Ezekiel 4:1-23:22

New American Standard Bible

Siege of Jerusalem Predicted

4 “Now you, son of man, ^(A)get yourself a brick, place it before you, and inscribe a city on it—Jerusalem. ² Then ^(B)lay siege against it, build a siege wall, pile up an assault ramp, set up camps, and place battering rams against it all around. ³ Then get yourself an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city, and direct your face toward it so that ^(C)it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a ^(D)sign to the house of Israel.

⁴ “Then you are to lie down on your left side and put the wrongdoing of the house of Israel on it; you shall ^(E)bear their wrongdoing for the number of days that you lie on it. ⁵ For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their wrongdoing, 390 days; so ^(F)you shall bear the wrongdoing of the house of Israel. ⁶ When you have completed these days, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the wrongdoing of the house of Judah; I have assigned it to you for forty days, a day for ^(G)each year. ⁷ Then you shall direct your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and ^(H)prophesy against it. ⁸ Now behold, I will ^(I)put ropes ^[a]around you so that you cannot turn from your one side to your other until you have completed the days of your siege.

Defiled Bread

⁹ “But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and ^(J)spelt, and put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, 390 days. ¹⁰ Your food which you eat shall be ^(K)twenty shekels a day by weight; you shall eat it from time to time. ¹¹ The water you drink shall be a ^[b]sixth of a hin by measure; you shall drink it from time to time. ¹² You shall eat it as a barley cake, having baked it in their sight over human ^(L)dung.” ¹³ Then the Lord said, “In this way the sons of Israel will eat their bread ^(M)unclean among the nations where I will scatter them.” ¹⁴ But I said, “^(N)Oh, Lord ^[c]God! Behold, ^[d]I have ^(O)never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what ^(P)died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has any ^(Q)unclean meat ever entered my mouth!” ¹⁵ Then He said to me, “See, I will give you cow’s dung in place of human dung, so that you may prepare your bread over it.” ¹⁶ Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to ^(R)break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by ^(S)weight and with anxiety, and drink water by ^(T)measure and in horror, ¹⁷ because bread and water will be scarce; and they will tremble with one another and ^(U)waste away in their guilt.

Jerusalem’s Desolation Foretold

5 “As for you, son of man, take a ^(V)sharp sword; take and ^[e]use it as a barber’s razor on your head and beard. Then take ^(W)scales for weighing and divide ^[f]the hair. ² A third you shall burn in the fire at the center of the city, when the ^(X)days of the siege are completed. Then you shall take a third and strike it with the sword all around ^[g]the city, and a third you shall scatter to the wind; for I will ^(Y)unsheathe a sword behind them. ³ Take also a few hairs in number from ^[h]them and bind them in the hems of your robes. ⁴ Take again some of them and throw them into the fire and burn them in the fire; from it a fire will ^[i]spread to all the house of Israel.

⁵ “This is what the Lord ^[j]God says: ‘This is ^(Z)Jerusalem; I have placed her at the ^(AA)center of the nations, with lands around her. ⁶ But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes ^(AB)more than the lands which surround her; for they have ^(AC)rejected My ordinances and have not walked ^[k]in My statutes.’ ⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have ^(AD)more turmoil than the nations that surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor executed My ordinances, nor acted in accordance with the ordinances of the nations around you,’ ⁸ therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I, even I, am ^(AE)against you, and I will ^(AF)execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. ⁹ And because of all your abominations I will do among you what I have ^(AG)not done, and the like of which I will never do again. ¹⁰ Therefore, ^(AH)fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and ^(AI)scatter all your remnant to every wind. ¹¹ Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Because you have ^(AJ)defiled My sanctuary with all your ^(AK)detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare. ¹² A third of you will die by ^(AL)plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will ^(AM)scatter to every wind, and I will ^(AN)unsheathe a sword behind them.

¹³ ‘Then My anger will be spent and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be ^(AO)appeased; then they will know that I, the Lord, have ^(AP)spoken in My zeal, when I have spent My wrath upon them. ¹⁴ Moreover, I will make you a site of ruins and a ^(AQ)disgrace among the nations that surround you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. ¹⁵ So ^[l]it will be a disgrace, an object of abuse, a ^(AR)warning, and an object of horror to the nations that surround you when I ^(AS)execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging reprimands. I, the Lord, have spoken. ¹⁶ When I send against them the ^[m]deadly arrows of famine which ^[n]were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will also intensify the famine upon you and break off your ^[o]provision of bread. ^17 (AT)I will send on you famine and vicious animals, and they will bereave you of children; ^(AU)plague and bloodshed also will pass through you, and I will bring the sword on you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

Idolatrous Worship Denounced

6 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face toward the ^(AV)mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them ³ and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord ^[p]God! This is what the Lord ^[q]God says to the mountains, the hills, the ravines, and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword against you, and ^(AW)I will destroy your high places. ⁴ So your ^(AX)altars will become deserted and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols. ⁵ I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your ^(AY)bones around your altars. ^6 [r]Everywhere you live, ^(AZ)cities will be in ruins and the high places will be deserted, so that your altars will be in ruins and ^[s]deserted, your ^(BA)idols will be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars will be cut down, and your works wiped out. ⁷ The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.

⁸ “However, I will leave a ^(BB)remnant, in that you will have those who ^(BC)escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries. ⁹ Then those of you who escape will ^(BD)remember Me among the nations to which they will be taken captive, how I have ^[t](BE)been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which committed infidelity with their idols; and they will ^(BF)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 ^[u]God says: ‘Clap your hands, ^(BG)stamp your foot and say, “^(BH)Woe, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by the ^(BI)sword, famine, and plague! ¹² Anyone who is ^(BJ)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 ^(BK)expend My wrath on them. ¹³ Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their ^(BL)dead are among their idols around their altars, on ^(BM)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 ^(BN)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.”’”

