1 aIn the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by bthe Chebar canal, cthe heavens were opened, and I saw dvisions of God.1 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was ethe fifth year of fthe exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel gthe priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by bthe Chebar canal, and hthe hand of the Lord was upon him there.
4 As I looked, behold, ia stormy wind came jout of the north, and a great cloud, with kbrightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, las it were gleaming metal.2 5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of mfour living creatures. nAnd this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 obut each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled plike burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings qon their four sides rthey had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another. sEach one of them went straight forward, qwithout turning as they went. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, teach had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while utwo covered their bodies. 12 sAnd each went straight forward. vWherever the spirit3 would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was wlike burning coals of fire, wlike the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. xAnd the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures ydarted to and fro, zlike the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15 aNow as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.4 16 aAs for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like bthe gleaming of beryl. cAnd the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 dWhen they went, they went ein any of their four directions5 fwithout turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, gand the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 19 hAnd when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; iand when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 jWherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, jfor the spirit of the living creatures6 was in the wheels. 21 hWhen those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; iand when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, jfor the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was kthe likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring lcrystal, spread out above their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were mstretched out straight, one toward another. nAnd each creature had two wings covering its body. 24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings olike the sound of many waters, like pthe sound of the qAlmighty, a sound of tumult rlike the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above sthe expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.
26 And above the expanse over their heads there was tthe likeness of a throne, tin appearance ulike sapphire;7 and seated above the likeness of a throne was va likeness with a human appearance. 27 And wupward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were xgleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and ythere was brightness around him.8 28 Like the appearance of zthe bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.
Such was the appearance of the likeness of athe glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, bI fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
1 And he said to me, c“Son of man,9 dstand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And as he spoke to me, ethe Spirit entered into me and fset me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to gnations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. hThey and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The descendants also are iimpudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 And jwhether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are ga rebellious house) kthey will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 And you, son of man, lbe not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, mthough briers and thorns are with you and you sit on nscorpions.10 Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7 And you shall speak my words to them, jwhether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.
8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. oBe not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and peat what I give you.” 9 And when I looked, behold, qa hand was stretched out to me, and behold, ra scroll of a book was in it. 10 And he spread it before me. And it had writing son the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.
1 And he said to me, c“Son of man, eat whatever you find here. tEat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” uThen I ate it, and it was in my mouth vas sweet as honey.
4 And he said to me, w“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. xSurely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. 7 yBut the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel zhave a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. 8 aBehold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like bemery harder than flint have I made your forehead. cFear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” 10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, dall my words that I shall speak to you receive ein your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go to the exiles, fto your people, and speak to them and say to them, g‘Thus says the Lord God,’ hwhether they hear or refuse to hear.”
12 iThen the Spirit11 lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice12 of ja great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” 13 It was the sound of the wings of kthe living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of la great earthquake. 14 mThe Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the nhand of the Lord being strong upon me. 15 oAnd I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling oby the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.13 And pI sat there qoverwhelmed among them rseven days.
16 sAnd at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: 17 t“Son of man, uI have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall vgive them warning from me. 18 wIf I say to the wicked, x‘You shall surely die,’ vand you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person yshall die for14 his iniquity, zbut his blood I will require at your hand. 19 aBut if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, bbut you cwill have delivered your soul. 20 dAgain, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, eand I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. vBecause you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, dand his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, zbut his blood I will require at your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”
22 fAnd the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into gthe valley,15 and hthere I will speak with you.” 23 So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ithe glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen jby the Chebar canal, iand I fell on my face. 24 kBut the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. 25 And you, O son of man, behold, lcords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. 26 And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that myou shall be mute and unable to reprove them, nfor they are a rebellious house. 27 oBut when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, p‘Thus says the Lord God.’ qHe who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.
1 “And you, rson of man, stake a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. 2 tAnd put siegeworks against it, uand build a siege wall against it, vand cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, wand plant battering rams against it all around. 3 And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; xand set your face toward it, yand let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is za sign for the house of Israel.
4 “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment16 of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, ayou shall bear their punishment. 5 For I assign to you a number of days, b390 days, cequal to the number of the years of their punishment. aSo long shall you bear dthe punishment of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and ebear fthe punishment of the house of Judah. gForty days I assign you, a day for each year. 7 hAnd you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, iwith your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. 8 And behold, jI will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed kthe days of your siege.
