The Lord Acts for Himself

¹⁶ The ·Lord spoke his word to me [^Lword of the Lord came] again, saying: ¹⁷ “·Human [^TSon of man; 2:1], when the ·nation [^Lhouse] of Israel was living in their own land, they ·made it unclean [defiled it; ^Critually] by their ways and the things they did. Their ways were like ·a woman’s uncleanness in her time of monthly bleeding [menstrual impurity; ^Critually]. ¹⁸ So I poured out my anger against them, because they ·murdered in [shed blood on] the land and because they made the land ·unclean [defiled] with their idols. ¹⁹ I scattered them among the nations, and they were ·spread [dispersed] through the countries. I ·punished [judged] them for how they lived and what they did. ²⁰ They ·dishonored [defiled; profaned; ^Critually] my holy name in the nations where they went. The nations said about them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, but they had to leave the land which he gave them.’ ²¹ But I had concern for my holy name, which the ·nation [^Lhouse] of Israel had ·dishonored [defiled; profaned; ^Critually] among the nations where they went.