against you. ⁹ And he will direct the blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his ^[hn]axes. ¹⁰ Because of the multitude of his ^(RK)horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will ^(RL)shake from the noise of cavalry, ^[ho]wagons, and chariots when he ^(RM)enters your gates as warriors enter a city that is breached. ¹¹ With the hoofs of his ^(RN)horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong ^[hp]pillars will ^(RO)go down to the ground. ¹² Also they will take your riches as spoils and plunder your ^(RP)merchandise, ^(RQ)tear down your walls and destroy your ^(RR)delightful houses, and ^[hq]throw your stones, your timbers, and your debris ^(RS)into the water. ¹³ So I will put an end to the sound of your ^(RT)songs, and the sound of your ^(RU)harps will no longer be heard. ¹⁴ I will turn you into a bare rock; you will become a dry place for the spreading of nets. You will not be ^(RV)rebuilt, for I the ^(RW)Lord have spoken,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁵ The Lord God says this to Tyre: “Will the ^(RX)coastlands not ^(RY)shake from the sound of your downfall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter takes place in your midst? ¹⁶ Then all the princes of the sea will ^(RZ)descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their colorfully woven garments. They will ^(SA)clothe themselves with ^[hr]trembling; they will sit on the ground, ^(SB)tremble again and again, and be appalled at you. ¹⁷ And they will take up a ^(SC)song of mourning over you and say to you,

¹⁹ For this is what the Lord God says: “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I ^(SH)bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, ²⁰ then I will bring you down with those who ^(SI)go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you remain in the ^(SJ)lower parts of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not ^[ht]be inhabited; but I will put ^(SK)glory in the land of the living. ²¹ I will ^[hu]cause you ^(SL)sudden terrors and you will no longer exist; though you will be sought, ^(SM)you will never be found again,” declares the Lord God.

Grief over Tyre

27 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, ^(SN)take up a song of mourning over Tyre; ³ and say to Tyre, ^(SO)who sits at the ^[hv]entrance to the sea, ^(SP)merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, ‘This is what the Lord ^[hw]God says:

¹⁰ “^(SZ)Persia, ^(TA)Lud, and ^(TB)Put were in your army, your men of war. They hung up shield and helmet on you; they presented your splendor. ¹¹ The sons of Arvad and your army were on your walls, all around, and the ^[ib]Gammadim were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they perfected your beauty.

¹² “Tarshish was your customer because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth; with silver, iron, tin, and lead they paid for your merchandise. ^13 (TC)Javan, ^(TD)Tubal, and ^(TE)Meshech, they were your traders; with human ^(TF)lives and vessels of bronze they paid for your merchandise. ¹⁴ Those from ^(TG)Beth-togarmah gave horses, war horses, and mules for your merchandise. ¹⁵ The sons of ^(TH)Dedan were your traders. Many coastlands were ^[ic]your market; they brought ^(TI)ivory tusks and ebony as your payment. ^16 (TJ)Aram was your customer because of the abundance of your ^[id]goods; they paid for your merchandise with ^[ie](TK)emeralds, purple, ^(TL)colorfully woven cloth, fine linen, coral, and rubies. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel, they were your traders; with the wheat of ^(TM)Minnith, ^[if]cakes, honey, oil, and balsam they paid for your merchandise. ^18 (TN)Damascus was your customer because of the abundance of your ^[ig]goods, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth, because of the wine of Helbon and white wool. ¹⁹ Vedan and Javan paid for your merchandise from Uzal; wrought iron, cassia, and spice reed were among your merchandise. ^20 (TO)Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding. ^21 (TP)Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were ^[ih]your customers for ^(TQ)lambs, rams, and goats; for these they were your customers. ²² The traders of ^(TR)Sheba and Raamah, they traded with you; they paid for your merchandise with the best of all ^(TS)balsam oil, and with all kinds of precious stones, and gold. ²³ Haran, Canneh, ^(TT)Eden, the traders of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you. ²⁴ They traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of violet and colorfully woven cloth, and in blankets of two colors, and tightly wound cords, which were among your merchandise. ²⁵ The ^(TU)ships of Tarshish were ^[ii]the carriers 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 ^[in]leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord ^[io]God says this:

⁶ Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

¹¹ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Son of man, ^(UX)take up a song of mourning over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Judgment of Sidon

²⁰ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ “Son of man, ^(VQ)set your face toward ^(VR)Sidon, prophesy against her ²² and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:

²⁴ And there will no longer be for the house of Israel a ^(VV)painful thorn or a hurtful thorn bush from any surrounding them who despised them; then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

Israel Regathered

²⁵ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “When I ^(VW)gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and show Myself holy among them in the sight of the nations, then they will ^(VX)live on their land which I gave to My servant Jacob. ²⁶ They will ^(VY)live on it securely; and they will ^(VZ)build houses, plant vineyards, and live securely when I ^(WA)execute judgments upon all around them who despise them. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.”’”

Judgment of Egypt

29 In the ^(WB)tenth year, 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 against ^(WC)Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all ^(WD)Egypt. ³ Speak and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[iz]God says:

⁸ ‘Therefore the Lord God says this: “Behold, I am going to ^(WM)bring upon you a sword, and I will cut off from you human and animal life. ⁹ The ^(WN)land of Egypt will become a desolation and place of ruins. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

“Because ^[jk]you ^(WO)said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’ ¹⁰ therefore, behold, I am ^(WP)against you and against your ^[jl]canals, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene and as far as the border of ^[jm]Cush. ¹¹ A human foot will ^(WQ)not pass through it, nor will the foot of an animal pass through it, and it will not be inhabited for forty years. ¹² So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the ^(WR)midst of deserted lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate for forty years; and I will ^(WS)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.”

