³⁰ Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Will you defile yourselves in the way of your ^(A)fathers and play the harlot after their detestable things? ^31 [a]And when you offer your gifts, when you ^(B)cause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “I will not be inquired of by you. ³² And what ^(C)comes upon your spirit will not happen, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, ^(D)to minister to wood and stone.’

Yahweh Judges His People

³³ “As I live,” declares Lord Yahweh, “surely with a strong hand and with an ^(E)outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be ^(F)king over you. ³⁴ And I will ^(G)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with ^(H)wrath poured out; ³⁵ and I will bring you into the ^(I)wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. ³⁶ As I ^(J)entered into judgment with your fathers in the ^(K)wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares Lord Yahweh. ³⁷ “And I will make you ^(L)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; ³⁸ and I will ^(M)purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will ^(N)not enter the ^[b]land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.