Beginning
5 And thou, son of man, take to thee a sharp sword, [or (a) razor,] (for) shaving hairs; and thou shalt take it, and shalt lead it by thine head, and by thy beard. And thou shalt take to thee a balance of weight(s), and thou shalt part those. (And thou, son of man, get thee a sharp razor for shaving hair; and thou shalt take it, and shalt lead it over thy head, and over thy beard. And thou shalt get thee a balance of weights, and thou shalt separate, or divide, that hair.)
2 Thou shalt burn the third part with fire in the midst of the city, by the [ful]filling of days of besieging. And thou shalt take the third part, and shalt cut (it) by sword in the compass thereof. But thou shalt scatter the tother third part into the wind; and I shall make naked a sword after them. (Thou shalt burn a third part of it with fire in the midst of the city, at the fulfilling, or at the end, of the days of the besieging. And thou shalt take another third part, and shalt cut it by the sword all around the city. And thou shalt scatter the other third part into the wind; and I shall make naked a sword to go after that hair.)
3 And thou shalt take thereof a little number (of those hairs), and thou shalt bind those in the highness of thy mantle.
4 And again thou shalt take of them, and thou shalt cast forth them into the midst of the fire (and thou shalt throw them forth into the midst of the fire). And thou shalt burn them in (the) fire; and (the) fire shall go out of that into all the house of Israel.
5 The Lord God saith these things, This is Jerusalem; I have set it in the midst of heathen men, and lands in the compass thereof. (The Lord God saith these things, This is Jerusalem; I have set it in the midst of the heathen, and the other lands all around it.)
6 And it despised my dooms, that it was more wicked than heathen men; and it despised my commandments more than lands that be in the compass thereof. For they have cast away my dooms, and they went not in my commandments. (And it despised my laws, or my judgements, so that it was more wicked than the heathen; and it despised my commandments more than the lands that be all around it. For they have throw away my laws, or my judgements, and they did not obey my commandments.)
7 Therefore the Lord God saith these things, For ye have passed heathen men that be in your compass, and ye went not in my commandments, and ye did not my dooms, and ye wrought not by the dooms of heathen men that be in your compass; (And so the Lord God saith these things, For ye have surpassed the heathen who be all around you, and ye did not obey my commandments, and ye did not follow my laws, and ye did not even follow the laws of the heathen who be all around you;)
8 therefore the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I to thee, and I myself shall make dooms in the midst of thee, before the eyes of heathen men; (and so the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I am against thee, and I myself shall bring in judgements in the midst of thee, before the eyes of the heathen;)
9 and I shall do things in thee which I did not, and to which I shall no more make like things, for all thine abominations. (and I shall do things in thee which I have not done before, and which I shall never do again, for all thy abominations.)
10 Therefore fathers shall eat (their) sons in the midst of thee, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I shall make dooms in thee (and I shall bring in judgements upon thee), and I shall winnow all thine remnants into each wind;
11 Therefore (as) I live, saith the Lord God, no but for that that thou defouledest mine holy thing in all thine offences, and in all thine abominations; and I shall break, and mine eye shall not spare, and I shall not do mercy. (And so as I live, saith the Lord God, because thou hast defiled my holy place with all thy offences, and with all thy abominations, I shall break thee, and my eye shall not spare thee, and I shall not have any mercy on thee.)
12 The third part of thee shall die by pestilence, and shall be wasted by hunger in the midst of thee; and the third part of thee shall fall down by sword in thy compass; forsooth I shall scatter thy third part into each wind, and I shall draw out a sword after them. (A third part of thee shall die by pestilence, and shall be wasted by famine in the midst of thee; and a third part of thee shall fall down by the sword all around thee; and I shall scatter a third part of thee into each wind, and then I shall draw out a sword to go after them.)
13 And I shall [ful]fill my strong vengeance, and I shall make mine indignation to rest in them, and I shall be comforted. And they shall know, that I the Lord spake in my fervent love, when I shall [ful]fill all mine indignation in them. (And I shall fulfill my strong vengeance, and I shall make my indignation to rest upon them, and then I shall be comforted, or shall be satisfied. And they shall know, that I the Lord spoke in my jealous anger, when I shall fulfill all my indignation upon them.)
14 And I shall give thee into desert, [and] into shame to heathen men that be in thy compass, in the sight of each that passeth forth. (And I shall make thee into desolation, and into shame to the heathen who be all around thee, and before each person who passeth by.)
15 And thou shalt be shame and blasphemy, ensample and wondering, among heathen men that be in thy compass, when I shall make dooms in thee, in strong vengeance, and indignation, and in blamings of ire. I the Lord have spoken, (And thou shalt be shame and blasphemy, and example and wondering, among the heathen who be all around thee, when I shall bring in judgements, or pass sentence, upon thee, in strong vengeance, and indignation, and in blamings of anger. I the Lord have spoken,)
16 when I shall send into them the worst arrows of hunger, that shall bear death; and which I shall send, that I lose you (when I shall send into you the worst arrows of famine, that shall carry death; and which I shall send, so that I destroy you). And I shall gather hunger [up]on you, and I shall all-break in you the firmness of bread.
