Punishment for Wickedness Foretold

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “And you, son of man, this is what the Lord [a]God says to the land of Israel: ‘An (A)end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. Now the end is upon you, for I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and [b]bring all your abominations upon you. And My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will [c](B)bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will (C)know that I am the Lord!’

“This is what the Lord [d]God says: ‘A (D)disaster, a unique disaster, behold, it is coming! An end [e]is coming; the end has come! It has (E)awakened against you; behold, it has come! Your [f]doom has come to you, you inhabitant of the land. The (F)time has come, the (G)day is near—panic rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. Now I will shortly (H)pour out My wrath on you and expend My anger against you; I will (I)judge you according to your ways and [g]bring on you all your abominations. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare you. I will [h]repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the Lord, am striking.

10 ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your [i]doom has gone forth; the (J)rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. 11 Violence [j]has grown into a rod of (K)wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their [k]people, none of their (L)wealth, nor anything eminent among them. 12 The (M)time has come, the day has arrived. Let neither the (N)buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for (O)wrath is against all their multitude. 13 Indeed, the seller will not [l](P)regain [m]what he sold as long as [n]they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not [o]be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his wrongdoing.

14 ‘They have (Q)blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all [p]their multitude. 15 The (R)sword is outside the city and the plague and the famine are within. Anyone who is in the field will die by the sword, while famine and the plague will consume those in the city. 16 Even when their survivors (S)escape, they will be on the mountains like (T)doves of the valleys, all of them (U)moaning, each over his own wrongdoing. 17 All (V)hands will hang limp, and all [q]knees will drip with water. 18 They will (W)put on sackcloth and (X)shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces, and a [r](Y)bald patch on all their heads. 19 They will (Z)fling their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their (AA)silver and their gold will not be able to save them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their [s]appetite, nor can they fill their stomachs, because their wrongdoing has become a cause of stumbling.

The Temple Profaned

20 Moreover, they transformed the splendor of His jewels into pride, and (AB)they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them. 21 And I will hand it over to the (AC)foreigners as plunder, and to the wicked of the earth as spoils; and they will profane it. 22 I will also turn My (AD)face away from them, and they will profane My treasure; then robbers will enter and profane it.

23 (AE)Make the [t]chain, for the land is full of [u](AF)bloody crimes, and the city is (AG)full of violence. 24 Therefore, I will bring the worst of the (AH)nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will also put an end to the (AI)pride of the strong ones, and their (AJ)holy places will be profaned. 25 When anguish comes, they will seek (AK)peace, but there will be none. 26 (AL)Disaster will come upon disaster and (AM)rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a (AN)vision from a prophet, but the (AO)Law will be lost from the priest, and (AP)counsel from the elders. 27 The king will mourn, the prince will be (AQ)clothed in horror, and the hands of the people of the land will [v]tremble. I will deal with them because of their conduct, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 7:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Ezekiel 7:3 Lit give
  3. Ezekiel 7:4 Lit give
  4. Ezekiel 7:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  5. Ezekiel 7:6 Or has come
  6. Ezekiel 7:7 Meaning uncertain
  7. Ezekiel 7:8 Lit give
  8. Ezekiel 7:9 Lit give
  9. Ezekiel 7:10 Meaning uncertain
  10. Ezekiel 7:11 Lit has risen
  11. Ezekiel 7:11 Or procession
  12. Ezekiel 7:13 Lit return to
  13. Ezekiel 7:13 Lit the thing sold; i.e., his inherited land
  14. Ezekiel 7:13 Lit their life among the living ones
  15. Ezekiel 7:13 Lit return
  16. Ezekiel 7:14 Lit her
  17. Ezekiel 7:17 Heb idiom meaning to wet oneself
  18. Ezekiel 7:18 I.e., shaved as a sign of mourning
  19. Ezekiel 7:19 Lit soul
  20. Ezekiel 7:23 I.e., used for imprisonment
  21. Ezekiel 7:23 Lit judgment of blood
  22. Ezekiel 7:27 Lit be horrified

Announcement of the End

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

An end! The end has come
on the four corners of the earth.(A)
The end is now upon you;
I will send my anger against you
and judge you according to your ways.
I will punish you for all your detestable practices.
I will not look on you with pity or spare you,(B)
but I will punish you for your ways(C)
and for your detestable practices within you.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.”(D)

This is what the Lord God says:

Look, one disaster after another is coming!(E)
An end has come; the end has come!
It has awakened against you.
Look, it is coming!
Doom[a] has come on you,(F)
inhabitants of the land.
The time has come; the day is near.
There will be panic on the mountains
and not celebration.(G)

I will pour out my wrath on you very soon;(H)
I will exhaust my anger against you
and judge you according to your ways.
I will punish you for all your detestable practices.
I will not look on you with pity or spare you.
I will punish you for your ways
and for your detestable practices within you.
Then you will know
that it is I, the Lord, who strikes.

10 Here is the day! Here it comes!
Doom is on its way.(I)
The rod has blossomed;(J)
arrogance has bloomed.(K)
11 Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness.(L)
None of them will remain:
none of that crowd,
none of their wealth,
and none of the eminent[b] among them.

12 The time has come; the day has arrived.
Let the buyer not rejoice(M)
and the seller not mourn,
for wrath is on her whole crowd.(N)
13 The seller will certainly not return
to what was sold
as long as he and the buyer remain alive.[c]
For the vision concerning her whole crowd
will not be revoked,
and because of the iniquity of each one,
none will preserve his life.

14 They have blown the trumpet(O)
and prepared everything,
but no one goes to war,
for my wrath is on her whole crowd.
15 The sword is on the outside;(P)
plague and famine are on the inside.
Whoever is in the field will die by the sword,
and famine and plague will devour
whoever is in the city.

16 The survivors among them will escape(Q)
and live on the mountains.
Like doves of the valley,
all of them will moan,
each over his own iniquity.
17 All their hands will become weak,
and all their knees will run with urine.[d](R)
18 They will put on sackcloth,
and horror will overwhelm them.
Shame will cover all their faces,
and all their heads will be bald.(S)

19 They will throw their silver into the streets,
and their gold will seem like something filthy.(T)
Their silver and gold will be unable to save them
in the day of the Lord’s wrath.(U)
They will not satisfy their appetites
or fill their stomachs,
for these were the stumbling blocks(V)
that brought about their iniquity.

20 He appointed his beautiful ornaments for majesty,
but[e] they made their detestable images from them,
their abhorrent things.(W)
Therefore, I have made these
into something filthy to them.
21 I will hand these things over
to foreigners as plunder(X)
and to the wicked of the earth as spoil,
and they will profane them.
22 I will turn my face from them
as they profane my treasured place.
Violent men will enter it and profane it.

23 Forge the chain,(Y)
for the land is filled with crimes of bloodshed,
and the city is filled with violence.(Z)
24 So I will bring the most evil of nations(AA)
to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the strong,
and their sacred places will be profaned.(AB)
25 Anguish is coming!
They will look for peace, but there will be none.
26 Disaster after disaster will come,(AC)
and there will be rumor after rumor.(AD)
Then they will look for a vision from a prophet,(AE)
but instruction will perish from the priests
and counsel from the elders.(AF)
27 The king will mourn;
the prince will be clothed in grief;
and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their own conduct,
and I will judge them by their own standards.(AG)
Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 7:7 Or A leash; Hb obscure, also in v. 10
  2. 7:11 Some Hb mss, Syr, Vg read and no rest
  3. 7:13 Lit sold, while still in life is their life
  4. 7:17 Lit knees will go water
  5. 7:20 Or They turned their beautiful ornaments into objects of pride, and