Idolatrous Worship Denounced

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face toward the (A)mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord [a]God! This is what the Lord [b]God says to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword against you, and (B)I will destroy your high places. So your (C)altars will become deserted and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols. I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your (D)bones around your altars. [c]Everywhere you live, (E)cities will be in ruins and the high places will be deserted, so that your altars will be in ruins and [d]deserted, your (F)idols will be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars will be cut down, and your works wiped out. The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.

“However, I will leave a (G)remnant, in that you will have those who (H)escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries. Then those of you who escape will (I)remember Me among the nations to which they will be taken captive, how I have [e](J)been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which committed infidelity with their idols; and they will (K)loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 Then they will know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them.”’

11 “This is what the Lord [f]God says: ‘Clap your hands, (L)stamp your foot and say, “(M)Woe, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by the (N)sword, famine, and plague! 12 Anyone who is (O)far away will die by the plague, anyone who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who remains and is spared from these will die by the famine. So I will (P)expend My wrath on them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their (Q)dead are among their idols around their altars, on (R)every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every leafy tree and under every massive oak with thick branches—the places where they offered a soothing aroma to all their idols. 14 So through all their dwelling places I will (S)stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; so they will know that I am the Lord.”’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 6:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Ezekiel 6:3 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  3. Ezekiel 6:6 Lit In all your dwellings
  4. Ezekiel 6:6 As in some ancient versions; MT suffer for their guilt
  5. Ezekiel 6:9 Lit been broken; another reading is broken their (but unlikely)
  6. Ezekiel 6:11 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

Idolatrous Worship and Idolatrous Objects Denounced

And the word of Yahweh came[a] to me, saying, “Son of man,[b] set your face to the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them, and you must say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys: “Look, I am bringing upon you the sword, and I will destroy your high places, and your altars will be desolate, and your incense altars will be broken, and I will throw down your slain ones before[c] your idols, and I will place[d] the corpses of the children of Israel before[e] their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. In all of your dwellings, the cities will be desolate and the high places will be ruined, so that your altars will be desolate and will suffer punishment. Your idols will be broken and will come to an end, and your incense altars will be cut down, and your works will be destroyed, and the slain one will fall in the midst of you, and then you will know that I am Yahweh. But[f] I will spare some, so there will be[g] for you fugitives from the sword among the nations when you are scattered[h] in the countries. And your fugitives will remember me among the nations to which they were taken captive, that I was shattered by their adulterous heart[i] which departed from me, and by their adulterous eyes[j] which went after their idols, and they will feel loathing for themselves,[k] for the evil that they did, for all of their detestable things. 10 And they will know that I am Yahweh; not in vain[l] I spoke to bring to them this evil.”’ 11 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Clap your hand and stamp with your foot, and say, “Alas, for all of the detestable things of the evil of the house of Israel, because of which[m] they will fall with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague. 12 The one who is far away will die by the plague, and the one who is near will fall by the sword, and the one who is being left behind and being spared will die by the famine, and I will complete my rage on[n] them. 13 And you will know that I am Yahweh when their slain ones are in the midst of their idols[o] around their altars at every high hill, on the tops of all the mountains and under every green tree and under every leafy oak—the place at which they gave a pleasing scent for all of their idols. 14 And I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland from the desert to Riblah in all of their dwellings, and they will know that I am Yahweh.”’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 6:1 Literally “was”
  2. Ezekiel 6:2 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
  3. Ezekiel 6:4 Literally “to the face of”
  4. Ezekiel 6:5 Or “give”
  5. Ezekiel 6:5 Literally “to the face of”
  6. Ezekiel 6:8 Or “And”
  7. Ezekiel 6:8 Literally “at their being”
  8. Ezekiel 6:8 Literally “at you to be scattered”
  9. Ezekiel 6:9 Literally “heart their which was prostituting itself
  10. Ezekiel 6:9 Literally “eyes their which were prostituting”
  11. Ezekiel 6:9 Literally “for their face”
  12. Ezekiel 6:10 Literally “to nothing”
  13. Ezekiel 6:11 Literally “which”
  14. Ezekiel 6:12 Or “toward”
  15. Ezekiel 6:13 Literally “in the being of their slain ones in the midst of their idols”