9 “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,17 and put them into a single vessel and make your lbread from them. mDuring the number of days that you lie on your side, n390 days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food that you eat shall be oby weight, ptwenty shekels18 a day; from day to day19 you shall eat it. 11 And water you shall drink oby measure, the sixth part of a hin;20 from day to day you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it qin their sight on human dung.” 13 And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat rtheir bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” 14 Then I said, s“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.21 tFrom my youth up till now I have never eaten uwhat died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has vtainted meat come into my mouth.” 15 Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” 16 Moreover, he said to me, w“Son of man, behold, xI will break the supply22 of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread oby weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water oby measure and in dismay. 17 I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and ylook at one another in dismay, and zrot away because of their punishment.
1 “And you, aO son of man, take a bsharp sword. Use it as ca barber’s razor and dpass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. 2 eA third part you shall burn in the fire fin the midst of the city, gwhen the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. hAnd a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and iI will unsheathe the sword after them. 3 jAnd you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. 4 kAnd of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.
5 “Thus says the Lord God: lThis is Jerusalem. I have set her min the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness nmore than the nations, and against my statutes more than mthe countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are omore turbulent than the nations that are all around you, pand have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, qand have not23 even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, 8 therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, ram against you. sAnd I will execute judgments24 in your midst tin the sight of the nations. 9 And because of all your abominations I will do with you uwhat I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. 10 Therefore vfathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. sAnd I will execute judgments on you, wand any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. 11 Therefore, xas I live, declares the Lord God, surely, ybecause you have defiled my sanctuary zwith all your detestable things and with all your aabominations, btherefore I will withdraw.25 cMy eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. 12 dA third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; da third part shall fall by the sword all around you; dand a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.
13 e“Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that fI am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—ewhen I spend my fury upon them. 14 Moreover, I will make you ga desolation and han object of reproach among ithe nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by. 15 You shall be26 a reproach and a taunt, a warning jand a horror, to ithe nations all around you, kwhen I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and lwith furious rebukes—I am the Lord; I have spoken— 16 when I send against you27 mthe deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon nyou and break your supply28 of bread. 17 I will send famine and owild beasts against you, pand they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and qblood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 r“Son of man, sset your face toward tthe mountains of Israel, and uprophesy against them, 3 and say, vYou mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to wthe mountains and xthe hills, to ythe ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, zand I will destroy your high places. 4 zYour altars shall become desolate, and your aincense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. 5 zAnd I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, band I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 Wherever you dwell, cthe cities shall be waste and dthe high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined,29 your idols broken and destroyed, your aincense altars cut down, and your works wiped out. 7 And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
8 e“Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations fsome who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, 9 then those of you who escape gwill remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how hI have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes ithat go whoring after their idols. gAnd they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the Lord. jI have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”
11 Thus says the Lord God: k“Clap your hands land stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, mfor they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 nHe who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. oThus I will spend my fury upon them. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, pwhen their slain lie among their idols around their altars, qon every high hill, ron all the mountaintops, sunder every green tree, and under tevery leafy oak, wherever uthey offered pleasing aroma to all their idols. 14 And vI will stretch out my hand against them and wmake the land desolate and waste, xin all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to yRiblah.30 Then zthey will know that I am the Lord.”
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “And you, aO son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: bAn end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.31 3 Now bthe end is upon you, and cI will send my anger upon you; dI will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 4 eAnd my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but fI will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. gThen you will know that I am the Lord.
5 “Thus says the Lord God: Disaster hafter disaster!32 Behold, it comes. 6 bAn end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. 7 iYour doom33 has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. jThe time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not kof joyful shouting on the mountains. 8 Now I will soon lpour out my wrath upon you, and mspend my anger against you, dand judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 9 eAnd my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. nThen you will know that I am the Lord, who strikes.