17 And I shall send into you hunger, and worst beasts, till to the death; and pestilence and blood shall pass by thee, and I shall bring in [a] sword on thee; I the Lord spake. (And so I shall send into you famine, and evil, or wild, beasts, unto the death; and pestilence and blood, or slaughter, shall pass through thee, and I shall bring in a sword upon thee; I the Lord spoke.)
6 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,
2 Thou, son of man, set thy face to(ward) the hills of Israel; and thou shalt prophesy to those hills,
3 and shalt say, Hills of Israel, hear ye the word of the Lord God. The Lord God saith these things to mountains, and little hills, to rocks of stone, and to valleys, Lo! I shall bring in on you a sword, and I shall lose your high things. (and shalt say, Hills of Israel, hear ye the word of the Lord God. The Lord God saith these things to the mountains, and the little hills, to the rocks and stones, and to the valleys, Lo! I shall bring in a sword upon you, and I shall destroy your high places, or your hill shrines.)
4 And I shall destroy your altars, and your simulacra shall be broken; and I shall cast down your slain men before your idols. (And I shall destroy your altars, and your idols shall be broken; and I shall throw down your slain before your idols.)
5 And I shall give the dead bodies of the sons of Israel before the face of your simulacra, and I shall scatter your bones about your altars, (Yea, I shall throw down the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of your idols, and I shall scatter your bones all about your altars.)
6 in all your dwellings. Cities shall be forsaken, and high things shall be destroyed, and shall be scattered; and your altars shall perish, and shall be broken (In all your dwelling places, the cities shall be deserted, and the high places, or the hill shrines, shall be destroyed, and shall be scattered; and your altars shall perish, and shall be broken in pieces). And your idols shall cease (to exist), and your temples of idols shall be all-broken, and your works shall be done away.
7 And a slain man shall fall down in the midst of you; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (And the slain shall fall down in the midst of you; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.)
8 And I shall leave in you (some of) them that fled [the] sword, (to go) among heathen men, when I shall scatter you into lands. (And I shall leave among you some of them who fled from the sword, to go among the heathen, when I shall scatter you into other lands.)
9 And your delivered men shall have mind on me among heathen men, to which they be led prisoners; for I have all-broken their heart doing fornication, and going away from me, and their eyes doing fornication after their idols. And they shall displease themselves on the evils, which they did in all their abominations. (And your people who survive shall remember me among the heathen, to whom they be led away as prisoners; for I have all-broken the hearts of those who did fornication, that is, idolatry, and went away from me, and the eyes of those who did fornication, or idolatry, with their idols. And they shall loathe themselves for all the evils which they did with their abominations.)
10 And they shall know, that I the Lord spake not in vain, that I should do this evil to them. (And they shall know, that I the Lord spoke not in vain, that I would do this evil to them.)
11 The Lord God saith these things, Smite thine hand, and hurtle thy foot, and say, Alas! to all abominations of the evils of the house of Israel; for they shall fall down by sword, hunger, and pestilence. (The Lord God saith these things, Strike thy hand, and hurtle thy foot, and say, Alas! for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall down by the sword, and famine, and pestilence.)
12 He that is far, shall die by pestilence. Forsooth he that is nigh, shall fall by sword. And he that is left and besieged, shall die by hunger. And I shall [ful]fill mine indignation in them. (He who is far off, shall die by pestilence. And he who is near, shall fall by the sword. And he who is left and besieged, shall die by famine. And so I shall fulfill my indignation upon them.)
13 And ye shall know, that I am the Lord, when your slain men shall be in the midst of your idols, in the compass of your altars, in each high little hill, and in all the highnesses of mountains, and under each tree full of wood, and under each oak full of boughs, that is, a place where they burnt incense sweet smelling to all their idols (And ye shall know, that I am the Lord, when your slain shall be in the midst of your idols, all around your altars, on each high little hill, and on all the highnesses of the mountains, and under every thick tree, and under every oak with many branches, that is, the place where they burned sweet smelling incense to all their idols.)
14 And I shall stretch forth mine hand on them, and I shall make their land desolate and destitute, from (the) desert (unto) Diblath, in all the dwellings of them; and they shall know, that I am the Lord. (And I shall stretch forth my hand upon them, and I shall make their land a desolate wasteland, from the desert unto Riblah, in all their dwelling places; and they shall know, that I am the Lord.)
