²⁷ And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah went into exile out of its land.^(A)

²⁸ I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and its proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.^(A)

¹¹ Before them stood seventy of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the fragrant cloud of incense was ascending.^{(A) 12} Then he said to me, “Mortal, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of images? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ” ¹³ He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they are committing.”^(B)

¹⁴ Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord; women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.^{(C) 15} Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O mortal? You will see still greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord; there, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, prostrating themselves to the sun toward the east.^{(D) 17} Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O mortal? Is it not bad enough that the house of Judah commits the abominations done here? Must they fill the land with violence and provoke my anger still further? See, they are putting the branch to their nose!^{(E) 18} Therefore I will act in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity, and though they cry in my hearing with a loud voice, I will not listen to them.”^(F)

⁹ I am going to send for all the tribes of the north, says the Lord, even for King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all these nations around; I will utterly destroy them and make them an object of horror and of hissing and an everlasting disgrace.^{[a](A) 10} And I will banish from them the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.^{(B) 11} This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. There, at the entrance of the gateway, were twenty-five men; among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people.^{(A) 2} He said to me, “Mortal, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city;^{(B) 3} they say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the pot, and we are the meat.’^{(C) 4} Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O mortal.”^(D)

⁵ Then the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: This is what you think, O house of Israel; I know the things that come into your mind.^{(E) 6} You have killed many in this city and have filled its streets with the slain.^{(F) 7} Therefore thus says the Lord God: The slain whom you have placed within it are the meat, and this city is the pot, but you shall be taken out of it.^{(G) 8} You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, says the Lord God. ⁹ I will take you out of it and give you over to the hands of foreigners and execute judgments upon you.^{(H) 10} You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord.^{(I) 11} This city shall not be your pot, and you shall not be the meat inside it; I will judge you at the border of Israel.