10 o“Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! pYour doom has come; qthe rod has blossomed; pride has budded. 11 rViolence has grown up into qa rod of wickedness. sNone of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them.34 12 jThe time has come; the day has arrived. Let not tthe buyer rejoice, nor tthe seller mourn, ufor wrath is upon all their multitude.35 13 For vthe seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. wFor the vision concerns all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life.36
14 “They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, xfor my wrath is upon all their multitude. 15 yThe sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. zHe who is in the field dies by the sword, zand him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. 16 aAnd if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like bdoves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. 17 cAll hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. 18 dThey put on sackcloth, and ehorror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and fbaldness on all their heads. 19 They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. gTheir silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. hFor it was ithe stumbling block of their iniquity. 20 jHis beautiful ornament they used for pride, and kthey made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore lI make it an unclean thing to them. 21 And I will give it into the hands of mforeigners for prey, nand to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and lthey shall profane it. 22 I will turn my face from them, and lthey shall profane my treasured37 place. Robbers shall enter land profane it.
23 o“Forge a chain!38 pFor the land is full of bloody crimes qand the city is full of violence. 24 I will bring rthe worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. sI will put an end to the pride of the strong, tand their holy places39 shall be profaned. 25 uWhen anguish comes, vthey will seek peace, but there shall be none. 26 wDisaster comes upon disaster; xrumor follows rumor. yThey seek a vision from the prophet, while zthe law40 perishes from the priest and acounsel from the elders. 27 The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way bI will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, cand they shall know that I am the Lord.”
1 dIn the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, eas I sat in my house, with fthe elders of Judah sitting before me, gthe hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, ha form that had the appearance of a man.41 hBelow what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like igleaming metal.42 3 He jput out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up kbetween earth and heaven and lbrought me in mvisions of God to Jerusalem, nto the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, owhere was the seat of the pimage of jealousy, qwhich provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, rthe glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw sin the valley.
5 Then he said to me, t“Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of uthe altar gate, in the entrance, was this pimage of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, vdo you see what they are doing, wthe great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, xto drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”
7 And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, ydig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. 9 And he said to me, “Go in, and see zthe vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, aengraved on the wall all around, was bevery form of ccreeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 And before them stood dseventy men of ethe elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of fShaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and gthe smoke of the cloud of incense went up. 12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing hin the dark, each iin his room of pictures? For they say, j‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” 13 He said also to me, k“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”
14 Then he brought me to lthe entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O tson of man? kYou will see still greater abominations than these.”
16 And he brought me into mthe inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, nbetween the oporch and pthe altar, were about twenty-five men, qwith their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping rthe sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O sson of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit tthe abominations that they commit here, that uthey should fill the land with violence and vprovoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their43 nose. 18 Therefore wI will act in wrath. xMy eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. yAnd though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”
1 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, zeach with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 And behold, six men came from the direction of athe upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was ba man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside cthe bronze altar.
3 Now dthe glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ethe threshold of the house. And he called to bthe man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and fput a mark on the foreheads of the men who gsigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to hthe others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. iYour eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 jKill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but ktouch no one on whom is the mark. And lbegin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. 7 Then he said to them, m“Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. 8 And while they were striking, and I was left alone, nI fell upon my face, and cried, o“Ah, Lord God! pWill you destroy all the remnant of Israel qin the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”
9 Then he said to me, r“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. sThe land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For tthey say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ 10 As for me, umy eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; vI will bring their deeds upon their heads.”
11 And behold, wthe man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”
1 Then I looked, and behold, xon the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ylike a sapphire,44 in appearance like a throne. 2 And he said to zthe man clothed in linen, “Go in among athe whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with bburning coals from between the cherubim, and cscatter them over the city.”
And he went in dbefore my eyes. 3 Now the cherubim were standing eon the south side of the house, when the man went in, and fa cloud filled gthe inner court. 4 And hthe glory of the Lord iwent up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house fwas filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with jthe brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And kthe sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, klike the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.
6 And when he commanded lthe man clothed in linen, m“Take fire from between nthe whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have othe form of a human hand under their wings.
9 pAnd I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and qthe appearance of the wheels was rlike sparkling sberyl. 10 And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. 11 tWhen they went, they went in any of their four directions45 uwithout turning as they went, vbut in whatever direction the front wheel46 faced, the others followed without turning as they went. 12 wAnd their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,47 and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing n“the whirling wheels.” 14 xAnd every one had four faces: ythe first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was za human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 aAnd the cherubim mounted up. These were bthe living creatures that I saw by cthe Chebar canal. 16 dAnd when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And dwhen the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. 17 eWhen they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures48 was in them.
18 fThen gthe glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 hAnd the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ibefore my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the jeast gate of the house of the Lord, and kthe glory of the God of Israel was over them.