7 And the word of the Lord was made to me, saying,
2 And thou, son of man, the Lord God of the land of Israel saith these things, The end cometh, the end cometh, on [the] four coasts of the land. (And thou, son of man, the Lord God saith these things to the land of Israel, The end cometh, the end cometh, on all four sides of the land.)
3 Now an end is [up]on thee, and I shall send in my strong vengeance [up]on thee, and I shall deem thee by thy ways (and I shall judge thee by thy ways), and I shall set all thine abominations against thee.
4 And mine eye shall not spare on thee, and I shall not do mercy (And my eye shall not spare thee, and I shall have no mercy on thee). But I shall set thy ways [up]on thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.
5 The Lord God saith these things, Lo! torment, lo! torment cometh;
6 the end cometh, the end cometh; it shall wake fully against thee (it watcheth for thee); lo! it cometh.
7 Sorrow cometh [up]on thee, that dwellest in the land (who livest in the land); the time cometh, the day of slaying is nigh, and not of (the) glory of hills.
8 Now anon I shall shed out mine ire on thee, and I shall [ful]fill my strong vengeance in thee; and I shall deem thee by thy ways, and I shall put to thee all thy great trespasses. (Now at once I shall pour out my anger upon thee, and I shall fulfill my strong vengeance upon thee; and I shall judge thee by thy ways, and I shall put to thee all thy great trespasses.)
9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither I shall do mercy; but I shall put on thee thy ways, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord smiting. (And my eye shall not spare thee, nor shall I have any mercy on thee; but I shall put upon thee thy ways, and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord who striketh.)
10 Lo! the day, lo! it cometh; sorrow is gone out. A rod flowered, pride burgeoned,
11 wickedness rose (up) in the rod of unpiety; not (anything) of them (shall remain), and not of the people, neither of the sound of them, and no rest shall be in them.
12 The time cometh, the day nighed; he that buyeth, be not glad, and he that selleth, mourn not (he who buyeth, be not happy, and he who selleth, mourn not); for why (my) ire is on all the people thereof.
13 For he that selleth, shall not turn again to that that he sold, and yet the life of them is in livers (For he who selleth, shall not return to what he sold, and yet their life is in the living); for why the vision, either revelation, to all the multitude thereof shall not go again, and a man shall not be strengthened in the wickedness of his life.
14 Sing ye with a trump, all men be made ready, and none is that shall go to battle (but no one shall go out to battle); for why my wrath is on all the people thereof.
15 Sword is without, pestilence and hunger within; he that is in the field, shall die by sword; and they that be in the city, shall be devoured by pestilence and hunger. (The sword is outside, pestilence and famine within; he who is in the field, shall die by sword; and they who be in the city, shall be devoured by pestilence and famine.)
16 And they shall be saved that flee of them; and they shall be as (the) culvers of great valleys in [the] hills, all-quaking, each man in his wickedness. (But those of them who flee shall be saved; and they shall be on the great hills, like the doves of the valleys, all-shaking, or trembling, each person in their wickedness.)
17 All hands shall be benumbed, and all knees shall flow with waters. (Every hand shall be numb, or be limp, and every knee shall tremble and sweat.)
18 And they shall gird them with hair-shirts, and inward dread shall cover them; and shame shall be in each face, and baldness shall be in all the heads of them. (And they shall gird themselves with hair-shirts, and inward fear shall cause them to tremble; and shame shall be on every face, and baldness shall be on all their heads.)
19 The silver of them shall be cast out, and the gold of them shall be into a dunghill; the silver of them and the gold of them shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the strong vengeance of the Lord. They shall not [ful]fill their soul(s), and the wombs of them shall not be filled; for it is made the cause of stumbling (out) of their wickedness.
20 And they setted the ornament of their brooches into pride; and they made of it the images of their abominations and simulacra. For this thing I gave it to them, into uncleanness.
21 And I shall give it into the hands of aliens, to ravish, and to the unpious men of (the) earth, into prey, and they shall defoul it. (And I shall give it into the hands of strangers, or of foreigners, to rob, and to the unpious of the earth, for prey, and they shall defile it.)
22 And I shall turn away my face from them, and they shall defoul my private (place); and knaves shall enter into it, and shall defoul it.
23 Make thou a closing together; for the land is full of doom of bloods (for the land is full of the judgement of bloodshed), and the city is full of wickedness.
24 And I shall bring (in) the worst of heathen men, and they shall have in possession the houses of them; and I shall make the pride of mighty men to cease, and enemies shall have in possession the saintuaries of them. (And I shall bring in the worst of the heathen, and they shall take possession of their houses; and I shall make the pride of the mighty to cease, and their enemies shall take possession of their sanctuaries.)
