Beginning

13 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

² Son of man, prophesy thou to the prophets of Israel that prophesy; and thou shalt say to them that prophesy of their heart, Hear ye the word of the Lord. (Son of man, prophesy thou against the prophets of Israel who prophesy; and thou shalt say to those who prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord.)

³ The Lord God saith these things, Woe to the unwise prophets, that follow their spirit, and see nothing; (The Lord God saith these things, Woe to the unwise prophets, who follow their own spirit, and so see nothing;)

⁴ Israel, thy prophets were as foxes in desert[s]. (Israel, thy prophets were like foxes in the desert.)

⁵ Ye ascended not even against, neither again-setted a wall for the house of Israel, that ye should stand in battle in the day of the Lord. (Ye went not even against, nor set again, or fixed, the broken wall for the house of Israel, so that ye could stand in battle on the day of the Lord.)

⁶ They see vain things, and divine a leasing, and say, The Lord saith, when the Lord sent not them; and they continued to confirm the word. (They see empty and futile things, and divine a lie, and say, The Lord saith, when the Lord did not send them; and yet they continue to confirm their words.)

⁷ Whether ye saw not a vain vision, and spake false divining, and said, The Lord saith, when I spake not? (Saw ye not an empty and futile vision, and spoke false divining, and said, The Lord saith, when I did not speak?)

⁸ Therefore the Lord God saith these things, For ye spake vain things, and saw a leasing, therefore lo! I to you, saith the Lord God. (And so the Lord God saith these things, For ye spoke empty and futile things, and saw a lie, and so lo! I am against you, saith the Lord God.)

⁹ And mine hand shall be on the prophets that see vain things, and divine leasings (And my hand shall be against those prophets who see empty and futile things, and divine lies); they shall not be in the counsel(s) of my people, and they shall not be written in the scripture of the house of Israel, neither they shall enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord God.

¹⁰ For they deceived my people, and said, Peace, peace, and no peace is; and it builded a wall, but they pargeted it with fen without chaffs. (For they deceived my people, and said, Peace, peace, when there was no peace; and they built a wall, but they mortared it with dirt without any chaff, that is, without any straw.)

¹¹ Say thou to them that parget without tempering, that it shall fall down; for a strong rain shall be (over)flowing, and I shall give full great stones falling from above, and I shall give a wind of tempest that destroyeth. (Say thou to those who mortar it without tempering, that it shall fall down; for there shall be an overflowing rain, and I shall send some very great hailstones falling down from above, and I shall make a wind of tempest that shall destroy it.)

¹² For lo! the wall fell down. Whether it shall not be said to you, Where is the pargeting, which ye pargeted? (For lo! when the wall falleth down, shall it not be said to you, Where is the mortar, which ye should have used?)

¹³ Therefore the Lord God saith these things, And I shall make the spirit of tempests to break out in mine indignation, and [a] strong rain flowing in my strong vengeance shall be (and there shall be a strong overflowing rain in my strong vengeance), and great (hail)stones in [my] wrath into wasting.

¹⁴ And I shall destroy the wall, which ye have pargeted without tempering, and I shall make it even with the earth; and the foundament thereof shall be showed, and it shall fall down, and it shall be wasted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (And I shall destroy the wall, which ye have mortared without tempering, and I shall bring it down to the ground; and its foundation shall be shown, and it shall fall down, and thou shalt be wasted, or shalt be destroyed, in its midst; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.)

¹⁵ And I shall [ful]fill mine indignation in the wall, and in them that pargeted it without tempering; and I shall say to you, The wall is not, and they be not, that pargeted it, (And I shall fulfill my indignation upon the wall, and upon those who mortared it without tempering; and I shall say to you, The wall is not, and they be not, who mortared it,)

¹⁶ (that is,) the prophets of Israel, that prophesy to Jerusalem, and see to it the vision of peace, and peace is not, saith the Lord God. (that is, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied to Jerusalem, and saw a vision of peace for it, when there was no peace, saith the Lord God.)

¹⁷ And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy of their heart; and prophesy thou on them, (And thou, son of man, set thy face toward the daughters of thy people, who prophesy out of their own hearts; and prophesy thou against them,)

¹⁸ and say thou, The Lord God saith these things, Woe to them that sew together cushions under each cubit of [the] hand, and make pillows under the head of each age, to take souls; and when they deceived the souls of my people, they quickened the souls of them. (and say thou, The Lord God saith these things, Woe to those who sew bands for each wrist, and put veils on the heads of everyone, to hunt souls, or lives; and while they hunt the souls of my people, yet they keep their own souls safe.)