20 lThese were the living creatures that I saw munderneath the God of Israel by nthe Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 oEach had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings pthe likeness of human hands. 22 qAnd as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. rEach one of them went straight forward.
1 sThe Spirit lifted me up and brought me to tthe east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were utwenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah vthe son of Azzur, and wPelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And he said to me, x“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3 ywho say, z‘The time is not near49 to build houses. aThis city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”
5 And bthe Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. cFor I know the things that come into your mind. 6 dYou have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: eYour slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, athey are the meat, and athis city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. 8 fYou have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ggive you into the hands of foreigners, and hexecute judgments upon you. 10 iYou shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, jand you shall know that I am the Lord. 11 kThis city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, 12 and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, lbut have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”
13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, mthat nPelatiah the son of Benaiah died. oThen I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, o“Ah, Lord God! pWill you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”
14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 q“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,50 the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, r‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet sI have been a sanctuary to them for a while51 in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: tI will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, tand I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, uthey will remove from it all its vdetestable things and all its abominations. 19 wAnd I will give them one heart, and xa new spirit I will put within them. yI will remove the heart of stone from their flesh zand give them a heart of flesh, 20 athat they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. bAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 cBut as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, dI will52 bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”
22 eThen the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, eand the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and fstood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. 24 gAnd the Spirit lifted me up and brought me hin the vision by the Spirit of God iinto Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 j“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ka rebellious house, lwho have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are ka rebellious house. 3 As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself man exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day nin their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place nin their sight. oPerhaps they will understand, though53 they are a rebellious house. 4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself pat evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. 5 In their sight qdig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. 6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you ra sign for the house of Israel.”
7 sAnd I did as I was commanded. tI brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.
8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9 u“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, vthe rebellious house, said to you, w‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns54 xthe prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’55 11 Say, y‘I am a sign for you: zas I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ 12 aAnd the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. bThey shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. cHe shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13 dAnd I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And eI will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, eyet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. 14 fAnd I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, gand I will unsheathe the sword after them. 15 hAnd they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. 16 iBut I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, jand may know that I am the Lord.”
17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 k“Son of man, leat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. 19 And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: mThey shall eat their bread with anxiety, mand drink water in dismay. In this way nher land will be stripped of all it contains, oon account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 pAnd the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
21 And the word of the Lord came to me: 22 “Son of man, qwhat is this proverb that you56 have about the land of Israel, saying, r‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? 23 Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, sThe days are near, and the fulfillment57 of every vision. 24 tFor there shall be no more any ufalse vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord; I will speak vthe word that I will speak, and it will be performed. wIt will no longer be delayed, but in your days, xO rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”
26 And the word of the Lord came to me: 27 “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, y‘The vision that he sees is zfor many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: wNone of my words will be delayed any longer, vbut the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 a“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those bwho prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ 3 Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. 5 cYou have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. 6 dThey have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ ewhen the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. 7 Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, fwhenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, gI am against you, declares the Lord God. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, hnor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, inor shall they enter the land of Israel. jAnd you shall know that I am the Lord God. 10 Precisely because they have misled my people, ksaying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, lthese prophets smear it with whitewash,58 11 say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! mThere will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. 12 And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ 13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: mI will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, mand there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. 14 And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, nand you shall know that I am the Lord. 15 Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem kand saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God.
17 “And you, son of man, oset your face against pthe daughters of your people, qwho prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them 18 and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women rwho sew magic bands upon all wrists, and smake veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in tthe hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? 19 You have profaned me among my people ufor handfuls of barley vand for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.
20 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, wI am against xyour magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. 21 Your veils also I will tear off and ydeliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, zand you shall know that I am the Lord. 22 aBecause you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and byou have encouraged the wicked, that che should not turn from his evil way to save his life, 23 dtherefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”
1 Then certain of the eelders of Israel came to me eand sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 f“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set gthe stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. hShould I indeed let myself be consulted by them? 4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, iI the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, 5 jthat I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, kwho are all estranged from me through their idols.
6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: lRepent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, kwho separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, mI the Lord will answer him myself. 8 And nI will set my face against that man; I owill make him a sign and a byword nand cut him off from the midst of my people, pand you shall know that I am the Lord. 9 And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, qI, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their punishment59—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike— 11 that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor rdefile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, sbut that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.”
