²⁷ Then the king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive from its own land.

^28 (A)For I will make the land most desolate, ^[a]her ^(B)arrogant strength shall cease, and ^(C)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.

¹¹ And there stood before them ^(A)seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ^(B)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”

¹³ And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.” ¹⁴ So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for ^[a]Tammuz.

¹⁵ Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” ¹⁶ So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, ^(C)between the porch and the altar, ^(D)were about twenty-five men ^(E)with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping ^(F)the sun toward the east.

¹⁷ And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have ^(G)filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. ^18 (H)Therefore I also will act in fury. My ^(I)eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they ^(J)cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

⁹ behold, I will send and take ^(A)all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(B)My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and ^(C)make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. ¹⁰ Moreover I will ^[a]take from them the ^(D)voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, ^(E)the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy ^(F)years.

¹¹ Then I said, “Lord, how long?”

And He answered:

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 Then ^(A)the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^(B)the East Gate of the Lord’s house, which faces eastward; and there ^(C)at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked ^[a]counsel in this city, ³ who say, ‘The time is not ^(D)near to build houses; ^(E)this city is the ^[b]caldron, and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”

⁵ Then ^(F)the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, “Speak! ‘Thus says the Lord: “Thus you have said, O house of Israel; for ^(G)I know the things that come into your mind. ^6 (H)You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled its streets with the slain.” ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(I)“Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this city is the caldron; ^(J)but I shall bring you out of the midst of it. ⁸ You have ^(K)feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and ^(L)execute judgments on you. ^10 (M)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at ^(N)the border of Israel. ^(O)Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ^11 (P)This city shall not be your ^[c]caldron, nor shall you be the meat in its midst. I will judge you at the border of Israel.