-
But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.
-
“Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”
-
The time has come! The day has arrived! Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller grieve, for my wrath is on the whole crowd.
-
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and he told me to say: “This is what the Lord says: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind.
-
“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?
-
“Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass throughout the land,’ and I kill its people and their animals,
-
“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.’
-
When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.
-
“‘You say, “We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.” But what you have in mind will never happen.
-
“So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword for slaughter— a sword for great slaughter, closing in on them from every side.
-
“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do—because you have done this, you will be taken captive.
-
“‘Let the sword return to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your ancestry, I will judge you.
-
Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is.’
-
So heap on the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred.
-
I will throw you on the land and hurl you on the open field. I will let all the birds of the sky settle on you and all the animals of the wild gorge themselves on you.
-
Then I will let her waters settle and make her streams flow like oil, declares the Sovereign Lord.
-
They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let her be dragged off with all her hordes.
-
“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme.
-
“‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.
-
Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will live among them forever.
-
“Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider its perfection,
-
“‘They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to keep the hair of their heads trimmed.