Punishment for Wickedness Foretold

7 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, this is what the Lord ^[v]God says to the land of Israel: ‘An ^(BO)end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land. ³ Now the end is upon you, for I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and ^[w]bring all your abominations upon you. ⁴ And My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will ^[x](BP)bring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will ^(BQ)know that I am the Lord!’

⁵ “This is what the Lord ^[y]God says: ‘A ^(BR)disaster, a unique disaster, behold, it is coming! ⁶ An end ^[z]is coming; the end has come! It has ^(BS)awakened against you; behold, it has come! ⁷ Your ^[aa]doom has come to you, you inhabitant of the land. The ^(BT)time has come, the ^(BU)day is near—panic rather than joyful shouting on the mountains. ⁸ Now I will shortly ^(BV)pour out My wrath on you and expend My anger against you; I will ^(BW)judge you according to your ways and ^[ab]bring on you all your abominations. ⁹ My eye will have no pity nor will I spare you. I will ^[ac]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 ^[ad]doom has gone forth; the ^(BX)rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed. ¹¹ Violence ^[ae]has grown into a rod of ^(BY)wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their ^[af]people, none of their ^(BZ)wealth, nor anything eminent among them. ¹² The ^(CA)time has come, the day has arrived. Let neither the ^(CB)buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for ^(CC)wrath is against all their multitude. ¹³ Indeed, the seller will not ^[ag](CD)regain ^[ah]what he sold as long as ^[ai]they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not ^[aj]be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his wrongdoing.

¹⁴ ‘They have ^(CE)blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all ^[ak]their multitude. ¹⁵ The ^(CF)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 ^(CG)escape, they will be on the mountains like ^(CH)doves of the valleys, all of them ^(CI)moaning, each over his own wrongdoing. ¹⁷ All ^(CJ)hands will hang limp, and all ^[al]knees will drip with water. ¹⁸ They will ^(CK)put on sackcloth and ^(CL)shuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces, and a ^[am](CM)bald patch on all their heads. ¹⁹ They will ^(CN)fling their silver into the streets, and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their ^(CO)silver and their gold will not be able to save them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their ^[an]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 ^(CP)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 ^(CQ)foreigners as plunder, and to the wicked of the earth as spoils; and they will profane it. ²² I will also turn My ^(CR)face away from them, and they will profane My treasure; then robbers will enter and profane it.

²³ ‘^(CS)Make the ^[ao]chain, for the land is full of ^[ap](CT)bloody crimes, and the city is ^(CU)full of violence. ²⁴ Therefore, I will bring the worst of the ^(CV)nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will also put an end to the ^(CW)pride of the strong ones, and their ^(CX)holy places will be profaned. ²⁵ When anguish comes, they will seek ^(CY)peace, but there will be none. ^26 (CZ)Disaster will come upon disaster and ^(DA)rumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a ^(DB)vision from a prophet, but the ^(DC)Law will be lost from the priest, and ^(DD)counsel from the elders. ²⁷ The king will mourn, the prince will be ^(DE)clothed in horror, and the hands of the people of the land will ^[aq]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.’”

Vision of Abominations in Jerusalem

8 Now it came about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord ^[ar]God fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and behold, something like the appearance of ^[as]a man; from His waist and downward there was the ^(DF)appearance of fire, and from His waist and upward like the appearance of a glow, like ^(DG)gleaming ^[at]metal. ³ And He extended the form of a hand and took me by the hair of my head; and the ^(DH)Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the ^[au]north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which ^(DI)provokes to jealousy, was located. ⁴ And behold, the ^(DJ)glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.

⁵ Then He said to me, “Son of man, ^(DK)raise your eyes now toward the north.” So I raised my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this ^(DL)idol of jealousy at the entrance. ⁶ And He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great ^(DM)abominations which the house of Israel are committing here, so that I would be far from My sanctuary? But yet you will see still greater abominations!”

⁷ Then He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard, and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. ⁸ And He said to me, “Son of man, now ^(DN)dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are committing here.” ¹⁰ So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of crawling things and animals and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. ¹¹ And standing in front of them were ^(DO)seventy ^(DP)elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his ^(DQ)censer in his hand; and the fragrance of the cloud of incense was rising. ¹² Then He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each man in the rooms of his carved images? For they say, ‘^(DR)The Lord does not see us; the Lord has ^(DS)abandoned the land.’” ¹³ And He said to me, “Yet you will see still greater abominations which they are committing!”

¹⁴ Then He brought me to the entrance of the ^(DT)gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for ^[av]Tammuz. ¹⁵ And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these!”

¹⁶ Then He brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’s house. And behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their ^(DU)backs to the temple of the Lord while their faces were toward the east; and ^(DV)they were ^[aw]prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun. ¹⁷ And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it a trivial thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have ^(DW)filled the land with violence and ^(DX)provoked Me to anger repeatedly? Yet behold, they are ^[ax]putting the twig to their nose! ¹⁸ Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare; and ^(DY)though they cry out in My ears with a loud voice, yet I will not listen to them.”

