“Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,

“And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: ‘An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.”

Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.

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, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”

Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.”

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 filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose.

And He said to me: “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and give wicked counsel in this city,

Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man!”

“Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

“Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity, and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into captivity to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.

“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’

“Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety.

“Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’?

“Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ”

“Likewise, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; prophesy against them,

“Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

“Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.

“Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest?

“Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

“Son of man, pose a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel,

“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will not be inquired of by you.” ’