¹³ ‘For this is what the Lord God says: “At the end of forty years I will ^(WT)gather the Egyptians from the peoples ^[jn]among whom they were scattered. ¹⁴ And I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of ^(WU)Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. ¹⁵ It will be the ^(WV)lowest of the kingdoms, and it will not raise itself above the nations again. And I will make them small so that they will not ^(WW)rule over the nations. ¹⁶ And it will no longer be a kingdom on which ^(WX)the house of Israel relies, ^[jo](WY)bringing to mind the guilt of their having turned ^[jp]to Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”’”

¹⁷ Now in the ^(WZ)twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(XA)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor ^[jq]hard against Tyre; every head ^[jr]had a ^(XB)bald spot and every shoulder was rubbed raw. But he and his army acquired no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had ^[js]performed against it.” ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to ^(XC)give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her ^(XD)wealth and capture her spoils and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army. ²⁰ I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he ^[jt](XE)performed, because they acted for Me,” declares the Lord God.

²¹ “On that day I will make a ^(XF)horn sprout for the house of Israel, and I will ^[ju](XG)open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Grief over Egypt

30 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[jv]God says:

^5 [jy]Cush, Put, Lud, all ^[jz](XL)Arabia, ^[ka]Libya and the ^[kb]people of the land ^[kc]that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”

⁹ On that day ^(XQ)messengers will go out from Me in ships to frighten ^(XR)carefree ^[kd]Cush; and ^(XS)trembling will come on them as on the day of Egypt; for behold, it is coming!”

¹⁰ ‘This is what the Lord God says:

¹³ ‘This is what the Lord God says:

Victory for Babylon

²⁰ In the ^(YH)eleventh year, 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 ^(YI)broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been ^(YJ)bound up ^[ks]for healing ^[kt]or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may be strong to wield the sword. ²² Therefore this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am ^(YK)against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the ^(YL)broken; and I will make the sword ^(YM)fall from his hand. ²³ And I will ^(YN)scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands. ²⁴ For I will ^(YO)strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put ^(YP)My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groans of a wounded man. ²⁵ So I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fail. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I put My sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he ^(YQ)reaches out with it against the land of Egypt. ²⁶ When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Pharaoh Warned of Assyria’s Fate

31 In the ^(YR)eleventh year, 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 ^(YS)hordes,

¹⁰ ‘Therefore this is what the Lord ^[le]God says: “Because ^[lf]it is tall in stature and has put its top among the ^[lg]clouds, and its ^(ZE)heart is haughty in its loftiness, ¹¹ I will hand it over to a ^[lh](ZF)ruler of the nations; he will thoroughly deal with it. In accordance with its wickedness I have ^(ZG)driven it out. ^12 (ZH)Foreign ^(ZI)tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; on the ^(ZJ)mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its branches have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the peoples of the earth have ^(ZK)gone down from its shade and left it. ¹³ All the ^(ZL)birds of the sky will nest on its fallen trunk, and all the animals of the field will ^[li]rest on its fallen branches, ¹⁴ so that all the trees by the waters will not be exalted in their stature, nor put their tops among the ^[lj]clouds, nor will any of their ^[lk]well-watered mighty ones stand straight in their height. For they have all been turned over to death, to the ^(ZM)earth beneath, among ^[ll]mankind, ^[lm]with those who go down to the pit.”

¹⁵ ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day when it went down to Sheol I ^(ZN)caused mourning; I closed the ^[ln]deep over it and held back its rivers. And its many waters were stopped up, and I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted away on account of it. ¹⁶ I made the nations ^(ZO)quake from the sound of its fall when I made it ^(ZP)go down to Sheol with those who go down to the pit; and all the ^[lo]well-watered trees of Eden, the choicest and best of ^(ZQ)Lebanon, were ^(ZR)comforted in the earth beneath. ¹⁷ They also ^(ZS)went down with it to Sheol to those who were ^(ZT)slain by the sword; and those who were its ^[lp]strength lived ^(ZU)in its shade among the nations.

¹⁸ “To which among the trees of Eden are you so alike in glory and greatness? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath; you will lie in the midst of the ^(ZV)uncircumcised with those who were killed by the sword. ^(ZW)This is Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ declares the Lord God.”

Grief over Pharaoh and Egypt

32 In the ^(ZX)twelfth year, 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 ^(ZY)song of mourning over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him,

³ This is what the Lord ^[ls]God says:

⁹ “I will also ^(AAL)trouble the hearts of many peoples when I ^(AAM)bring your destruction among the nations, into lands which you have not known. ¹⁰ And I will make many peoples ^(AAN)appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and ^(AAO)they will tremble again and again, every person for his own life, on the day of your fall.”

¹¹ For ^(AAP)the Lord God says ^(AAQ)this: “The sword of the king of Babylon will ^[lw]attack you. ¹² By the swords of the warriors I will make your multitude fall; all of them are ^(AAR)tyrants of the nations,