The Vision of Slaughter

9 Then He cried out in my ^[ay]presence with a loud ^(DZ)voice, saying, “Come forward, you ^[az]executioners of the city, each with his weapon of destruction in his hand.” ² And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each with his smashing weapon in his hand; and among them was ^(EA)one man clothed in linen with a scribe’s kit at his waist. And they came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ Then the ^(EB)glory of the God of Israel ascended from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the ^[ba]temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose waist was the scribe’s kit. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and make a ^(EC)mark on the foreheads of the people who ^(ED)groan and sigh over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” ⁵ But to the others He said in my ^[bb]presence, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. ^6 [bc]Utterly ^(EE)kill old men, young men, female virgins, little children, and women, but do not ^(EF)touch any person on whom is the mark; and you shall ^(EG)start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the ^[bd]elders who were before the ^[be]temple. ⁷ He also said to them, “^(EH)Defile the ^[bf]temple and fill the courtyards with the dead. Go out!” So they went out and struck and killed the people in the city. ⁸ And as they were striking the people and I alone was left, I ^(EI)fell on my face and cried out, ^[bg]saying, “^(EJ)Oh, Lord ^[bh]God! Are You going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel ^[bi]by pouring out Your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then He said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great, and the land is ^(EK)filled with blood, and the city is ^(EL)full of perversion; for ^(EM)they say, ‘The Lord has abandoned the land, and the Lord does not see!’ ¹⁰ But as for Me, ^(EN)My eye will have no pity nor will I spare, but ^(EO)I will bring their conduct upon their heads.”

¹¹ Then behold, the man clothed in linen, at whose waist was the scribe’s kit, ^[bj]reported, saying, “I have done just as You have commanded me.”

Vision of God’s Glory Departing from the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, in the ^[bk](EP)expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a ^(EQ)sapphire stone, in appearance resembling a ^(ER)throne, appeared above them. ² And He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Enter between the ^(ES)whirling wheels under the ^[bl]cherubim and fill your hands with ^(ET)coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in my sight.

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the ^[bm]temple when the man entered, and the cloud filled the ^(EU)inner courtyard. ⁴ Then the ^(EV)glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the ^(EW)temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the ^(EX)brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer courtyard, like the ^(EY)voice of ^[bn]God Almighty when He speaks.

⁶ And it came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he entered and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ Then the cherub reached out with his hand from between the cherubim to the fire which was between the cherubim, took some coals and put them into the hands of the one clothed in linen; and he took them and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have something like a human hand under their wings.

⁹ Then I looked, and behold, ^(EZ)four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a ^[bo](FA)Tarshish stone. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel. ¹¹ When they moved, they went ^(FB)in any of their four ^[bp]directions without turning as they went; but they followed in the direction which ^[bq]they faced, without turning as they went. ¹² And their ^(FC)whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings and the ^(FD)wheels were ^[br]covered with eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. ¹³ The wheels were called, ^[bs]as I heard, the ^[bt]whirling wheels. ¹⁴ And ^(FE)each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a human, the third, the face of a lion, and the fourth, the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose up. They are the ^(FF)living beings that I saw by the river Chebar. ¹⁶ Now when the cherubim moved, the wheels would move beside them; also when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels themselves would not turn away from beside them. ¹⁷ When ^[bu]the cherubim ^(FG)stood still, ^[bv]the wheels would stand still; and when they rose up, ^[bw]the wheels would rise with them, because the spirit of the living beings was in them.

¹⁸ Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood ^(FH)over the cherubim. ¹⁹ When ^(FI)the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the ground in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel ^[bx]hovered over them.

²⁰ These are the ^(FJ)living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by ^(FK)the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim. ^21 (FL)Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands. ²² As for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one went straight ahead.

Evil Rulers to Be Judged

11 Now the ^(FM)Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s house which faced eastward. And behold, there were twenty-five men at the entrance of the gate, and among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and ^(FN)Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. ² Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise wrongdoing and ^(FO)give evil advice in this city, ³ who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. ^[by]This ^(FP)city is the pot and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore, ^(FQ)prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man!”

⁵ Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and He said to me, “Say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “This is how you think, house of Israel, for ^(FR)I know ^[bz]your ^(FS)thoughts. ⁶ You have ^(FT)multiplied your slain in this city, and filled its streets with ^[ca]them.” ⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord ^[cb]God says: “Your ^(FU)slain whom you have laid in the midst of ^[cc]the city are the meat and this city is the pot; but ^[cd]I will ^(FV)bring you out of it. ⁸ You have ^(FW)feared a sword; so I will ^(FX)bring a sword upon you,” the Lord God declares. ⁹ “And I will bring you out of the midst of ^[ce]the city, and hand you over to ^(FY)strangers, and ^(FZ)execute judgments against you. ¹⁰ You will ^(GA)fall by the sword. I will judge you to the ^(GB)border of Israel; so you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ This city will ^(GC)not be a pot for you, nor will you be meat in the midst of it; I will judge you to the border of Israel. ¹² So you will know that I am the Lord; for you have not walked in My statutes, nor have you ^(GD)executed My ordinances, but you have acted in accordance with the ordinances of the ^(GE)nations around you.”’”

¹³ Now it came about, as I prophesied, that ^(GF)Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice, and said, “^(GG)Oh, Lord God! Will You bring the remnant of Israel to a complete destruction?”

Promise of Restoration

¹⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁵ “Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, ^[cf]your fellow exiles, and the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Keep far from the Lord; this land has been given ^(GH)to us as a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Though I had removed them far away among the nations, and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a ^(GI)sanctuary for them for a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I will ^(GJ)gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ ¹⁸ When they come there, they will ^(GK)remove all its ^(GL)detestable things and all its abominations from it. ¹⁹ And I will ^(GM)give them one heart, and put a new spirit within ^[cg]them. And I will remove the ^(GN)heart of stone from their flesh and give them a ^(GO)heart of flesh, ²⁰ so that they may ^(GP)walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be ^(GQ)My people, and I shall be their God. ^21 [ch]But as for those whose hearts go after their ^(GR)detestable things and abominations, I will ^[ci](GS)bring their conduct down on their heads,” declares the Lord God.