12 And the word of the Lord came to me: 13 t“Son of man, when a land sins against me uby acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and vbreak its supply60 of bread and send famine upon it, and wcut off from it man and beast, 14 xeven if these three men, yNoah, zDaniel, and aJob, were in it, bthey would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.
15 c“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, dand it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even if these three men were in it, eas I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but fthe land would be desolate.
17 “Or gif I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, hand I cut off from it man and beast, 18 xthough these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.
19 “Or iif I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.
21 “For thus says the Lord God: How much more jwhen I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, ksword, lfamine, mwild beasts, and npestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! 22 But behold, osome survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and pyou see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. 23 They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.”
1 And the word of the Lord came to me: 2 q“Son of man, how does rthe wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take sa peg from it to hang any vessel on it? 4 tBehold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? 5 uBehold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! 6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: vLike the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, twhich I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 wAnd I will set my face against them. Though xthey escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, yand you will know that I am the Lord, wwhen I set my face against them. 8 zAnd I will make the land desolate, because athey have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.”
1 Again the word of the Lord came to me: 2 b“Son of man, cmake known to Jerusalem her abominations, 3 and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an dAmorite and your mother a eHittite. 4 And as for your birth, fon the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, gbut you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, fon the day that you were born.
6 “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing hin your blood, I said to you hin your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you hin your blood, ‘Live!’ 7 iI made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall jand arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet kyou were naked and bare.
8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and lI spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you mand entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, nand you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and oanointed you with oil. 10 pI clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.61 11 qAnd I adorned you with ornaments and rput bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. 12 And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. sYou ate fine flour and honey and oil. tYou grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. 14 And uyour renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.
15 v“But you trusted in your beauty wand played the whore62 because of your renown xand lavished your whorings63 on any passerby; your beauty64 became his. 16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.65 17 You also took yyour beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and zmade for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. 18 And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, aand set my oil and my incense before them. 19 bAlso my bread that I gave you—sI fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for ca pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God. 20 dAnd you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and ethese you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter 21 that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? 22 And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember fthe days of your youth, gwhen you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.
23 “And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God), 24 you built yourself ha vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. 25 At the head of every street iyou built your lofty place and made jyour beauty an abomination, koffering yourself66 to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. 26 wYou also played the whore lwith the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, mmultiplying your whoring, nto provoke me to anger. 27 Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you oand diminished your allotted portion pand delivered you to the greed of your enemies, qthe daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. 28 wYou played the whore also rwith the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. 29 You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land tof Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.
30 “How sick is your heart,67 declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, ubecause you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, vbut you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. 34 So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and vyou gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.
35 “Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 36 Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, wand because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, 37 therefore, behold, xI will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and yall those you hated. zI will gather them against you from every side aand will uncover your nakedness to them, that bthey may see all your nakedness. 38 cAnd I will judge you das women who commit adultery and eshed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. 39 And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your fvaulted chamber and break down gyour lofty places. hThey shall strip you of your clothes and take iyour beautiful jewels and leave you jnaked and bare. 40 kThey shall bring up a crowd against you, land they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 lAnd they shall mburn your houses and nexecute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. oI will make you stop playing the whore, and pyou shall also give payment no more. 42 qSo will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. 43 Because you have not remembered rthe days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, sI have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not tcommitted lewdness in addition to all your abominations?
44 “Behold, everyone uwho uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ 45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of vyour sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. wYour mother was a Hittite and wyour father an Amorite. 46 And xyour elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and yyour younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 zNot only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time ayou were more corrupt than they in all your ways. 48 bAs I live, declares the Lord God, your sister cSodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, dexcess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and edid an abomination before me. So fI removed them, when I saw it. 51 gSamaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and hhave made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed. 52 iBear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.
53 j“I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst, 54 that you may bear your disgrace kand be ashamed of all that you have done, lbecoming a consolation to them. 55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, jand Samaria and her daughters shall return mto their former state, jand you and your daughters shall return mto your former state. 56 Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth nin the day of your pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become oan object of reproach for the daughters of Syria68 and all those around her, and for pthe daughters of the Philistines, qthose all around who despise you. 58 rYou bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord.
59 “For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you swho have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, 60 yet tI will remember my covenant with you uin the days of your youth, vand I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. 61 wThen you will remember your ways xand be ashamed when you take yyour sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you zas daughters, but not on account of69 the covenant with you. 62 I will establish my covenant with you, aand you shall know that I am the Lord, 63 that you may remember and be confounded, and bnever open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.”