¹⁹ And they defouled me to my people, for an handful of barley, and for a gobbet of bread, that they should slay souls that die not, and quicken souls that live not; and they lied to my people, believing to leasings. (And they defiled me among my people, for a handful of barley, and for a piece of bread, so that they kill souls that should not die, and enliven souls that should not live; and they lied to my people, who believed the lies.)

²⁰ For this thing the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I to your cushions, by which ye deceive souls flying; and I shall all-break those from (off) your arms, and I shall deliver [the] souls which ye deceive, souls (that ye make) to fly. (For this thing the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I am against your wristbands, with which ye hunt souls to make them fly; and I shall rip them off your arms, and I shall deliver, or shall set free, the souls which ye hunt to make fly.)

²¹ And I shall all-break your pillows, and I shall deliver my people from your hand (And I shall rip up your veils, and I shall deliver my people from out of your hands); and they shall no more be in your hands, to be robbed; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.

²² For that that ye made falsely the heart of a just man to mourn, whom I made not sorry; and ye strengthened the hands of a wicked man, that he should not turn again from his evil way, and live. (Because ye falsely made the heart of the just, or of the righteous, to mourn, whom I have not made sorrowful; and ye strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that they would not turn from their evil ways, and live.)

²³ Therefore ye shall not see vain things (And so ye shall not see empty and futile things again), and ye shall no more divine false divinings; and I shall deliver my people from your hand, and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.

14 And men of the elders of Israel came to me, and sat before me. (And some of Israel’s elders came to me, and sat with me.)

² And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

³ Son of man, these men have set their uncleannesses in their hearts, and have set steadfastly the cause of stumbling of their wickedness against their face (and steadfastly have put the cause of stumbling of their wickedness before their faces). Whether I that am asked, shall answer to them?

⁴ For this thing speak thou to them, and thou shalt say to them, These things saith the Lord God, A man, a man of the house of Israel, that setteth his uncleannesses in his heart, and setteth steadfastly the cause of stumbling of his wickedness against his face (A man, a man of the house of Israel, who setteth his uncleannesses in his heart, and steadfastly setteth the cause of stumbling of his wickedness before his face), and cometh to the prophet, and asketh me by him, I the Lord shall answer to him in the multitude of his uncleannesses;

⁵ that the house of Israel be taken in their heart, by which they went away from me in all their idols. (so that the house of Israel be taken in their own hearts, by which they went away from me with all their idols.)

⁶ Therefore say thou to the house of Israel, The Lord God saith these things, Be ye converted (Be ye turned), and go ye away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your filths.

⁷ For why a man, a man of the house of Israel, and of converts, whoever is a comeling in Israel, if he is aliened from me, and setteth his idols in his heart, and setteth steadfastly the cause of stumbling of his wickedness against his face (For a man, a man of the house of Israel, and of the converts, yea, whomever is a newcomer in Israel, if he is alienated from me, and steadfastly setteth the cause of stumbling of his wickedness before his face), and he cometh to the prophet, to ask me by him, I the Lord shall answer him by myself.

⁸ And I shall set my face on that man, and I shall make him into ensample, and into a proverb, and I shall lose him from the midst of my people; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord. (And I shall set my face against that person, and I shall make him into an example, and into a proverb, and I shall remove him from the midst of my people; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord.)

⁹ And when a prophet erreth, and speaketh a word, I the Lord shall deceive that prophet (I the Lord have deceived that prophet); and I shall stretch forth mine hand [up]on him, and I shall do him away from the midst of my people Israel.

¹⁰ And they shall bear their wickedness; by the wickedness of the asker, so the wickedness of the prophet shall be; (And they shall bear their wickedness; as the wickedness of the asker, so shall be the wickedness of the prophet;)

¹¹ that the house of Israel err no more from me, neither be defouled in all their trespassings; but that it be into a people to me, and I be into God to them, saith the Lord of hosts. (so that the house of Israel no more go astray from me, nor be defiled with all their trespassings; but that they shall become my people, and I shall become their God, saith the Lord of hosts.)

¹² And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

¹³ Son of man, when the land sinneth against me, that it trespassing do trespass (that trespassing it do trespass), I shall stretch forth mine hand on it, and I shall all-break the staff of bread thereof; and I shall send hunger into it, and I shall slay of it man and beast.

¹⁴ And if these three men, Noe, Daniel, and Job, be in the midst thereof, they by their rightfulness shall deliver their souls, saith the Lord of hosts. (And even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in its midst, they would only be able to save their own souls, or their own lives, by their righteousness, saith the Lord of hosts.)