²² Then the cherubim ^(GT)lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and ^(GU)the glory of the God of Israel ^[cj]hovered over them. ²³ The ^(GV)glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^(GW)stood over the mountain which is east of the city. ²⁴ And the ^(GX)Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to ^[ck]Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen ^[cl](GY)left me. ²⁵ And I ^(GZ)told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

Ezekiel Prepares for Exile

12 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, you live in the ^(HA)midst of the ^(HB)rebellious house, who ^(HC)have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. ³ So as for you, son of man, prepare for yourself baggage for exile and go into exile by day in their sight; that is, go into exile from your place to another place in their sight. ^(HD)Perhaps they will ^[cm]understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ Bring your baggage out by day in their sight, as baggage for exile. Then you shall go out ^(HE)at evening in their sight, as those who are going into exile. ⁵ Dig a hole through the wall in their sight and ^[cn]go out through it. ⁶ Load the baggage on your shoulder in their sight and carry it out in the dark. You shall ^(HF)cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a ^(HG)sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷ Then I ^(HH)did so, just as I had been commanded. By day I ^(HI)brought out my baggage like the baggage of an exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands; I went out in the dark and carried the baggage on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ And in the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has the house of Israel, the ^(HJ)rebellious house, not said to you, ‘^(HK)What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[co]God says: “This ^(HL)pronouncement concerns the prince in Jerusalem as well as all the house of Israel who are ^[cp]in it.”’ ¹¹ Say, ‘I am ^[cq]a ^(HM)sign to you. Just as I have done, so it will be done to them; they will ^(HN)go into exile, into captivity.’ ¹² The ^(HO)prince who is among them will load his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. ^[cr]They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out through it. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³ I will also spread My ^(HP)net over him, and he will be caught in My net. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will ^(HQ)not see it, though he will die there. ¹⁴ And I will ^(HR)scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will draw out a sword after them. ¹⁵ So they will ^(HS)know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ¹⁶ But I will ^[cs]spare a few of them from the ^(HT)sword, the famine, and plague so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations where they go, and ^[ct]may ^(HU)know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁷ Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, ^(HV)eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quivering and anxiety. ¹⁹ Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because ^[cu]their land will be ^[cv](HW)stripped of its fullness on account of the violence of all who live in it. ²⁰ The inhabited ^(HX)cities will be in ruins, and the ^(HY)land will be a desolation. So you will know that I am the Lord.”’”

²¹ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this ^(HZ)proverb you people have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The ^(IA)days are long, and every ^(IB)vision fails’? ²³ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “I will put an end to this proverb so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.” But tell them, “^(IC)The days are approaching as well as the ^[cw]fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ For there will no longer be any ^[cx](ID)false vision or deceptive divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I the Lord will speak whatever ^(IE)word I speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, for in ^(IF)your days, you ^(IG)rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it,” declares the Lord God.’”

²⁶ Furthermore, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for ^(IH)many ^[cy]years from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “None of My words will be delayed any longer. Whatever word I speak will be performed,”’” declares the Lord God.

False Prophets Condemned

13 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the ^(II)prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy from their own ^[cz]inspiration, ‘^(IJ)Listen to the word of the Lord! ³ This is what the Lord ^[da]God says: “Woe to the ^(IK)foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have ^(IL)seen nothing! ⁴ Israel, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. ⁵ You have not ^(IM)gone up into the ^(IN)breaches, nor did you build up a stone wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the ^(IO)day of the Lord. ⁶ They see ^(IP)deceit and lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The Lord declares,’ when the Lord has not sent them; ^(IQ)yet they wait for the fulfillment of their word! ^7 (IR)Did you not see a false vision and tell a lying divination when you said, ‘The Lord declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”’”

⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have spoken deceit and have seen a lie, therefore behold, ^(IS)I am against you,” declares the Lord God. ⁹ “So My hand will be against the ^(IT)prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will ^[db]have no place in the council of My people, ^(IU)nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, ^[dc]so that you may know that I am the Lord God. ¹⁰ It is definitely because they have ^(IV)misled My people by saying, ‘^(IW)Peace!’ when there is ^(IX)no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash; ¹¹ so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A ^(IY)flooding rain will come, and you, hailstones, will fall, and a violent wind will break out. ¹² Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?’” ¹³ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and ^(IZ)hailstones to consume it in wrath. ¹⁴ So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and hurl it down to the ground, so that its ^(JA)foundation is exposed; and when it falls, you will ^(JB)perish in its midst. And you will ^(JC)know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ So I will expend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall ^[dd]is gone and those who plastered it are gone, ¹⁶ along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who ^(JD)see a vision of peace for her when there is ^(JE)no peace,’ declares the Lord God.

¹⁷ “Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are ^(JF)talking like prophets ^(JG)from their own ^[de]imagination. Prophesy against them ¹⁸ and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on ^[df]all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to ^(JH)capture souls! Will you capture the souls of My people, but keep the souls of others alive for yourselves? ^19 (JI)For handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, you have profaned Me to My people, to put to death ^[dg]some who should not die, and to ^(JJ)keep ^[dh]others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

²⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am against your magic bands by which you capture souls there as ^[di]birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let ^[dj]them go, those souls whom you capture as ^[dk]birds. ²¹ I will also tear off your veils and ^(JK)save My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands as prey; and you will know that I am the Lord. ²² Because you ^(JL)disheartened the righteous with falsehood when I did not cause him pain, but you have ^[dl](JM)encouraged the wicked not to ^(JN)turn from his wicked way to keep him alive, ²³ therefore you women will no longer see ^(JO)deceitful visions or practice divination, and I will ^(JP)save My people from your hands. So you will ^(JQ)know that I am the Lord.”