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 c“Son of man, dpropound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord God: eA great eagle fwith great wings and long pinions, frich in plumage of many colors, came gto Lebanon hand took the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land iand planted it in fertile soil.70 He placed it beside abundant waters. jHe set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a klow lspreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.
7 m“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, mand behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from nthe bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 iIt had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.
9 “Say, Thus says the Lord God: mWill it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? oWill it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say now to pthe rebellious house, qDo you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, rthe king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 sAnd he took one of the royal offspring71 tand made a covenant with him, uputting him under oath (vthe chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 wBut he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors xto Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. yWill he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he zbreak the covenant and yet escape?
16 a“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely bin the place where the king dwells cwho made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 dPharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, ewhen mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 fI will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon gand enter into judgment with him there hfor the treachery he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick72 of his troops shall fall by the sword, iand the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that jI am the Lord; I have spoken.”
22 Thus says the Lord God: k“I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. lI will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and mI myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 nOn the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. oAnd under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; pI bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up qthe green tree, and make qthe dry tree flourish. rI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you73 mean sby repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, t‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 uAs I live, declares the Lord God, vthis proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: wthe soul who sins shall die.
5 “If a man is righteous and does xwhat is just and right— 6 if he ydoes not eat upon the mountains or zlift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, adoes not defile his neighbor’s wife bor approach ca woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 ddoes not oppress anyone, but erestores to the debtor his pledge, fcommits no robbery, ggives his bread to the hungry gand covers the naked with a garment, 8 hdoes not lend at interest hor take any profit,74 withholds his hand from injustice, iexecutes true justice between man and man, 9 jwalks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; khe shall surely live, declares the Lord God.
10 “If he fathers a son who is violent, la shedder of blood, who does any of these things 11 (though he himself did none of these things), mwho even eats upon the mountains, ndefiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, ocommits robbery, odoes not restore the pledge, plifts up his eyes to the idols, qcommits abomination, 13 rlends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; shis blood shall be upon himself.
14 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: 15 he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 does not oppress anyone, texacts no pledge, ucommits no robbery, vbut gives his bread to the hungry vand covers the naked with a garment, 17 withholds his hand from iniquity,75 takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, wand walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; xhe shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, ybehold, he shall die for his iniquity.
19 “Yet you say, z‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done awhat is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, bhe shall surely live. 20 cThe soul who sins shall die. dThe son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. eThe righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, fand the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21 g“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does hwhat is just and right, ihe shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 jNone of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 kHave I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 lBut when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? mNone of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for nthe treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
25 o“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 lWhen a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, pwhen a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
30 “Therefore qI will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. rRepent and turn from all your transgressions, slest iniquity be your ruin.76 31 tCast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and umake yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! vWhy will you die, O house of Israel? 32 wFor I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; rso turn, and live.”
1 And you, xtake up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:
What was your mother? yA lioness!
Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
she reared her cubs.
3 And she brought up one of her cubs;
zhe became a young lion,
aand he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men.
4 The nations heard about him;
bhe was caught in their pit,
cand they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
dshe took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.
6 He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men,
7 and seized77 their widows.
He laid waste their cities,
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
at the sound of his roaring.
8 eThen the nations set against him
from provinces on every side;
fthey spread their net over him;
bhe was taken in their pit.
9 With hooks ethey put him in a cage78
and gbrought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
that his voice should no more be heard
on hthe mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was ilike a vine in a vineyard79
planted by the water,
jfruitful and full of branches
kby reason of abundant water.
11 Its strong stems became
rulers’ scepters;
it towered aloft
among the thick boughs;80
it was seen in its height
with the mass of its branches.
12 But the vine was plucked up in fury,
cast down to the ground;
lthe east wind dried up its fruit;
they were stripped off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
fire consumed it.
13 mNow it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.
14 nAnd fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,
has consumed its fruit,
oso that there remains in it no strong stem,
no scepter for ruling.
This is pa lamentation and has become a lamentation.