¹⁵ That if also I bring in worst beasts on the land, that I destroy it, and if it is without (a) way, for that no passer is for the beasts, (And if I should bring in evil, or wild, beasts on the land, so that I destroy it, and it is without a safe way, so that no one can pass through because of those beasts,)

¹⁶ and these three men that be before-said, be therein, I live, saith the Lord God, for they shall neither deliver sons, neither daughters, but they alone shall be delivered; forsooth the land shall be made desolate. (and if these three men who were spoken of before, were there, as I live, saith the Lord God, they would not be able to save even their own sons, or their own daughters, but they alone would be saved; and the land would be made desolate.)

¹⁷ Either if I bring in (a) sword on that land, and I say to the sword, Pass thou through the land, and I slay of it man and beast,

¹⁸ and these three men be in the midst thereof, I live, saith the Lord God, that they shall not deliver sons neither daughters, but they alone shall be delivered. (and if these three men were in its midst, as I live, saith the Lord God, they would not be able to save even their own sons, or their own daughters, but they alone would be saved.)

¹⁹ Forsooth if I bring in also pestilence on that land, and I shed out mine indignation on it in blood, that I do away from it man and beast, (And if I also bring in pestilence upon that land, and I pour out my indignation upon it in blood, so that I do away man and beast from it,)

²⁰ and Noe, and Daniel, and Job, be in the midst thereof, I live, saith the Lord God, for they shall not deliver a son and a daughter, but they by their rightfulness shall deliver their souls. (and if Noah, and Daniel, and Job, were in its midst, as I live, saith the Lord God, they would not be able to save even their own son, or their own daughter, but they would save only their own souls, or their own lives, by their righteousness.)

²¹ For the Lord God saith these things, That though I send in my four worst dooms, sword, and hunger, and evil beasts, and pestilence, into Jerusalem, that I slay of it man and beast, (For the Lord God saith these things, Even though I send in my four worst judgements, sword, and famine, and wild beasts, and pestilence, into Jerusalem, so that I kill the people and the animals in it,)

²² nevertheless salvation of them that led out sons and daughters, shall be left therein. Lo! they shall go out to you, and ye shall see the way of them, and the findings of them; and ye shall be comforted on the evil, which I brought in on Jerusalem, in all things which I bare in on it. (nevertheless some of them shall be left alive there, and they shall be brought out, both sons and daughters. Lo! they shall go out to you, and ye shall see their ways, and their deeds; and ye shall be comforted, or satisfied, for all the evil, which I brought in upon Jerusalem, yea, for all the things which I brought in upon it.)

²³ And they shall comfort you, when ye shall see the way of them, and the findings of them; and ye shall know, that not in vain I did all things, whatever things I did therein, saith the Lord Almighty. (And they shall comfort you, when ye shall see their ways, and their deeds; and ye shall know, that I have not done all these things in vain, or without justification, whatever things I did there, saith the Lord Almighty.)

15 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,

² Son of man, what shall be done to the tree of a vine, of all the trees of woods, that be among the trees of woods? (Son of man, what shall be done to the vine tree, of all the trees in the woods, that be among the trees of the woods?)

³ Whether tree, or timber, shall be taken thereof, that work be made? either shall a stake be made thereof, that any vessel hang thereon? (Shall wood, or timber, be taken from it, so that some work be made of it? or shall a stake, or a peg, be made of it, so that something can hang on it?)

⁴ Lo! it is given [to the fire] into meat; [the] fire wasted ever either part thereof, and the midst thereof is driven into a dead spark; whether it shall be profitable to work? (Lo! it is sent into the fire for fuel; the fire destroyed each part of it, and the midst of it is driven into a dead spark; shall it be profitable, or useful, for anything?)

⁵ Yea, when it was whole, it was not covenable to work; how much more when fire hath devoured, and hath burnt it, nothing of work shall be made thereof? (Yea, when it was whole, it was not suitable, or useful, for anything; how much more when the fire hath devoured it, and hath burned it, so that nothing useful shall be made out of it!)

⁶ Therefore the Lord God saith these things, As the tree of a vine is among the trees of woods, which I gave to fire to devour, so I gave the dwellers of Jerusalem, (And so the Lord God saith these things, Like the vine tree is among the trees in the woods, which I gave to the fire to devour, so I shall take the inhabitants of Jerusalem,)

⁷ and I shall set my face against them. They shall go out of the (one) fire, and (then another) fire shall waste them; and ye shall know, that I am the Lord, when I shall set my face against them,

⁸ and shall give the land without way and desolate, for they were trespassers, saith the Lord God. (and I shall make the land without a way and desolate, for they were trespassers, saith the Lord God.)