Idolatrous Elders Condemned

14 Then some ^(JR)elders of Israel came to me and ^(JS)sat down before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have ^(JT)set up their idols in their hearts and have ^(JU)put in front of their faces the stumbling block of their wrongdoing. Should I let Myself be ^(JV)consulted by them at all? ⁴ Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[dm]God says: “Anyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will let Myself answer him in ^[dn]the matter in view of the ^(JW)multitude of his idols, ⁵ in order to take hold of ^[do](JX)the hearts of the house of Israel who have ^[dp](JY)turned away from Me due to all their idols.”’

⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “^(JZ)Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your ^(KA)abominations. ⁷ For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the ^(KB)strangers who reside in Israel, who deserts Me, sets up his idols in his heart, puts in front of his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet to request something of Me for himself, ^(KC)I the Lord will let Myself answer him Myself. ⁸ I will ^(KD)set My face against that person and make him a ^(KE)sign and ^[dq]a proverb, and I will eliminate him from among My people. So you will know that I am the Lord.

⁹ “But if the prophet is persuaded so that he speaks a word, it is I, the Lord, who have persuaded that prophet; and I will stretch out My hand against him and ^(KF)eliminate him from among My people Israel. ¹⁰ And they will bear the punishment for their wrongdoing; as the wrongdoing of the inquirer is, so the wrongdoing of the prophet will be, ¹¹ in order that the house of Israel may no longer ^(KG)stray from Me and no longer ^(KH)defile themselves with all their offenses. So they will be ^(KI)My people, and I shall be their God,”’ declares the Lord God.”

The City Will Not Be Spared

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹³ “Son of man, if a country sins against Me by ^(KJ)being unfaithful, and I stretch out My hand against it, ^[dr]destroy its ^(KK)supply of bread, send famine against it, and eliminate from it both human and animal life, ¹⁴ even ^(KL)though these three men, ^(KM)Noah, ^(KN)Daniel, and ^(KO)Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only save ^(KP)themselves,” declares the Lord God. ¹⁵ “If I were to cause ^(KQ)vicious animals to pass through the land and they ^[ds]depopulated it, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through it because of the animals, ¹⁶ though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters. ^(KR)They alone would be saved, but the country would be desolate. ¹⁷ Or if I were to ^(KS)bring a sword on that country and say, ‘A sword is to pass through the country,’ and I ^(KT)eliminated human and animal life from it, ¹⁸ even though these three men were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be saved. ¹⁹ Or if I were to send a ^(KU)plague against that country and pour out My wrath on it in blood to eliminate man and animal from it, ²⁰ even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they could not save either their son or their daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.”

²¹ For this is what the Lord God says: “How much more when ^(KV)I send My four ^[dt]severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, vicious animals, and plague to eliminate human and animal life from it! ²² Yet, behold, ^[du]survivors will be left in it who will be brought out, both sons and daughters. Behold, they are going to come out to you, and you will ^(KW)see their conduct and actions; then you will be ^(KX)comforted for the disaster which I have brought against Jerusalem for everything which I have brought upon it. ²³ Then they will comfort you when you see their conduct and actions, for you will know that I have not done ^(KY)without reason whatever I did ^[dv]to it,” declares the Lord God.

Jerusalem like a Useless Vine

15 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^[dw]how is the wood of the ^(KZ)vine better than any wood of a branch which is among the trees of the forest? ³ Can wood be taken from it to make ^[dx]anything, or can even a peg be taken from it on which to hang any utensil? ⁴ If it has been put into the ^(LA)fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred, is it then good for ^[dy]anything? ⁵ Behold, while it is intact, it is not made into ^[dz]anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into ^[ea]anything! ⁶ Therefore, this is what the Lord ^[eb]God says: ‘As the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ⁷ and I ^(LB)set My face against them. Though they have ^(LC)come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. ⁸ So I will make the land desolate, because they have ^(LD)acted unfaithfully,’” declares the Lord God.

