Chronological
A Parable About the Siege of Jerusalem
24 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month.[a]
2 Son of man, record this date, this very day. The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on this very day. 3 Tell a parable to the rebellious house. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says.
Put the pot on. Put it on. Then pour water in it. 4 Put the pieces of meat into it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder. Fill it with the best cuts.[b] 5 Take the best of the flock. Pile up the wood[c] under it. Boil it thoroughly, so that the pieces[d] in it are well cooked.
6 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Woe to the bloody city, a pot whose residue[e] is inside it, whose residue has not gone out of it!
Take out its cuts of meat piece by piece, without choosing one piece in preference to another.[f] 7 Do this because the blood she shed remains within her. She spilled it on a bare rock. She did not pour it on the ground, where the soil would cover it. 8 To rouse wrath and to exact repayment, I have spilled her blood on a bare rock so that it would not be covered.
9 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Woe to the bloody city! I myself will keep piling up the wood. 10 Add more wood. Stoke the fire. Overcook the meat. Pour out the broth.[g] Let the bones be charred. 11 Leave the empty pot on the coals so that it becomes hot and its bronze glows, till the filth inside it is melted, and its residue is burned away. 12 The city has wearied me with its wickedness. Its filthy residue has not been removed from it. Into the fire with its filthy residue!
13 Your impurity is lewdness. I tried to cleanse you, but you did not become clean, and as a result you will not be clean again from your impurity until I have exhausted my wrath against you. 14 I, the Lord, have spoken. This is coming, and I will do it. I will not neglect it. I will not spare you, and I will not relent. According to your behavior and your misdeeds, you will be judged, declares the Lord God.
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
15 The word of the Lord came to me.
16 Son of man, be warned! With one blow I am taking away from you what your eyes desire. You must not mourn or cry. Your tears must not flow. 17 Groan silently. Perform no mourning rites for the dead. Bind your turban on your head. Put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your upper lip. Do not eat the food people bring to mourners.
18 So I spoke to the people that morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded. 19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?”
20 I answered them, “This is the word of the Lord that came to me.”
21 Say to the house of Israel that this is what the Lord God says.
I am about to desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of which you are so proud, the sight your eyes desire, the place your soul yearns for. Your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22 You will do as I have done. You will not cover your upper lip. You will not eat the food people bring to mourners. 23 Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or cry, but you will waste away in your guilt, and you will groan to one another. 24 In this way, Ezekiel will be a sign to you. You will do everything the same way as he has done it. When it happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.
25 But you, son of man, be aware that on that day when I take away from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, what their eyes desire, and that on which they set their hearts—their sons and their daughters as well— 26 on that day a survivor will come to you to let you hear it with your own ears. 27 On that day, your mouth will be opened when the survivor comes. Then you will speak and be speechless no longer. You will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.
Oracles Against the Nations
An Oracle Against the Ammonites
25 The word of the Lord came to me.
2 Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 You are to tell the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says. Because you said “Aha!” against my sanctuary when it was desecrated, and against the land of Israel when it was devastated, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore, I am about to give you to the people of the East as their possession. They will set up their camps in your midst and place their dwellings among you. They will eat your produce, and they will drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah into a camel pasture and Ammon into a sheepfold. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
6 So this is what the Lord God says. Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and celebrated against the land of Israel with all the contempt in your soul, 7 therefore, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I have given you as plunder[h] to the nations. I have cut you off from the peoples, and I have made you perish from among the countries. When I have exterminated you, you will know that I am the Lord.[i]
An Oracle Against Moab and Edom
8 This is what the Lord God says.
Because Moab and Seir said, “Look! The house of Judah is just like all the nations,” 9 I am about to open up the flank[j] of Moab from one end to the other: its cities, its border towns, and the glory of the land, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will deliver Moab, together with the Ammonites, into the possession of the people of the East. I will hand them over to the people of the East as their possession so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 11 I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.
12 This is what the Lord God says. Because Edom has inflicted bitter revenge on the house of Judah and has incurred great guilt by pursuing revenge against Judah, 13 therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I will stretch out my hand against Edom. I will cut off man and beast from it and turn it into a wasteland. From Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. 14 I will take my revenge on Edom by means of my people Israel, and they will carry out my anger and my wrath against Edom. So they will experience my revenge, declares the Lord God.
An Oracle Against the Philistines
15 This is what the Lord God says.
Because the Philistines pursued revenge and carried their revenge to an extreme, with bitter contempt in their soul, in order to destroy Judah with everlasting hatred, 16 therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will cut off the Kerethites and destroy those who remain by the seacoast. 17 I will carry out great acts of revenge and furious punishments among them, and they will know that I am the Lord when I lay my revenge upon them.
An Oracle Against Tyre
26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month,[k] the word of the Lord came to me.
2 Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem, “Aha! The gateway to the peoples has been broken. It has been turned over to me. Because of her devastation, I will achieve my goal,” 3 this is what the Lord God says.
I am against you, Tyre, and I will send many nations against you, as the sea sends up its waves. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape away even the dust off her and make her a bare rock. 5 In the middle of the sea, she will become nothing but a place where fishing nets are spread out to dry, for I have spoken it, says the Lord God. She will become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland[l] will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 So this is what the Lord God says. I am bringing against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon and king of kings, together with horses, chariots, horsemen, and a vast array of troops from many nations. 8 Your daughters on the mainland he will kill with the sword. He will set up a siege wall against you and heap up a ramp against you, and erect a roof of shields[m] against you. 9 He will direct the blows of his battering ram against your walls, and he will demolish your towers with his swords. 10 His horses will be so numerous that the dust they raise will cover you. Your walls will shake from the noise of the horses’ hoofs, the wheels, and the chariots when he enters your gates, as men enter a breached city. 11 With the hoofs of his horses, he will trample all your streets. He will kill all your people with the sword. Your mighty pillars will topple to the ground. 12 They will plunder your wealth and take your merchandise as loot. They will tear down your walls and demolish your magnificent houses. Your stones, your timbers, and your rubble they will throw into the water. 13 I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will be heard no more. 14 I will turn you into a bare rock.