1 qIn the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of rthe elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, sand sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 t“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? uAs I live, declares the Lord God, vI will not be inquired of by you. 4 wWill you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? xLet them know the abominations of their fathers, 5 and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: yOn the day when I chose Israel, zI swore81 to the offspring of the house of Jacob, amaking myself known to them in the land of Egypt; zI swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. 6 On that day I swore to them that bI would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land bflowing with milk and honey, cthe most glorious of all lands. 7 And I said to them, d‘Cast away the detestable things eyour eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with fthe idols of Egypt; gI am the Lord your God.’ 8 hBut they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. iNone of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.
“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them jand spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 kBut I acted lfor the sake of my name, mthat it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, nin whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 oSo I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 pI gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, qby which, if a person does them, he shall live. 12 Moreover, I gave them rmy Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, sthat they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13 tBut the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. uThey did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; vand my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.
t“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. 14 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, win whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Moreover, xI swore to them in the wilderness ythat I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land zflowing with milk and honey, zthe most glorious of all lands, 16 because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; afor their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless, bmy eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or cmake a full end of them in the wilderness.
18 “And I said to dtheir children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk ein the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, fnor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 gI am the Lord your God; hwalk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, 20 and ikeep my Sabbaths holy that jthey may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ 21 kBut the children lrebelled against me. mThey did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.
n“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. 22 oBut I withheld my hand pand acted for the sake of my name, qthat it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 rMoreover, sI swore to them in the wilderness tthat I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, 24 because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, uand their eyes were set on their fathers’ idols. 25 vMoreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, 26 and I defiled them through wtheir very gifts win their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it xthat they might know that I am the Lord.
27 “Therefore, yson of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by zdealing treacherously with me. 28 For when I had brought them into the land that aI swore to give them, then wherever they saw bany high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented cthe provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 (I said to them, d‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah82 to this day.)
30 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: eWill you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go fwhoring after their detestable things? 31 When you present your gifts and goffer up your children in fire,83 you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And hshall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? iAs I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.
32 j“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, k‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, land worship wood and stone.’
33 i“As I live, declares the Lord God, msurely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and nwith wrath poured out I will be king over you. 34 oI will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. 35 pAnd I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, qand there I will enter into judgment with you rface to face. 36 sAs I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. 37 I will make you tpass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 uI will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. vI will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, wbut they shall not enter the land of Israel. xThen you will know that I am the Lord.
39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: yGo serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; zbut my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.
40 a“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there ball the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. cThere I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. 41 As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when dI bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And eI will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. 42 fAnd you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that gI swore to give to your fathers. 43 hAnd there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, hand you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. 44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, iwhen I deal with you for my name’s sake, jnot according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”
45 84 And the word of the Lord came to me: 46 k“Son of man, lset your face toward the southland;85 mpreach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. 47 Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, nI will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every ogreen tree in you and every odry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and pall faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. 48 qAll flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” 49 Then I said, r“Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, s‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”
1 86 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 t“Son of man, uset your face toward Jerusalem and vpreach against the sanctuaries.87 Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: wBehold, I am against you and will draw xmy sword from its sheath and ywill cut off from you both righteous and wicked. 4 Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. 5 zAnd all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn xmy sword from its sheath; ait shall not be sheathed again.
6 “As for you, son of man, bgroan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, cgroan before their eyes. 7 dAnd when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news ethat it is coming. fEvery heart will melt, and gall hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and gall knees will be weak as water. hBehold, it is ecoming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord God.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me: 9 t“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say:
i“A sword, a sword is sharpened
and also polished,
10 jsharpened for slaughter,
jpolished to flash like lightning!
(Or kshall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, lwith everything of wood.)88 11 So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished mto be given into the hand of the slayer. 12 nCry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. oStrike therefore upon your thigh. 13 For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise pthe rod?”89 declares the Lord God.
14 “As for you, qson of man, prophesy. rClap your hands and let the sword come down twice, syes, three times,90 the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them, 15 that their hearts may melt, and many stumble.91 At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; tit is taken up92 for slaughter. 16 Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. 17 I also will rclap my hands, uand I will satisfy my fury; vI the Lord have spoken.”
18 The word of the Lord came to me again: 19 “As for you, son of man, mark two ways for wthe sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make xa signpost; make it xat the head of the way to a city. 20 Mark a way yfor the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified.
Download the Free ESV Bible App
Go deeper into God’s Word with the ESV Bible app, featuring interactive reading plans, personal bookmarks and notes, streaming audio, powerful search tools, a free study Bible, and more.