God’s Grace to Unfaithful Jerusalem

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(LE)make known to Jerusalem her abominations, ³ and say, ‘This is what the Lord ^[ec]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, ^(LF)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 ^[ed](LG)open field, ^[ee]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 ^(LH)made you ^[ef]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, ^[eg]you were at the time for love; so I ^(LI)spread My ^[eh]garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also ^(LJ)swore an oath to you and ^(LK)entered into a covenant with you so that you ^(LL)became Mine,” declares the Lord God. ⁹ “Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and ^(LM)anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I also clothed you with ^(LN)colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of ^[ei]fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I adorned you with jewelry, put ^(LO)bracelets on your wrists, and a ^(LP)necklace around your neck. ¹² I also put a ^(LQ)ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a ^(LR)beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you were adorned with ^(LS)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 ^(LT)royalty. ¹⁴ Then your ^(LU)fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was ^(LV)perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁵ “But you ^(LW)trusted in your beauty and ^(LX)became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your ^[ej]obscene practices on every passer-by to whom it might be tempting. ¹⁶ You took some of your clothes, made for yourself ^[ek]high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen. ¹⁷ You also took your beautiful ^[el](LY)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 ^(LZ)My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, ^[em]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 ^(MA)Me and ^(MB)sacrificed them to ^[en]idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter? ²¹ You slaughtered ^(MC)My children and offered them to ^[eo]idols by ^(MD)making them pass through the fire. ²² And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of ^(ME)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 ^(MF)shrine and made yourself a ^(MG)high place in every public square. ²⁵ You built yourself a high place at the beginning of ^(MH)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 ^[ep]lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to ^(MI)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 ^(MJ)daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct. ²⁸ Moreover, you committed prostitution with the ^(MK)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 ^(ML)feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord God, “while you do all these things, the action of a ^[eq](MM)bold prostitute! ³¹ When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in ^(MN)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 ^(MO)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 ^(MP)idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to ^[er]idols, ³⁷ therefore, behold, I am going to ^(MQ)gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you ^(MR)hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and ^(MS)expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness. ³⁸ So I will ^(MT)judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of ^(MU)wrath and jealousy. ³⁹ I will also hand you over to ^[es]your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, ^(MV)strip you of your clothing, take away your ^[et]jewels, and will leave you naked and bare. ⁴⁰ They will ^[eu]incite a ^(MW)crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ And they will ^(MX)burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will ^(MY)put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay ^[ev]your lovers. ⁴² So I ^(MZ)will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and ^(NA)no longer be angry. ⁴³ Since you have ^(NB)not remembered the days of your youth but ^[ew]have ^(NC)caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will ^(ND)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 ^(NE)proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying, ‘Like ^[ex]mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the ^(NF)sister of your sisters, who ^(NG)loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Now your ^(NH)older sister is Samaria, who lives ^[ey]north of you with her ^[ez]daughters; and your younger sister, who lives ^[fa]south of you, is ^(NI)Sodom with her ^[fb]daughters. ⁴⁷ Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and ^[fc]committed their abominations; but, as if that were ^(NJ)too little, you also acted ^(NK)more corruptly in all your conduct than they. ⁴⁸ As I live,” declares the Lord God, “Sodom, your sister and her daughters have ^(NL)not done as you and your daughters have done! ⁴⁹ Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had ^(NM)arrogance, ^(NN)plenty of food, and ^(NO)carefree ease, but she did not ^[fd]help the ^(NP)poor and needy. ⁵⁰ So they were haughty and committed ^(NQ)abominations before Me. Therefore I ^(NR)removed them ^[fe]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 ^(NS)innocent by all your abominations which you have committed. ⁵² Also, bear your disgrace in that you have ^[ff]made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted ^(NT)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 ^[fg]along with them your own fortunes, ⁵⁴ so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ^(NU)ashamed for all that you have done when you become ^(NV)a consolation to them. ⁵⁵ Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, ^[fh]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 ^(NW)wickedness was uncovered, ^[fi]so now you have become the ^(NX)disgrace of the daughters of ^[fj]Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines—those surrounding you who despise you. ⁵⁸ You have ^(NY)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 ^(NZ)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 ^(OA)everlasting covenant with you. ⁶¹ Then you will ^(OB)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 ^(OC)establish My covenant with you, and you shall ^(OD)know that I am the Lord, ⁶³ so that you may ^(OE)remember and be ashamed, and ^(OF)not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have ^[fk](OG)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 ^(OH)parable to the house of Israel, ^3 [fl]saying, ‘This is what the Lord ^[fm]God says: “A great ^[fn](OI)eagle with ^(OJ)great wings, long pinions, and a full plumage of many colors came to ^[fo](OK)Lebanon and took away the top of the ^[fp]cedar. ⁴ He broke off the ^[fq]topmost of its young twigs and brought it to a land of merchants; he set it in a ^[fr]city of traders. ⁵ He also took ^[fs]from the seed of the land and planted ^[ft]it in ^[fu](OL)fertile soil, a ^[fv]meadow beside abundant waters; he set it like a ^(OM)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 ^[fw]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 ^(ON)planted, so that he might water it. ⁸ It was planted in good ^[fx]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 ^[fy]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 ^(OO)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 ^(OP)rebellious house, ‘Do you not ^(OQ)know what these things mean?’ Say, ‘Behold, the ^(OR)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 ^[fz](OS)family and made a covenant with him, ^[ga]putting him under ^(OT)oath. He also took away the ^(OU)mighty of the land, ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would ^(OV)be humbled, not exalting itself, but keeping his covenant so that it might continue. ¹⁵ But ^[gb]he ^(OW)revolted against ^[gc]him by sending his messengers to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many ^[gd]troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does these things ^(OX)escape? Can he indeed break the covenant and escape? ¹⁶ As I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘In the ^[ge]country of the king who ^[gf]put him on the throne, whose oath he ^(OY)despised and whose covenant he broke, ^[gg](OZ)in Babylon he shall certainly die. ^17 (PA)Pharaoh with his mighty army and great contingent will not ^[gh]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 ^[gi](PB)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 ^[gj]inflict on his head. ²⁰ And I will spread My ^(PC)net over him, and he will be ^(PD)caught in My net. Then I will bring him to Babylon and ^(PE)enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. ²¹ All the ^[gk](PF)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 ^[gl]set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a ^(PG)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 ^(PH)cedar. And ^[gm]birds of every ^[gn]kind will ^[go]nest under it; they will ^[gp]nest in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ All the ^(PI)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 ^(PJ)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 “^(PK)What do you people mean by using this proverb about the land of Israel, saying,

³ As I live,” declares the Lord ^[gr]God, “you certainly are not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. ⁴ Behold, ^(PM)all ^[gs]souls are Mine; the ^[gt]soul of the father as well as the ^[gu]soul of the son is Mine. The ^[gv]soul who ^(PN)sins will die.