She[n] will become a place where fishing nets are spread out to dry. She will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the Lord God.
15 This is what the Lord God says to Tyre. How the coastlands will shudder at the sound of your downfall, when the victims groan, when the slain are slaughtered in your midst! 16 All the rulers of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and take off their fine embroidered garments. Instead, they will be clothed with trembling. They will sit on the ground and tremble every moment. They will be appalled by you. 17 They will raise a lament over you and say to you, “How you have perished, you city inhabited by men from the sea, you city that was celebrated, a city that was the strongest in the sea. She and her inhabitants, who spread their terror—she and all of her inhabitants have perished.[o] 18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall. The coastlands that are on the sea are terrified by your collapse.”
19 So this is what the Lord God says. When I make you a ruined city like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the many waters cover you, 20 then I will bring you down to be with those who have descended to the pit, to the people from ancient times. I will make you live below the earth, like ancient ruins. You will be with those who have descended to the pit, so that you will be uninhabited, and I will not give you glory in the land of the living. 21 I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist. You will be sought but never found again, declares the Lord God.
A Lament Over Tyre
27 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 You, son of man, take up a lament over Tyre. 3 Tell Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea as a merchant traveling to many coastlands, this is what the Lord God says.
Tyre, you say, “I am a perfect beauty.”
4 Your borders were in the heart of the sea.
Your builders perfected your beauty.
5 They built for you a double-decked ship,[p] made of fir[q] from Senir.
They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6 They made your oars of oak from Bashan.
Your planks were made of pine,[r] inlaid with ivory,
from the coasts of Cyprus.[s]
7 Your sail was brightly decorated linen from Egypt,
which also served as your banner.
Your awning was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.
8 Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad served as your rowers.
Tyre, your own skilled men, who were with you,
manned your sails.
9 Skilled veterans from Gebal[t] were on board with you,
serving as your repairmen.
All the ships of the sea and their sailors
were in your harbor to engage in trade with you.
10 Warriors from Persia, Lud,[u] and Put were in your army.
They hung up their shields and helmets among you.
They enhanced your splendor.
11 Men of Arvad and Cilicia were on your walls all around,
and men of Gammad were on your towers.
They hung their quivers all around on your walls.
They made your beauty perfect.
Tyre’s Trade[v]
12 Tarshish traded with you because of your great wealth of every kind. They traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your exports.
13 Ionia, Tubal, and Meshek also dealt with you. They traded human beings and articles of bronze for your wares.
14 From Beth Togarmah, horses, war horses, and mules were traded to you because of the abundance of your products.
15 The men of Rhodes[w] also dealt with you. Many coastlands were agents of your trade, bringing back ivory tusks and ebony in payment to you.
16 Edom[x] traded with you because of the abundance of your products. They sold turquoise, purple, and finely embroidered cloth, linen, coral, and rubies[y] to you as exports.
17 Judah and the land of Israel also dealt with you. With wheat of Minnith, flour, honey, oil, and balm they bought your wares.
18 Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your products, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth. They sold wine of Helbon, wool from Sahar, 19 and wine casks from Izalla[z] as exports. Wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were traded for your goods.
20 Dedan traded to you saddle blankets used for riding. 21 Arabia and all the rulers of Kedar were your agents for trade in lambs, rams, and goats. They were your agents for those. 22 Merchants of Sheba and Ra’amah dealt with you in all kinds of expensive perfumes and in all kinds of precious stones and gold, which they sold you for your merchandise.
23 Haran, Kanneh, and Eden, and dealers from Sheba, Assyria, and Kilmad were your dealers. 24 They were your dealers in elegant clothing, in purple garments and finely embroidered cloth, in carpets with multicolored trim, tightly wound with ropes for your marketplaces.
25 Tarshish ships traveled for you with your merchandise.
Tyre’s Collapse
So you were full and very heavily loaded in the midst of the seas. 26 Your rowers brought you out into deep water. An east wind broke you up in the heart of the sea. 27 Your wealth, your exports and your imports, your sailors and your pilots, your repairmen, and those who bring you imports, all your warriors on board—in fact, all your company who were on board—will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your collapse.
28 At the sound of the cry of distress from your pilots, the fields on the mainland will quake. 29 All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the pilots of the sea will stand on shore. 30 They will shout loudly because of you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dirt on their heads and roll in ashes. 31 They will make themselves bald on account of you and put on sackcloth. They will weep bitterly over you, with a bitter lament. 32 In their grief, they will raise a lament over you. They utter this lament over you, “Who is like Tyre, now silenced in the midst of the sea?” 33 When your exports were unloaded from the seas, you satisfied many peoples. By your abundant wealth and your imports, you enriched the kings of the earth. 34 Now you have been broken up by the seas and sunk into the watery depths. Your merchandise and the entire company on board have sunk. 35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled because of you. Their kings’ hair stands on end. Their faces show distress. 36 Traders among the peoples whistle and hiss at you. You have become horrifying, and you will never exist again, forever.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.