25 In anguish coming above (In anguish coming upon them), they shall seek peace, and it shall not be.
26 Disturbing shall come on disturbing, and hearing on hearing; and they shall seek of the prophet a revelation, and (the) law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elder men. (Disturbance, or trouble, shall come upon disturbance, and rumour upon rumour/and bad news upon bad news; and they shall seek a revelation, or a vision, from the prophet, but teaching shall perish from the priest, and counsel, or good advice, from the elders.)
27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed in wailing, and the hands of the people of the land shall be disturbed; by the way(s) of them I shall do to them, and by the dooms of them I shall deem them (I shall do to them by their own ways, and I shall judge them with their own judgements); and they shall know, that I am the Lord.
8 And it was done in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I sat in mine house, and the eld men of Judah sat before me (I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me); and the hand of the Lord God fell there [up]on me.
2 And I saw, and lo! a likeness as the beholding of fire; from the beholding of his loins and beneath was fire, and from his loins and above was as the beholding of shining, as the sight of electrum, [that is, metal made of gold and silver, brighter than gold]. (And I saw, and lo! a form with the appearance of fire; from his loins and beneath was like the appearance of fire, and from his loins and above was like the appearance of shining, like the sight of electrum, that is, a metal made of gold and silver, but even brighter than gold.)
3 And the likeness of an hand was sent out, and took me by the hair, either locks, of mine head; and the spirit raised me [up] betwixt heaven and earth, and brought me into Jerusalem, in the sight of God, beside the inner door that beheld to the north (in the vision of God, beside the inner door that faced north), where the idol of envy was set, to stir indignation.
4 And lo! the glory of God of Israel was there, by the sight which I saw in the field. (And lo! the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision which I saw in the field.)
5 And he said to me, Thou, son of man, raise up thine eyes to the way of the north; and I raised (up) mine eyes to the way of the north, and lo! from the north of the gate of the altar, the idol of envy was in that entering (and lo! north of the gate of the altar, at the entrance, was that idol of envy).
6 And he said to me, Son of man, guessest thou whether thou seest what thing these men do, the great abominations which the house of Israel doeth here, that I go far away from my saintuary? and yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations. (And he said to me, Son of man, seest thou what things these people do, yea, the great abominations which the house of Israel doeth here, so that I must go far away from my sanctuary? and yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations than these!)
7 And he led me within to the door of the foreyard; and I saw, and lo! one hole in the wall. (And he led me within to the entrance of the courtyard; and I saw, and lo! a hole in the wall.)
8 And he said to me, Son of man, dig thou (in) the wall; and when I had digged (in) the wall, one door appeared.
9 And he said to me, Enter thou, and see the worst abominations, which these men do here.
10 And I entered, and saw; and lo! each likeness of reptiles, either creeping beasts, and abominations of beasts, and all [the] idols of the house of Israel, were painted in the wall all about in compass (were painted on the walls all around).
11 And seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood; and Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, stood in the midst of them, standing before the paintings; and each man had a censer in his hand, and the smoke of a cloud of incense went up.
12 And he said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou seest what things the elder men of the house of Israel do in darknesses, each man in the hid place of his bed; for they say, The Lord seeth not us, the Lord hath forsaken the land (for they say, The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath abandoned the land/the Lord hath deserted the country).
13 And the Lord said to me, Yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations, which these men do.
14 And he led me within, by the door of the gate of the house of the Lord, which door beheld to the north; and lo! women sat there, bewailing Adonis. (And he led me within, by the entrance of the gate of the House of the Lord, which entrance faced north; and lo! women sat there, bewailing Tammuz.)
15 And the Lord said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou hast seen (And the Lord said to me, Truly, son of man, hast thou seen this?/do thou see this?); yet thou shalt turn, and shalt see greater abominations than these.
16 And he led me within, into the inner foreyard of the house of the Lord; and lo! in the door of the temple of the Lord, betwixt the porch and the altar, were as five and twenty men having the(ir) backs against the temple of the Lord, and their faces to the east; and they worshipped at the rising of the sun. (And he led me within, to the inner courtyard of the House of the Lord; and lo! by the entrance to the Temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were twenty-five men with their backs against the Temple of the Lord, and their faces turned toward the east; and they worshipped the rising of the sun.)
17 And the Lord said to me, Certainly, son of man, thou hast seen (And the Lord said to me, Truly, son of man, hast thou seen this?/do thou see this?); whether this is a light thing to the house of Judah, that they should do these abominations, which they did here? For they filled the land with wickedness, and turned (again) to stir me to wrath; and lo! they apply a branch to their nostrils.
18 Therefore and I shall do in strong vengeance; mine eye shall not spare, neither I shall do mercy; and when they shall cry to mine ears with great voice, I shall not hear them. (And so I shall do strong vengeance against them; my eyes shall not spare them, nor shall I have mercy on them; and when they shall cry to my ears with a loud voice, I shall not hear them.)
2001 by Terence P. Noble