⁵ “But if a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, ⁶ if he does not ^(PO)eat at the mountain shrines or ^(PP)raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, or ^(PQ)defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period— ⁷ and if a man does not oppress anyone, but ^(PR)restores to the debtor his pledge, ^(PS)does not commit robbery, but ^(PT)gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, ⁸ and if he does not ^[gw]lend money at ^(PU)interest or take ^[gx](PV)interest, if he keeps his hand from injustice and ^(PW)executes true justice between one person and another, ⁹ if he walks in ^(PX)My statutes and keeps My ordinances so as to deal faithfully—^(PY)he is righteous and will certainly ^(PZ)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 ^(QA)defiles his neighbor’s wife, ¹² oppresses the ^(QB)poor and needy, ^(QC)commits robbery, does not restore a pledge, but raises his eyes to the idols and ^(QD)commits abomination, ^13 (QE)lends money at interest and takes ^[gy]interest; will he live? He will not live! He has committed all these abominations, he shall certainly be put to death; his ^(QF)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 ^(QG)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 ^(QH)gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, ¹⁷ he keeps his hand from ^[gz]the poor, does not take any kind of interest on loans, but executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; ^(QI)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, ‘^(QJ)Why should the son not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt?’ When the son has practiced ^(QK)justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall certainly live. ²⁰ The person who ^(QL)sins will die. A ^(QM)son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the ^(QN)righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

²¹ “But if the ^(QO)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 (QP)All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his ^(QQ)righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. ^23 (QR)Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “^[ha]rather than that he would ^(QS)turn from his ways and live?

²⁴ “But when a righteous person ^(QT)turns away from his righteousness, commits injustice and does according to all the abominations that the wicked person does, will he live? ^(QU)All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered for his ^(QV)treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will die. ²⁵ Yet you say, ‘^(QW)The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, house of Israel! Is ^(QX)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 ^(QY)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. “^(QZ)Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you. ^31 (RA)Hurl away from you all your offenses which you have committed and make yourselves a ^(RB)new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, house of Israel? ³² For I take ^(RC)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 ^(RD)song of mourning for the ^(RE)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 ^(RV)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 ^[hm]God says: “Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “^(RW)I certainly will not be inquired of by you.”’ ⁴ Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? ^(RX)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 ^(RY)chose Israel and ^[hn]swore to the ^[ho]descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I ^[hp]swore to them, saying, ^(RZ)I am the Lord your God, ⁶ on that day I swore to them, ^(SA)to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had ^[hq]selected for them, ^(SB)flowing with milk and honey, which is ^(SC)the glory of all the lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ‘^(SD)Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and ^(SE)do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; ^(SF)I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸ But they ^(SG)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 ^(SH)idols of Egypt.

“Then I ^[hr]resolved to ^(SI)pour out My wrath on them, to ^[hs]use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ⁹ But I acted ^(SJ)for the sake of My name, that it would ^(SK)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 ^(SL)wilderness. ¹¹ I gave them My ^(SM)statutes and informed them of My ordinances, ^(SN)which, if ^[ht]a person ^[hu]follows them, then he will live by them. ¹² Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a ^(SO)sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ¹³ But the house of Israel ^(SP)rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, ^(SQ)which, if ^[hv]a person ^[hw]follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My ^(SR)Sabbaths. Then I ^[hx]resolved to ^(SS)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 ^(ST)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 ^(SU)heart continually followed their idols. ¹⁷ Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their ^(SV)annihilation in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “Instead, I said to their ^[hy](SW)children in the wilderness, ‘^(SX)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (SY)I am the Lord your God; ^(SZ)walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and ^[hz]follow them. ^20 (TA)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 ^(TB)children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to ^[ia]follow My ordinances which, if ^[ib]a person ^[ic]follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I ^[id]resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to ^[ie]use up My anger against them in the wilderness. ²² But I ^(TC)withdrew My hand and acted ^(TD)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 ^(TE)scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, ²⁴ because they had not ^[if]complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and ^(TF)their eyes were ^[ig]on the idols of their fathers. ²⁵ I also gave them statutes that were ^(TG)not good, and ordinances by which they could not live; ²⁶ and I pronounced them ^(TH)unclean because of their gifts, in that they ^(TI)made all ^[ih]their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might ^(TJ)know that I am the Lord.”’

²⁷ “Therefore ^(TK)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 ^(TL)blasphemed Me by ^(TM)being disloyal to Me. ²⁸ When I had ^(TN)brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every ^(TO)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 ^[ii]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 ^(TP)fathers and adulterously pursue their detestable things? ³¹ And ^[ij]when you offer your gifts, when you ^(TQ)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 ^(TR)comes ^[ik]into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, ^(TS)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 ^(TT)outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be ^(TU)king over you. ³⁴ I will ^(TV)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 ^(TW)wrath poured out; ³⁵ and I will bring you into the ^(TX)wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. ³⁶ Just as I ^(TY)entered into judgment with your fathers in the ^(TZ)wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God. ³⁷ “I will make you ^(UA)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; ³⁸ and I will ^(UB)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 ^(UC)not enter the ^[il]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: “^(UD)Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; ^[im]but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer ^(UE)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, ^(UF)all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will ^(UG)accept them and there I will demand your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. ^41 [in]As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I ^(UH)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will show Myself to be ^(UI)holy among you in the sight of the nations. ⁴² And ^(UJ)you will know that I am the Lord, ^(UK)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the ^(UL)land which I swore to give to your forefathers. ⁴³ And there you will ^(UM)remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves; and you will ^(UN)loathe yourselves in your own ^[io]sight for all the evil things that you have done. ⁴⁴ Then ^(UO)you will know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you ^(UP)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 [ip]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 ^(UQ)south and ^(UR)prophesy against the ^(US)forest ^[iq]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 ^(UT)kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every ^[ir]green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not go out and ^[is](UU)the entire surface from south to north will be scorched by it. ⁴⁸ And all ^[it]mankind will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it will ^(UV)not go out.”’” ⁴⁹ Then I said, “Oh, Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking in ^(UW)riddles?’”

Parable of the Sword of the Lord

21 ^[iu]And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(UX)set your face against Jerusalem, and ^[iv](UY)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, ^(UZ)I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the ^(VA)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 ^[iw](VB)humanity from south to north. ⁵ So ^[ix]humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will ^(VC)not return to its sheath again.”’ ⁶ As for you, son of man, groan with ^[iy]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 ^(VD)news, for it is coming; and ^(VE)every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all ^[iz]knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord ^[ja]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 ^[jc]rod of My son ^(VH)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 (VI)Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the ^(VJ)officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore ^[jd]slap your thigh. ¹³ For there is a testing; and what if even the ^[je]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 ^(VK)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 ^(VL)hearts will waver, and many ^(VM)fall at all their ^(VN)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 ^[jf]edge is ordered. ¹⁷ I will also clap My hands, and I will ^(VO)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, ^[jg](VP)make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And ^[jh]make a signpost; ^[ji]make it at the head of the way to the city. ²⁰ You shall ^[jj]mark a way for the sword to come to ^(VQ)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into ^(VR)fortified Jerusalem. ²¹ For the king of Babylon stands at the ^[jk]parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use ^(VS)divination; he ^(VT)shakes the arrows, he consults the ^[jl](VU)household idols, he looks at the liver. ²² Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to ^(VV)set up battering rams, to open the mouth ^[jm]for ^[jn]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; ^(VW)they have sworn solemn oaths. But he ^(VX)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 ^(VY)day has come, in the time of the ^[jo]punishment of the end,’ ²⁶ this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the ^[jp]turban and take off the ^(VZ)crown; this will ^[jq]no longer be the same. ^(WA)Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. ^27 (WB)Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until ^(WC)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 ^(WD)taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it ^[jr](WE)consume, so that it may be like lightning— ²⁹ while they see ^(WF)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 ^(WG)time of the ^[js]punishment of the end. ^30 (WH)Return it to its sheath. In the ^(WI)place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. ³¹ I will ^(WJ)pour out My indignation on you; I will ^(WK)blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, ^(WL)craftsmen of destruction. ³² You will be ^[jt](WM)fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will ^(WN)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 ^[ju]God says: “A city ^(WO)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 ^(WP)guilty by ^[jv]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 ^(WQ)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 ^(WR)turmoil.

⁶ “Behold, the ^(WS)rulers of Israel, each according to his ^[jw]power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷ They have ^(WT)treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the ^(WU)stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the ^(WV)orphan and the widow among you. ⁸ You have ^(WW)despised My holy things and ^(WX)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 ^(WY)committed outrageous sin. ¹⁰ Among you ^[jx]they have ^(WZ)uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was ^(XA)unclean in her menstruation. ¹¹ And one has committed abomination with his ^(XB)neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his ^(XC)daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually ^(XD)abused his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² Among you they have ^(XE)taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken ^[jy](XF)interest, you have injured your neighbors by ^(XG)oppression, and you have ^(XH)forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

¹³ “Behold, then, I strike with My hand your ^(XI)profit which you have made and ^[jz]the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴ Can ^(XJ)your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? ^(XK)I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵ And I will ^(XL)scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will ^(XM)eliminate your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^(XN)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 ^[ka](XO)waste metal to Me; all of them are ^(XP)bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the ^(XQ)smelting furnace; they are the ^[kb]waste metal of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because all of you have become ^[kc]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 ^(XR)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 ^(XS)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 ^(XT)not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵ There is a ^(XU)conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have ^(XV)devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ^(XW)widows in the midst of her. ²⁶ Her ^(XX)priests have done violence to My Law and have ^(XY)profaned My holy things; they have made no ^(XZ)distinction between the holy and the ^[kd]common, and they have not taught the difference between the ^(YA)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 ^(YB)destroying lives in order to make ^(YC)dishonest profit. ²⁸ And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing ^(YD)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 ^(YE)extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have ^(YF)oppressed the stranger without justice. ³⁰ I ^(YG)searched for a man among them who would ^(YH)build up a wall and ^(YI)stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found ^[ke]no one. ³¹ So I have poured out My ^(YJ)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought ^(YK)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 ^(YL)two women, the daughters of one mother; ³ and they prostituted themselves in Egypt. They ^(YM)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 ^[kf]while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the ^(YN)Assyrians, her neighbors, ⁶ who were clothed in purple, ^(YO)governors and officials, all of them handsome young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷ She bestowed her ^[kg]obscene practices on them, all of whom were the choicest ^[kh]men of Assyria; and with all whom she lusted after, with all their idols she ^(YP)defiled herself. ⁸ She did not abandon her obscene practices ^(YQ)from the time in Egypt; for in her youth ^[ki]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 ^(YR)lovers, to the ^[kj]Assyrians, after whom she lusted. ¹⁰ They ^(YS)uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters, but they killed her with the sword. So she became a ^[kk]subject of gossip among women, and they executed judgments on her.

¹¹ “Now her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was ^(YT)more corrupt in her lust than she, and her obscene practices were ^[kl]more than the prostitution of her sister. ¹² She lusted after the ^[km](YU)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 ^[kn]the same way. ¹⁴ So she increased her obscene practices. And she saw men ^(YV)carved on the wall, images of the ^(YW)Chaldeans drawn in bright red, ¹⁵ wearing belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, ^[ko]like the ^[kp]Babylonians in Chaldea, the land of their birth. ¹⁶ And ^[kq]when she saw them she ^(YX)lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ And the ^[kr](YY)Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their obscene practice. And when she had been defiled by them, ^[ks]she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸ She ^(YZ)exposed her obscene practices and exposed her nakedness; then ^[kt]I turned away from her in ^(ZA)disgust, just as ^[ku]I had turned away from her ^(ZB)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 ^(ZC)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 ^(ZD)outrageous sin of your youth, when ^[kv]the Egyptians handled your breasts because of the breasts of your youth.

²² “Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord ^[kw]God says: ‘Behold I am going to incite your lovers against you, from whom ^[kx]you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: