Holy Scripture

Jezekiel

Chapter 1

1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, that I was in the midst of the captivity by the river of Chobar; and the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month; this was the fifth year of the captivity of king Joakim. 3 And the word of the Lord came to Jezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river of Chobar; and the hand of the Lord was upon me.

4 And I looked, and, behold, a sweeping wind came from the north, and a great cloud on it, and there was brightness round about it, and gleaming fire, and in the midst of it as it were the appearance of amber in the midst of the fire, and brightness in it.

5 And in the midst as it were the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; the likeness of a man was upon them. 6 And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 And their legs were straight; and their feet were winged, and there were sparks, like gleaming brass, and their wings were light. 8 And the hand of a man was under their wings on their four sides. 9 And the faces of them four turned not when they went; they went everyone straight forward. 10 And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right of the four; and the face of a calf on the left of the four; and the face of an eagle to the four. 11 And the four had their wings spread out above; each one had two joined to one another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And each one went straight forward: wherever the spirit was going they went, and turned not back.

13 And in the midst of the living creatures there was an appearance as of burning coals of fire, as an appearance of lamps turning among the living creatures; and the brightness of fire, and out of the fire came forth lightning. 14

15 And I looked, and, behold, the four had each one wheel on the ground near the living creatures. 16 And the appearance of the wheels was as the appearance of beryl: and the four had one likeness: and their work was as it were a wheel in a wheel. 17 They went on their four sides: they turned not as they went; 18 neither did their backs turn: and they were high: and I beheld them, and the backs of them four were full of eyes round about.

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures lifted themselves off the earth. the wheels were lifted off. 20 Wherever the cloud happened to be, there was the spirit ready to go: the wheels went and were lifted up with them; because the spirit of life was in the wheels. 21 When those went, the wheels went; and when those stood, the wheels stood; and when those lifted themselves off the earth, they were lifted off with them: for the spirit of life was in the wheels.

22 And the likeness over the heads of the living creatures was as a firmament, as the appearance of crystal, spread out over their wings above. 23 And their wings were spread out under the firmament, reaching one to the other; two wings to each, covering their bodies. 24 And I heard the sound of their wings when they went, as the sound of much water: and when they stood, their wings were let down.

25 And lo! a voice from above the firmament 26 that was over their head, there was as the appearance of a sapphire stone, and the likeness of a throne upon it: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as an appearance of a man above. 27 And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber from the appearance of the loins and upwards, and from the appearance of the loins and under I saw an appearance of fire, and the brightness thereof round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow when it is in the cloud in days of rain, so was the form of brightness round about.

Chapter 2

2:1 This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And I saw and fell upon my face, and heard the voice of one speaking: and he said to me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak to thee. 2 And the Spirit came upon me, and took me up, and raised me, and set me on my feet: and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, Son of Man, I send thee forth to the house of Israel, them that provoke me; who have provoked me, they and their fathers to this day. 4 And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord. 5 Whether then indeed they shall hear or fear. (for it is a provoking house,)yet they shall know that thou art a prophet in the midst of them.

6 And thou, son of man, fear them not, nor be dismayed at their face; (for they will madden and will rise up against thee round about, and thou dwellest in the midst of scorpions): be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their countenance, for it is a provoking house. 7 And thou shalt speak my words to them, whether they will hear or fear: for it is a provoking house.

8 And thou, son of man, hear him that speaks to thee; be not thou provoking, as the provoking house: open thy mouth, and eat what I give thee. 9 And I looked, and behold, a hand stretched out to me, and in it a volume of a book. 10 And he unrolled it before me: and in it the front and the back were written upon: and there was written in it Lamentation, and mournful song, and woe.

Chapter 3

3:1 And he said to me, Son of Man, eat this volume, and go and speak to the children of Israel. 2 So he opened my mouth, and caused me to eat the volume.

And he said to me, Son of man, 3 thy mouth shall eat, and thy belly shall be filled with this volume that is given to thee. So I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

4 And he said to me, Son of man, go thy way, and go in to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. 5 For thou art not sent to a people of hard speech, but to the house of Israel; 6 neither to many nations of other speech and other tongues, nor of harsh language, whose words thou wouldest not understand: although if I had sent thee to such, they would have hearkened to thee. 7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to hearken to thee; for they will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel are stubborn and hard-hearted. 8 And, behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and I will strengthen thy power against their power. 9 And it shall be continually stronger than a rock: be not afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their faces, because it is a provoking house.

10 And he said to me, Son of man, receive into thine heart all the words that I have spoken to thee, and hear them with thine ears. 11 And go thy way, go in to the captivity, to the children of thy people, and thou shalt speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

12 Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice as of a great earthquake, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place. 13 And I perceived the sound of the wings of the living creatures clapping one to the other, and the sound of the wheels was near them, and the sound of the earthquake. 14 And the Spirit lifted me, and took me up, and I went in the impulse of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was mighty upon me.

15 Then I passed through the air and came into the captivity, and went round to them that dwelt by the river of Chobar who were there; and I sat there seven days, conversant in the midst of them.

16 And after the seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, 17 I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel; and thou shalt hear a word of my mouth, and shalt threaten them from me. 18 When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou hast not warned him, to give warning to the wicked, to turn from his ways, that he should live; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. 19 But if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, and from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, and thou shalt deliver thy soul.

20 And when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits a trespass, and I shall bring punishment before him, he shall die, because thou didst not warn him: he shall even die in his sins, because his righteousness shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 21 But if thou warn the righteous not to sin, and he sin not, the righteous shall surely live, because thou hast warned him; and thou shalt deliver thine own soul.

22 And the hand of the Lord came upon me; and he said to me, Arise, and go forth into the plain, and there shalt thou be spoken to.

23 And I arose, and went forth to the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, according to the vision, and according to the glory of the Lord, which I saw by the river of Chobar: and I fell on my face. 24 Then the Spirit came upon me, and set me on my feet, and spoke to me, and said to me, Go in, and shut thyself up in the midst of thine house. 25 And thou, son of man, behold, bonds are prepared for thee, and they shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not come forth of the midst of them. 26 Also I will bind thy tongue, and thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: because it is a provoking house. 27 But when I speak to thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord, He that hears, let him hear; and he that is disobedient, let him be disobedient: because it is a provoking house.

Chapter 4

4:1 And thou, son of man, take thee a brick, and thou shalt set it before thy face, and shalt portray on it the city, even Jerusalem. 2 And thou shalt besiege it, and build works against it, and throw up a mound round about it, and pitch camps against it, and set up engines round about. 3 And take thou to thyself an iron pan, and thou shalt set it for an iron wall between thee and the city: and thou shalt set thy face against it, and it shall be in a siege, and thou shalt besiege it. This is a sign to the children of Israel.

4 And thou shalt lie upon thy left side, and lay the iniquities of the house of Israel upon it, according to the number of the hundred and fifty days during which thou shalt lie upon it: and thou shalt bear their iniquities. 5 For I have appointed thee their iniquities for a number of days, for a hundred and ninety days: so thou shalt bear the iniquities of the house of Israel. 6 And thou shalt accomplish this, and then shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquities of the house of Juda forty days: I have appointed thee a day for a year.

7 So thou shalt set thy face to the siege of Jerusalem, and shalt strengthen thine arm, and shalt prophesy against it. 8 And, behold, I have prepared bonds for thee, land thou mayest not turn from thy one side to the other, until the days of thy siege shall be accomplished.

9 Take thou also to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and bread-corn; and thou shalt cast them into one earthen vessel, and shalt make them into loaves for thyself; and thou shalt eat them a hundred and ninety days, according to the number of the days during which thou sleepest on thy side. 10 And thou shalt eat thy food by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat them. 11 And thou shalt drink water by measure, even from time to time thou shalt drink the sixth part of a hin. 12 And thou shalt eat them as a barley cake: thou shalt bake them before their eyes in man’s dung.

13 And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Thus shall the children of Israel eat unclean things among the Gentiles. 14 Then I said, Not so, Lord God of Israel: surely my soul has not been defiled with uncleanness; nor have I eaten, that which died of itself or was torn of beasts from my birth until now; neither has any corrupt flesh entered into my mouth.

15 And he said to me, Behold, I have given thee dung of oxen instead of man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy loaves upon it.

16 And he said to me, Son of man, behold, I break the support of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight and in want; and shall drink water by measure, and in a state of ruin: 17 that they may want bread and water; and a man and his brother shall be brought to ruin, and they shall pine away in their iniquities.

Chapter 5

5:1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sword sharper than a barber’s razor; thou shalt procure it for thyself, and shalt bring it upon thine head, and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take a pair of scales, and shalt separate the hair. 2 A fourth part thou shalt burn in the fire in the midst of the city, at the fulfillment of the days of the siege: and thou shalt take a fourth part, and burn it up in the midst of it: and a fourth part thou shalt cut with a sword round about it: and a fourth part thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

3 And thou shalt take thence a few in number, and shalt wrap them in the fold of thy garment. 4 And thou shalt take of these again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them up with fire: from thence shall come forth fire; and thou shalt say to the whole house of Israel,

5 Thus saith the Lord; This is Jerusalem: I have set her and the countries round about her in the midst of the nations. 6 And thou shalt declare mine ordinances to the lawless one from out of the nations; and my statutes to the sinful one of the countries round about her: because they have rejected mine ordinances, and have not walked in my statutes.

7 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because your occasion for sin has been taken from the nations round about you, and ye have not walked in my statutes, nor kept mine ordinances, nay, ye have not even done according to the ordinances of the nations round about you; therefore thus saith the Lord; 8 Behold, I am against thee, and I will execute judgement in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. 9 And I will do in thee things which I have not done, and the like of which I will not do again, for all thine abominations. 10 Therefore the fathers shall eat their children in the midst of thee, and children shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgements in thee, and I will scatter all that are left of thee to every wind.

11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord; surely, because thou hast defiled my holy things with all thine abominations, I also will reject thee; mine eye shall not spare, land I will have no mercy. 12 A fourth part of thee shall be cut off by pestilence, and a fourth part of thee shall be consumed in the midst of thee with famine: and as for another fourth part of thee, I will scatter them to every wind; and a fourth part of thee shall fall by sword round about thee, and I will draw out a sword after them.

13 And my wrath and mine anger shall be accomplished upon them: and thou shalt know that I the Lord have spoken in my jealousy, when I have accomplished mine anger upon them.

14 And I will make thee desolate, and thy daughters round about thee, in the sight of every one that passes through. 15 And thou shalt be mourned over and miserable among the nations round about thee, when I have executed judgements in thee in the vengeance of my wrath. I the Lord have spoken. 16 And when I have sent against them shafts of famine, then they shall be consumed, and I will break the strength of thy bread. 17 So I will send forth against thee famine and evil beasts, and I will take vengeance upon thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through upon thee; and I will bring a sword upon thee round about. I the Lord have spoken.

Chapter 6

6:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them; 3 and thou shalt say,

Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the valleys, and to the forests; Behold, I bring a sword upon you, and your high places shall be utterly destroyed. 4 And your altars shall be broken to pieces, and your consecrated plats; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will scatter your bones round about your altars, 6 and in all your habitations: the cities shall be made desolate, and the high places utterly laid waste; that your altars may be destroyed, and your idols be broken to pieces, and your consecrated plats be abolished. 7 And slain men shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

8 When there are some of you escaping from the sword among the Gentiles, and when ye are scattered in the countries; 9 then they of you that escape among the nations whither they were carried captive shall remember me; (I have sworn an oath against their heart that goes a-whoring from me, and their eyes that go a-whoring after their practices;)and they shall mourn over themselves for all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I the Lord have spoken.

11 Thus saith the Lord; Clap with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot and say, Aha, aha! for all the abominations of the house of Israel: they shall fall by the sword, and by pestilence, and by famine. 12 He that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that is far off shall die by the pestilence; and he that is in the siege shall be consumed with famine: and I will accomplish mine anger upon them.

13 Then ye shall know that I am the Lord, when your slain are in the midst of your idols round about your altars, on every high hill, and under every shady tree, where they offered a sweet savour to all their idols. 14 And I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land desolate and ruined from the wilderness of Deblatha, in all their habitations: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 7

7:1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Also, thou, son of man, say, 2 Thus saith the Lord;

An end is come to the land of Israel, the end is come on the four corners of the land. 3 The end is come on thee, 7 the inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the day has drawn nigh, not with tumult, nor with pangs. 8 Now I will pour out my anger upon thee near at hand, and I will accomplish my wrath on thee: and I will judge thee for thy ways, and recompense upon thee all thine abominations. 9 Mine eye shall not spare, nor will I have any mercy: for I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord that smite thee. 7 Now the end is come to thee, and I will send judgment upon thee: and I will take vengeance on thy ways, and will recompense all thine abominations upon thee. 4 Mine eye shall not spare, nor will I have any mercy: for I will recompense thy way upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

5 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, the end is come.

10 Behold, the day of the Lord! although the rod has blossomed, 11 pride has sprung up, and will break the staff of the wicked one, and that not with tumult, nor with haste. 12 The time is come, behold the day: let not the buyer rejoice, and let not the seller mourn. 13 For the buyer shall never again return to the seller, neither shall a man cleave with the eye of hope to his life. 14 Sound ye the trumpet, and pass sentence on all together. 15 There shall be war with the sword without, and famine and pestilence within: he that is in the field shall die by the sword; and famine and pestilence shall destroy them that are in the city.

16 But they that escape of them shall be delivered, and shall be upon the mountains: and I will slay all the rest, every one for his iniquities. 17 All hands shall be completely weakened, and all thighs shall be defiled with moisture. 18 And they shall gird themselves with sackcloth, and amazement shall cover them; and shame shall be upon them, even upon every face, and baldness upon every head. 19 Their silver shall be cast forth in the streets, and their gold shall be despised: their souls shall not be satisfied, and their bellies shall not be filled: for it was the punishment of their iniquities. 20 As for their choice ornaments, they employed them for pride, and they made of them images of their abominations: therefore have I made them uncleanness to them.

21 And I will deliver them into the hands of strangers to make them a prey, and to the pests of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane them. 22 And I will turn away my face from them, and they shall defile my charge, and shall go in to them unguardedly, and profane them. 23 And they shall work uncleanness: because the land is full of strange nations, and the city is full of iniquity. 24 And I will turn back the boasting of their strength; and their holy things shall be defiled. 25 And though propitiation shall come, and one shall seek peace, yet there shall be none. 26 There shall be woe upon woe, and there shall be message upon message; and a vision shall be sought from a prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders. 27 The prince shall clothe himself with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be made feeble: I will do to them according to their ways, and according to their judgements will I punish them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 8

8:1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the fifth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in the house, and the elders of Juda were sitting before me: and the hand of the Lord came upon me. 2 And I looked, and, behold, the likeness of a man: from his loins and downwards there was fire, and from his loins upwards there was as the appearance of amber. 3 And he stretched forth the likeness of a hand, and took me by the crown of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between the earth and sky, and brought me to Jerusalem in a vision of God, to the porch of the gate that looks to the north, where was the pillar of the Purchaser. 4 And, behold, the glory of the Lord God of Israel was there, according to the vision which I saw in the plain.

5 And he said to me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes toward the north, and, behold, I looked from the north toward the eastern gate. 6 And he said to me, Son of man, hast thou seen what these do? They commit great abominations here so that I should keep away from my sanctuary: and thou shalt see yet greater iniquities.

7 And he brought me to the porch of the court. 8 And he said to me, Son of man, dig: so I dug, and behold a door. 9 And he said to me, Go in, and behold the iniquities which they practise here. 10 So I went in and looked; and beheld vain abominations, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon them round about. 11 And seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and Jechonias the son of Saphan stood in their presence in the midst of them, and each one held his censer in his hand; and the smoke of the incense went up. 12 And he said to me, Thou hast seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do, each one of them in their secret chamber: because they have said, The Lord see not; The Lord has forsaken the earth.

13 And he said to me, Thou shalt see yet greater iniquities which these do. 14 And he brought me in to the porch of the house of the Lord that looks to the north; and, behold there were women sitting there lamenting for Thammuz. 15 And he said to me, Son of man, thou hast seen; but thou shalt yet see evil practices greater then these.

16 And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty men, with their back parts toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces turned the opposite way; and these were worshipping the sun. 17 And he said to me, Son of man, thou hast seen this. Is it a little thing to the house of Juda to practise the iniquities which they have practised here? for they have filled the land with iniquity: and, behold, these are as scorners. 18 Therefore will I deal with them in wrath: mine eye shall not spare, nor will I have any mercy.

Chapter 9

9:1 And he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, The judgement of the city has drawn nigh; and each had the weapons of destruction in his hand. 2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the high gate that looks toward the north, and each one’s axe was in his hand; and there was one man in the midst of them clothed with a long robe down to the feet, and a sapphire girdle was on his loins: and they came in and stood near the brazen altar. 3 And the glory of the God of Israel, that was upon them, went up from the cherubs to the porch of the house.

And he called the man that was clothed with the long robe, who had the girdle on his loins; 4 And said to him, Go through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that groan and that grieve for all the iniquities that are done in the midst of them. 5 And he said to the first in my hearing, Go after him into the city, and smite: and let not your eyes spare, and have no mercy. 6 Slay utterly old man and youth, and virgin, and infants, and women: but go ye not nigh any on whom is the mark: begin at my sanctuary.

So they began with the elder men who were within in the house. 7 And he said to them, Defile the house, and go out and fill the ways with dead bodies, and smite.

8 And it came to pass as they were smiting, that I fell upon my face, and cried out, and said, Alas, O Lord! wilt thou destroy the remnant of Israel, in pouring out thy wrath upon Jerusalem? 9 Then said he to me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Juda is become very exceedingly great: for the land is filled with many nations, and the city is filled with iniquity and uncleanness: because they have said, The Lord has forsaken the earth, The Lord looks not upon it. 10 Therefore mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have any mercy: I have recompensed their ways upon their heads.

11 And, behold, the man clothed with the long robe, and girt with the girdle about his loins, answered and said, I have done as thou didst command me.

Chapter 10

10:1 Then I looked, and, behold, over the firmament that was above the head of the cherubs there was a likeness of a throne over them, as a sapphire stone. 2 And he said to the man clothed with the long robe, Go in between the wheels that are under the cherubs, and fill thine hands with coals of fire from between the cherubs, and scatter them over the city. And he went in my sight.

3 And the cherubs stood on the right hand of the house, as the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Lord departed from the cherubs to the porch of the house; and the cloud filled the house, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And the sound of the cherubs’ wings was heard as far as the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God speaking.

6 And it came to pass, when he gave a charge to the man clothed with the sacred robe, saying, Take fire from between the wheels from between the cherubs, that he went in, and stood near the wheels. 7 And he stretched forth his hand into the midst of the fire that was between the cherubs, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of the man clothed with the sacred robe: and he took it, and went out.

8 And I saw the cherubs having the likeness of men’s hands under their wings. 9 And I saw, and behold, four wheels stood by the cherubs, one wheel by each cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the appearance of a carbuncle stone. 10 And as for their appearance, there was one likeness to the four, as if there should be a wheel in the midst of a wheel. 11 When they went, they went on their four sides; they turned not when they went, for whichever way the first head looked, they went; and they turned not as they went. 12 And their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about the four wheels. 13 And these wheels were called Gelgel in my hearing. 14 15 And the cherubs were the same living creature which I saw by the river of Chobar.

16 And when the cherubs went, the wheels went, and they were close to them: and when the cherubs lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, their wheels turned not. 17 When they stood, the wheels stood; and when they mounted up, the wheels mounted up with them: because the spirit of life was in them.

18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from the house, and went up on the cherubs. 19 And the cherubs lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went forth, the wheels were also beside them, and they stood at the entrance of the front gate of the house of the Lord; and the glory of the God of Israel was upon them above.

20 This is the living creature which I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chobar; and I knew that they were cherubs. 21 Each one had four faces, and each one had eight wings; and under their wings was the likeness of men’s hands. 22 And as for the likeness of their faces, these are the same faces which I saw under the glory of the God of Israel by the river of Chobar: and they went each straight forward.

Chapter 11

11:1 Moreover the Spirit took me up, and brought me to the front gate of the house of the Lord, that looks eastward: and behold at the entrance of the gate were about five and twenty men; and I saw in the midst of them Jechonias the son of Ezer, and Phaltias the son of Banaeas, the leaders of the people.

2 And the Lord said to me, Son of man, these are the men that devise vanities, and take evil counsel in this city: 3 who say, Have not the houses been newly built? This is the caldron, and we are the flesh. 4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man. 5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said to me, say;

Thus saith the Lord; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: and I know the devices of your spirit. 6 Ye have multiplied your dead in this city, and ye have filled your ways with slain men. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Your dead whom ye have smitten in the midst of it, these are the flesh, and city this is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. 8 Ye fear the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord. 9 And I will bring you forth out of the midst of it, and will deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgements among you. 10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you on the mountains of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

11 12 13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Phaltias the son of Banaeas died. And I fell upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Alas, alas, O Lord! wilt thou utterly destroy the remnant of Israel? 14 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 15 Son of man, thy brethren, and the men of thy captivity, and all the house of Israel are come to the full, to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, Keep ye far away from the Lord: the land is given to us for an inheritance. 16 Therefore say thou,

Thus saith the Lord; I will cast them off among the nations, and will disperse them into every land, yet will I be to them for a little sanctuary in the countries which they shall enter. 17 Therefore say thou, Thus saith the Lord; I will also take them from the heathen, and gather them out of the lands wherein I have scattered them, and will give them the land of Israel.

18 And they shall enter in there, and shall remove all the abominations of it, and all its iniquities from it. 19 And I will give them another heart, and will put a new spirit within them; and will extract the heart of stone from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh: 20 that they may walk in my commandments, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be to me a people, and I will be to them a God.

21 And as for the heart set upon their abominations and their iniquities, as their heart went after them, I have recompensed their ways on their heads, saith the Lord.

22 Then the cherubs lifted up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood on the mountain which was in front of the city.

24 And the Spirit took me up, and brought me to the land of the Chaldeans, to the captivity, in a vision by the Spirit of God: and I went up after the vision which I saw. 25 And I spoke to the captivity all the words of the Lord which he had shewed me.

Chapter 12

12:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the iniquities of those, who have eyes to see, and see not; and have ears to hear, and hear not: because it is a provoking house.

3 Thou therefore, son of man, prepare thyself baggage for going into captivity by day in their sight; and thou shalt be led into captivity from thy place into another place in their sight; that they may see that it is a provoking house. 4 And thou shalt carry forth thy baggage, baggage for captivity, by day before their eyes: and thou shalt go forth at even, as a captive goes forth, in their sight. 5 Dig for thyself into the wall of the house, and thou shalt pass through it in their sight: 6 thou shalt be lifted up on men’s shoulders, and shalt go forth in secret: thou shalt cover thy face, and shalt not see the ground: because I have made thee a sign to the house of Israel.

7 And I did thus according to all that he commanded me; and I carried forth my baggage for captivity by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall for myself, and went out secretly; I was taken up on men’s shoulders before them. 8 And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying, 9 Son of man, have not the house of Israel, the provoking house, said to thee, What doest thou? 10 Say to them,

Thus saith the Lord God, the Prince and the Ruler in Israel, even to all the house of Israel who are in the midst of them: 11 say, I am performing signs: as I have done, so shall it be to him: they shall go into banishment and captivity. 12 And the prince in the midst of them shall be borne upon shoulders, and shall go forth in secret through the wall, and shall dig so that he may go forth thereby: he shall cover his face, that he may not be seen by any eye, and he himself shall not see the ground. 13 And I will spread out my net upon him, and he shall be caught in my toils: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; but he shall not see it, though he shall die there. 14 And I will scatter to every wind all his assistants round about him, and all that help him; and I will draw out a sword after them;

15 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have scattered them among the nations; and I will disperse them in the countries.

16 And I will leave of them a few men in number spared from the sword, and from famine, and pestilence; that they may declare all their iniquities among the nations whither they have gone; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 Son of man, eat thy bread with sorrow, and drink thy water with torment and affliction. 19 And thou shalt say to the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, on the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread in scarcity, and shall drink their water in desolation, that the land may be desolate with all that it contains: for all that dwell in it are ungodly. 20 And their inhabited cities shall be laid utterly waste, and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 22 Son of man, what is your parable on the land of Israel, that ye say, The days are long, the vision has perished? 23 Therefore say to them,

Thus saith the Lord; I will even set aside this parable, and the house of Israel shall no more at all use this parable: for thou shalt say to them, The days are at hand, and the import of every vision. 24 For there shall no more be any false vision, nor any one prophesying flatteries in the midst of the children of Israel. 25 For I the Lord will speak my words; I will speak and perform them, and will no more delay, for in your days, O provoking house, I will speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord.

26 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 27 Son of man, behold, the provoking house of Israel boldly say, The vision which this man sees is for many days, and he prophesy for times afar off. 28 Therefore say to them,

Thus saith the Lord; Henceforth none of my words shall linger, which I shall speak: I will speak and do, saith the Lord.

Chapter 13

13:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, and thou shalt prophesy, and shalt say to them, Hear ye the word of the Lord:

3 Thus saith the Lord, Woe to them that prophesy out of their own heart, and who see nothing at all. 4 Thy prophets, O Israel, are like foxes in the deserts. 5 They have not continued steadfast, and they have gathered flocks against the house of Israel, they that say, 6 In the day of the Lord, have not stood, seeing false visions, prophesying vanities, who say, The Lord saith, and the Lord has not sent them, and they began to try to confirm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a false vision? and spoken vain prophecies? 8 And therefore say,

Thus saith the Lord; Because your words are false, and your prophecies are vain, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord. 9 And I will stretch forth my hand against the prophets that see false visions, and those that utter vanities: they shall not partake of the instruction of my people, neither shall they be written in the roll of the house of Israel, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 10 Because they have caused my people to err, saying, Peace; and there is no peace; and one builds a wall, and they plaster it, —it shall fall.

11 Say to them that plaster it, It shall fall; and there shall be a flooding rain; and I will send great stones upon their joinings, and they shall fall; and there shall be a sweeping wind, and it shall be broken. 12 And lo! the wall has fallen; and will they not say to you, Where is your plaster wherewith ye plastered it? 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord; I will even cause to burst forth a sweeping blast with fury, and there shall be a flooding rain in my wrath; and in my fury I will bring on great stones for complete destruction. 14 And I will break down the wall which ye have plastered, and it shall fall; and I will lay it on the ground, and its foundations shall be discovered, and it shall fall; and ye shall be consumed with rebukes: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

15 And I will accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that plaster it; it shall fall: and I said to you, The wall is not, nor they that plaster it, 16 even the prophets of Israel, who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord. 17 And thou, son of man, set thy face firmly against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy against them. 18 And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Woe to the women that sew pillows under every elbow, and make kerchiefs on the head of every stature to pervert souls! The souls of my people are perverted, and they have saved souls alive. 19 And they have dishonoured me before my people for a handful of barley, and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls which should not die, and to save alive the souls which should not live, while ye speak to a people hearing vain speeches.

20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against your pillows, whereby ye there confound souls, and I will tear them away from your arms, and will set at liberty their souls which ye pervert to scatter them. 21 And I will tear your Kerchiefs, and will rescue my people out of your hands, and they shall no longer be in your hands to be confounded; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

22 Because ye have perverted the heart of the righteous, whereas I perverted him not, and that in order to strengthen the hands of the wicked, that he should not at all turn from his evil way and live: 23 therefore ye shall not see false visions, and ye shall no more utter prophecies: but I will deliver my people out of your hand; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 14

14:1 And there came to me men of the people of Israel, of the elders, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 Son of man, these men have conceived their devices in their hearts, and have set before their faces the punishment of their iniquities: shall I indeed answer them? 4 Therefore speak to them, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; Any man of the house of Israel, who shall conceive his devices in his heart, and shall set the punishment of his iniquity before his face, and shall come to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him according to the things in which his mind is entangled, 5 that he should turn aside the house of Israel, according to their hearts that are estranged from me in their thoughts.

6 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, Be converted, and turn from your evil practices, and from all your sins, and turn your faces back again. 7 For any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who shall separate himself from me, and conceive his imaginations in his heart, and set before his face the punishment of his iniquity, and come to the prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him, according to the things wherein he is entangled. 8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him desolate and ruined, and will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

9 And if a prophet should cause to err and should speak, I the Lord have caused that prophet to err, and will stretch out my hand upon him, and will utterly destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their iniquity according to the trespass of him that asks; and it shall be in like manner to the prophet according to the trespass: 11 that the house of Israel may no go astray from me, and that they may no more defile themselves with any of their transgressions: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God, saith the Lord.

12 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 13 Son of man, if a land shall sin against me by committing a trespass, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break its staff of bread, and will send forth famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast. 14 And though these three men should be in the midst of it, Noe, and Daniel, and Job, they alone should be delivered by their righteousness, saith the Lord.

15 If again I bring evil beasts upon the land, and take vengeance upon it, and it be ruined, and there be no one to pass through for fear of the wild beasts: 16 and if these three men should be in the midst of it, as I live, saith the Lord, neither sons nor daughters shall be saved, but these only shall be saved, and the land shall be destroyed. 17 Or again if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Let the sword go through the land; and I cut off from them man and beast: 18 though these three men were in the midst of it, as I live, saith the Lord, they shall not deliver sons or daughters, but they only shall be saved themselves.

19 Or if again I send pestilence upon that land, and pour out my wrath upon it in blood, to destroy from off it man and beast: 20 and should Noe, and Daniel, and Job, be in the midst of it, as I live, saith the Lord, there shall be left them neither sons nor daughters; only they by their righteousness shall deliver their souls.

21 Thus saith the Lord, And if I even send upon Jerusalem my four sore judgements, sword, and famine, and evil beasts, and pestilence, to destroy from out of it man and beast; 22 yet, behold, there shall be men left in it, the escaped thereof, who shall lead forth of it sons and daughters: behold, they shall go forth to you, land ye shall see their ways and their thoughts: and ye shall mourn over the evils which I have brought upon Jerusalem, even all the evils which I have brought upon it. 23 And they shall comfort you, because ye shall see their ways and their thoughts: and ye shall know that I have not done in vain all that I have done in it, saith the Lord.

Chapter 15

15:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 And thou, son of man—of all the wood, of the branches that are among the trees of the forest, what shall be made of the wood of the vine? 3 Will they take wood of it to make it fit for work? will they take of it a peg to hang any vessel upon it? 4 It is only given to the fire to be consumed; the fire consumes that which is yearly pruned of it, and it is utterly gone. Will it be useful for any work? 5 Not even while it is yet whole will it be useful for any work: if the fire shall have utterly consumed it, will it still be fit for work? 6 Therefore say,

Thus saith the Lord, As the vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given up to the fire to be consumed, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go forth of the fire, and yet fire shall devour them; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set my face against them. 8 And I will give up the land to ruin, because they have utterly transgressed, saith the Lord.

Chapter 16

16:1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, testify to Jerusalem of her iniquities; 3 and thou shalt say,

Thus saith the Lord to Jerusalem; Thy root and thy birth are of the land of Chanaan: thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Chettite. 4 And as for thy birth in the day wherein thou wast born, thou didst not bind thy breasts, and thou wast not washed in water, neither wast thou salted with salt, neither wast thou swathed in swaddling-bands. 5 Nor did mine eye pity thee, to do for thee one of all these things, to feel at all for thee; but thou wast cast out on the face of the field, because of the deformity of thy person, in the day wherein thou wast born.

6 And I passed by to thee, and saw thee polluted in thy blood; and I said to thee, Let there be life out of thy blood: 7 increase; I have made thee as the springing grass of the field. So thou didst increase and grow, and didst enter into great cities: thy breasts were set, and thy hair grew, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

8 And I passed by thee and saw thee, and, behold, it was thy time and a time of resting; and I spread my wings over thee, and covered thy shame, and swear to thee: and I entered into covenant with thee, saith the Lord, and thou becamest mine. 9 And I washed thee in water, and washed thy blood from thee, and anointed thee with oil. 10 And I clothed thee with embroidered garments, and clothed thee beneath with purple, and girded thee with fine linen, and clothed thee with silk, 11 and decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets on thine hands, and a necklace on thy neck. 12 And I put a pendant on thy nostril, and rings in thine ears, and a crown of glory on thine head. 13 So thou wast adorned with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and variegated work: thou didst eat fine flour, and oil, and honey, and didst become extremely beautiful. 14 And thy name went forth among the nations for thy beauty: because it was perfected with elegance, and in the comeliness which I put upon thee, saith the Lord.

15 Thou didst trust in thy beauty, and didst go a-whoring because of thy renown, and didst pour out thy fornication on every passer by. 16 and thou didst take of thy garments, and madest to thyself idols of needlework, and didst go a-whoring after them; therefore thou shalt never come in, nor shall the like take place. 17 And thou tookest thy fair ornaments of my gold and of my silver, of what I gave thee, and thou madest to thyself male images, and thou didst commit whoredom with them. 18 And thou didst take thy variegated apparel and didst clothe them, and thou didst set before them mine oil and mine incense. 19 And thou tookest my bread which I gave thee, (yea I fed thee with fine flour and oil and honey) and didst set them before them for a sweet-smelling savour: yea, it was so, saith the Lord.

20 And thou tookest thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou borest, land didst sacrifice these to them to be destroyed. Thou didst go a-whoring as if that were little, 21 and didst slay thy children, and gavest them up in offering them to them for an expiation. 22 This is beyond all thy fornication, and thou didst not remember thine infancy, when thou wast naked and bare, and didst live though defiled in thy blood.

23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, saith the Lord, 24 that thou didst build thyself a house of fornication, and didst make thyself a public place in every street; 25 and on the head of every way thou didst set up thy fornications, and didst defile thy beauty, and didst open thy feet to every passer by, and didst multiply thy fornication. 26 And thou didst go a-whoring after the children of Egypt thy neighbors, great of flesh; and didst go a-whoring, often to provoke me to anger.

27 And if I stretch out my hand against thee, then will I abolish thy statutes, and deliver thee up to the wills of them that hate thee, even to the daughters of the Philistines that turned thee aside from the way wherein thou sinned.

28 And thou didst go a-whoring to the daughters of Assur, and not even thus wast thou satisfied; yea, thou didst go a-whoring, and wast not satisfied. 29 And thou didst multiply thy covenants with the land of the Chaldeans; and not even with these wast thou satisfied.

30 Why should I make a covenant with thy daughter, saith the Lord, while thou doest all these things, the works of a harlot? and thou hast gone a-whoring in a threefold degree with thy daughters. 31 Thou hast built a house of harlotry in every top of a way, and hast set up thine high place in every street; and thou didst become as a harlot gathering hires. 32 An adulteress resembles thee, taking rewards of her husband. 33 She has even given rewards to all that went a-whoring after her, and thou hast given rewards to all thy lovers, yea, thou didst load them with rewards, that they should come to thee from every side for thy fornication.

34 And there has happened in thee perverseness in thy fornication beyond other women, and they have committed fornication with thee, in that thou givest hires over and above, and hires were not given to thee; and thus perverseness happened in thee.

35 Therefore, harlot, hear the word of the Lord: 36 Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast poured forth thy money, therefore thy shame shall be discovered in thy harlotry with thy lovers, and with regard to all the imaginations of thine iniquities, and for the blood of thy children which thou hast given to them. 37 Therefore, behold, I will gather all thy lovers with whom thou hast consorted, and all whom thou hast loved, with all whom thou didst hate; and I will gather them against thee round about, and will expose thy wickedness to them, and they shall see all thy shame. 38 And I will be avenged on thee with the vengeance of an adulteress, and I will bring upon thee blood of fury and jealousy. 39 And I will deliver thee into their hands, and they shall break down thy house of harlotry, and destroy thine high place; and they shall strip thee of thy garments, and shall take thy proud ornaments, and leave thee naked and bare. 40 and they shall bring multitudes upon thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and pierce thee with their swords. 41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and shall execute vengeance on thee in the sight of many women: and I will turn thee back from harlotry, and I will no more give thee rewards.

42 So will I slacken my fury against thee, and my jealousy shall be removed from thee, and I will rest, and be no more careful for thee. 43 Because thou didst not remember thine infancy, and thou didst grieve me in all these things; therefore, behold, I have recompensed thy ways upon thine head, saith the Lord: for thus hast thou wrought ungodliness above all thine other iniquities.

44 These are all the things they have spoken against thee in a proverb, saying, 45 As is the mother, so is thy mother’s daughter: thou art she that has rejected her husband and her children; and the sisters of thy sisters have rejected their husbands and their children: your mother was a Chettite, and your father an Amorite. 46 Your elder sister who dwells on thy left hand is Samaria, she and her daughters: and thy younger sister, that dwells on the right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. 47 Yet notwithstanding thou hast not walked in their ways, neither hast thou done according to their iniquities within a little, but thou hast exceeded them in all thy ways.

48 As I live, saith the Lord, this Sodom and her daughters have not done as thou and thy daughters have done. 49 Moreover this was the sin of thy sister Sodom, pride: she and her daughters lived in pleasure, in fullness of bread and in abundance: this belonged to her and her daughters, and they helped not the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they boasted, and wrought iniquities before me: so I cut them off as I saw fit.

51 Also Samaria has not sinned according to half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine iniquities beyond them, and thou hast justified thy sisters in all thine iniquities which thou hast committed. 52 Thou therefore bear thy punishment, for that thou hast corrupted thy sisters by thy sins which thou hast committed beyond them; and thou hast made them appear more righteous than thyself: thou therefore be ashamed, and bear thy dishonour, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 53 And I will turn their captivity, even the captivity of Sodom and her daughters; and I will turn the captivity of Samaria and her daughters; and I will turn thy captivity in the midst of them: 54 that thou mayest bear thy punishment, and be dishonoured for all that thou hast done in provoking me to anger.

55 And thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall be restored as they were at the beginning, and thou and thy daughters shall be restored as ye were at the beginning.

56 And surely thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the days of thy pride: 57 before thy wickedness was discovered, even now thou art the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all that are round about her, even of the daughters of the Philistines that compass thee round about. 58 As for thine ungodliness and thine iniquities, thou hast borne them, saith the Lord.

59 Thus saith the Lord; I will even do to thee as thou hast done, as thou hast dealt shamefully in these things to transgress my covenant. 60 And I will remember my covenant made with thee in the days of thine infancy, and I will establish to thee an everlasting covenant. 61 Then thou shalt remember thy way, and shalt be utterly dishonoured when thou receivest thine elder sisters with thy younger ones: and I will give them to thee for building up, but not by thy covenant. 62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: 63 that thou mayest remember, and be ashamed, and mayest no more be able to open thy mouth for thy shame, when I am reconciled to thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord.

Chapter 17

17:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, relate a tale, and speak a parable to the house of Israel: 3 and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; A great eagle with large wings, spreading them out very far, with many claws, which has the design of entering into Libanus—and he took the choice branches of the cedar: 4 he cropped off the ends of the tender twigs, and brought them into the land of Chanaan; he laid them up in a walled city. 5 And he took of the seed of the land, and sowed it in a field planted by much water; he set it in a conspicuous place. 6 And it sprang up, and became a weak and little vine, so that the branches thereof appeared upon it, and its roots were under it: and it became a vine, and put forth shoots, and sent forth its tendrils.

7 And there was another great eagle, with great wings and many claws: and, behold, this vine bent itself round toward him, and her roots were turned towards him, and she sent forth her branches towards him, that he might water her together with the growth of her plantation. 8 She thrives in a fair field by much water, to produce shoots and bear fruit, that she might become a great vine.

9 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; Shall it prosper? shall not the roots of her tender stem and her fruit be blighted? yea, all her early shoots shall be dried up, and that not by a mighty arm, nor by many people, to tear her up from her roots. 10 And, behold, it thrives: shall it prosper? shall it not wither as soon as the east wind touches it? it shall be withered together with the growth of its shoots.

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying, 12 Son of man, say now to the provoking house, Know ye not what these things were? say to them, Whenever the king of Babylon shall come against Jerusalem, then he shall take her king and her princes, and shall take them home to Babylon. 13 And he shall take of the seed royal, and shall make a covenant with him, and shall bind him with an oath: and he shall take the princes of the land: 14 that it may become a weak kingdom, so as never to lift itself up, that he may keep his covenant, and establish it. 15 And if he shall revolt from him, to send his messengers into Egypt, that they may give him horses and much people; shall he prosper? shall he that acts as an adversary be preserved? and shall he that transgresses the covenant be preserved?

16 As I live, saith the Lord, verily in the place where the king is that made him king, who dishonoured my oath, and who broke my covenant, shall he die with him in the midst of Babylon. 17 And Pharaoh shall make war upon him not with a large force or great multitude, in throwing up a mound, and in building of forts, to cut off souls. 18 Whereas he has profaned the oath so as to break the covenant, when, behold, I engage his hand, and he has done all these things to him, he shall not escape.

19 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord; As I live, surely mine oath which he has profaned, and my covenant which he has transgressed, I will even recompense it upon his head. 20 And I will spread a net upon him, and he shall be caught in its snare. 21 In every battle of his they shall fall by the sword, and I will scatter his remnant to every wind: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it.

22 For thus saith the Lord; I will even take of the choice branches of the cedar from the top thereof, I will crop off their hearts, and I will plant it on a high mountain: 23 and I will hang it on a lofty mountain of Israel: yea, I will plant it, and it shall put forth shoots, and shall bear fruit, and it shall be a great cedar: and every bird shall rest beneath it, even every fowl shall rest under its shadow: its branches shall be restored. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord that bring low the high tree, and exalt the low tree, and wither the green tree, and cause the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken, and will do it.

Chapter 18

18:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, what mean ye by this parable among the children of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten unripe grapes, and the children’s teeth have been set on edge?

3 As I live, saith the Lord, surely this parable shall no more be spoken in Israel. 4 For all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son, they are mine: the soul that sins, it shall die.

5 But the man who shall be just, who executes judgment and righteousness, 6 who shall not eat upon the mountains, and shall not at all lift up his eyes to the devices of the house of Israel, and shall not defile his neighbor’s wife, and shall not draw nigh to her that is removed, 7 and shall not oppress any man, but shall return the pledge of the debtor, and shall be guilty of no plunder, shall give his bread to the hungry, and clothe the naked; 8 and shall not lend his money upon usury, and shall not receive usurious increase, and shall turn back his hand from injustice, shall execute righteous judgement between a man and his neighbor, 9 and has walked in my commandments and kept mine ordinances, to do them; he is righteous, he shall surely live, saith the Lord.

10 And if he beget a mischievous son, shedding blood and committing sins, 11 who has not walked in the way of his righteous father, but has even eaten upon the mountains, and has defiled his neighbor’s wife, 12 and has oppressed the poor and needy, and has committed robbery, and not restored a pledge, and has set his eyes upon idols, has wrought iniquities, 13 has lent upon usury, and taken usurious increase; he shall by no means live: he has wrought all these iniquities; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

14 And if he beget a son, and the son see all his father’s sins which he has wrought, and fear, and not do according to them, 15 and if he has not eaten on the mountains, and has not set his eyes on the devices of the house of Israel, and has not defiled his neighbor’s wife, 16 and has not oppressed a man, and has not retained the pledge, nor committed robbery, has given his bread to the hungry, and has clothed the naked, 17 and has turned back his hand from unrighteousness, has not received interest or usurious increase, has wrought righteousness, and walked in mine ordinances; he shall not die for the iniquities of his father, he shall surely live. 18 But if his father grievously afflict, or plunder, he has wrought enmity in the midst of my people, and shall die in his iniquity.

19 But ye will say, Why has not the son borne the iniquity of the father? Because the son has wrought judgement and mercy, has kept all my statues, and done them, he shall surely live. 20 But the soul that sins shall die: and the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the iniquity of the transgressor shall be upon him.

21 And if the transgressor turn away from all his iniquities which he has committed, and keep all my commandments, and do justice and mercy, he shall surely live, and shall no means die. 22 None of his trespasses which he has committed shall be remembers: in his righteousness which he has done he shall live. 23 Shall I at all desire death of the sinner, saith the Lord, as I desire that he should turn from his evil way, and live?

24 But when the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, according to all the transgressions which the transgressor has wrought, none of his righteousness which he has wrought shall be at all remembered: in his trespass wherein he has trespassed, and in his sins wherein he has sinned, in them shall he die.

25 Yet ye have said, The way of the Lord is not straight. Hear now, all the house of Israel; will not my way be straight? Is your way straight? 26 When the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits a trespass, and dies in the trespass he has committed, he shall even die in it. 27 And when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and shall do judgement and justice, he has kept his soul, 28 and has turned away from all his ungodliness which he has committed: he shall surely live, he shall not die.

29 Yet the house of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not right. Is not my way right, O house of Israel? is not your way wrong? 30 I will judge you, O house of Israel, saith the Lord, each one according to his way: be converted, and turn from all your ungodliness, and it shall not become to you the punishment of iniquity. 31 Cast away from yourselves all your ungodliness wherein ye have sinned against me; and make to yourselves a new heart and a new spirit: for why should ye die, O house of Israel? 32 For I desire not the death of him that dies, saith the Lord.

Chapter 19

19:1 Moreover do thou take up a lamentation for the prince of Israel, 2 and say, Why is thy mother become a whelp in the midst of lions? in the midst of lions she has multiplied her whelps. 3 And one of her whelps sprang forth; he became a lion, and learned to take prey, he devoured men. 4 And the nations heard a report of him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him into the land of Egypt in chains.

5 And she saw that he was driven away from her, and her hope of him perished, and she took another of her whelps; she made him a lion. 6 And he went up and down in the midst of lions, he became a lion, and learned to take prey, he devoured men. 7 And he prowled in his boldness and laid waste their cities, and made the land desolate, and the fullness of it, by the voice of his roaring.

8 Then the nations set upon him from the countries round about, and they spread their nets upon him: he was taken in their pit. 9 And they put him in chains and in a cage, and he came to the king of Babylon; and he cast him into prison, that his voice should not be heard on the mountains of Israel. 10 Thy mother was as a vine and as a blossom on a pomegranate tree, planted by water: her fruit and her shoot abounded by reason of much water. 11 And she became a rod for a tribe of princes, and was elevated in her bulk in the midst of other trees, and she saw her bulk in the multitude of her branches.

12 But she was broken down in wrath, she was cast upon the ground, and the east wind dried up her choice branches: vengeance came upon them, and the rod of her strength was withered; fire consumed it. 13 And now they have planted her in the wilderness, in a dry land. 14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her choice boughs, and has devoured her; and there was no rod of strength in her. Her race is become a parable of lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.

Chapter 20

20:1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, on the fifteenth day of the month, there came men of the elders of the house of Israel to enquire of the Lord, and they sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 Son of man, speak to the elders of the house of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, I will not be enquired of by you, saith the Lord. 4 Shall I utterly take vengeance on them, son of man? testify to them of the iniquities of their fathers: 5 and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord;

From the day that I chose the house of Israel, and became known to the seed of the house of Jacob, and was known to them in the land of Egypt, and helped them with my hand, saying, I am the Lord your God; 6 in that day I helped them with my hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt into the land which I prepared for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, it is abundant beyond every land. 7 And I said to them, Let every one cast away the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the devices of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

8 But they revolted from me, and would not hearken to me: they cast not away the abominations of their eyes, and forsook not the devices of Egypt: then I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them, to accomplish my wrath upon them in the midst of Egypt. 9 But I wrought so that my name should not be at all profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in the midst of whom they are, among whom I was made known to them in their sight, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

10 And I brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them my commandments, and made known to them mine ordinances, all which if a man shall do, he shall even live in them. 12 And I gave them my sabbaths, that they should be for a sign between me and them, that they should know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.

13 And I said to the house of Israel in the wilderness, Walk ye in my commandments: but they walked not in them, and they rejected mine ordinances, which if a man shall do, he shall even live in them; and they grievously profaned my sabbaths: and I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I wrought so that my name should not be at all profaned before the Gentiles, before whose eyes I brought them out.

15 But I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness once for all, that I would not bring them into the land which I gave them, a land flowing with milk and honey, it is sweeter than all lands: 16 because they rejected mine ordinances, and walked not in my commandments, but profaned my sabbaths, and went after the imaginations of their hearts.

17 Yet mine eyes spared them, so as not to destroy them utterly, and I did not make an end of them in the wilderness. 18 And I said to their children in the wilderness, Walk not ye in the customs of your fathers, and keep not their ordinances, and have no fellowship with their practices, nor defile yourselves with them. 19 I am the Lord your God; walk in my commandments, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; 20 and hallow my sabbaths, and let them be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.

21 But they provoked me, and their children walked not in my commandments, and they took no heed to mine ordinances to do them, which if a man shall do, he shall even live in them, and they profaned my sabbaths: then I said that I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to accomplish mine anger upon them. 22 But I wrought so that my name might not be at all profaned before the Gentiles; and I brought them out in their sight.

23 I lifted up my hand against them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles, and disperse them in the countries; 24 because they kept not mine ordinances, and rejected my commandments, and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes went after the imaginations of their fathers.

25 So I gave them commandments that were not good, and ordinances in which they should not live. 26 And I will defile them by their own decrees, when I pass through upon every one that opens the womb, that I may destroy them.

27 Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord: Hitherto have your fathers provoke me in their trespasses in which they transgressed against me. 28 Whereas I brought them into the land concerning which I lifted up mine hand to give it them; and they looked upon every high hill, and every shady tree, and they sacrificed there to their gods, and offered there sweet-smelling savour, and there they poured out their drink-offerings. 29 And I said to them, What is Abama, that ye go in thither? and they called its mane Abama, until this day.

30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Do ye pollute yourselves with the iniquities of your fathers, and do ye go a-whoring after their abominations, 31 and do ye pollute yourselves with the first-fruits of your gifts, in the offerings wherewith ye pollute yourselves in all your imaginations, until this day; and shall I answer you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord, I will not answer you, neither shall this thing come upon your spirit. 32 And it shall not be as ye say, We will be as the nations, and as the tribes of the earth, to worship stocks and stones.

33 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with a high arm, and with outpoured wrath: 34 I will bring you out from the nations, and will take you out of the lands wherein ye were dispersed, with a strong hand, and with a high arm, and with outpoured wrath. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and will plead with you there face to face.

36 As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I judge you, saith the Lord. 37 And I will cause you to pass under my rod, and I will bring you in by number. 38 And I will separate from among you the ungodly and the revolters; for I will lead them forth out of their place of sojourning, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord, even the Lord.

39 And as to you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord, even the Lord; Put away each one his evil practices, and hereafter if ye hearken to me, then shall ye no more profane my holy name by your gifts and by devices. 40 For upon my holy mountain, on the high mountain, saith the Lord, even the Lord, there shall all the house of Israel serve me for ever: and there will I accept you, and there will I have respect to your first-fruits, and the first-fruits of your offerings, in all your holy things.

41 I will accept you with a sweet-smelling savour, when I bring you out from the nations, and take you out of the countries wherein ye have been dispersed; and I will be sanctified among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have brought you into the land of Israel, into the land concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers. 43 And ye shall there remember your ways, and your devices wherewith ye defiled yourselves; and ye shall bewail yourselves for all your wickedness. 44 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have done thus to you, that my name may not be profaned in your evil ways, and in your corrupt devices, saith the Lord.

45 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 46 Son of man, set thy face against Thaeman, and look toward Darom, and prophesy against the chief forest of Nageb, 47 and thou shalt say to the forest of Nageb, Hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord, even the Lord; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour in thee every green tree, and every dry tree: the flame that is kindled shall not be quenched, and every face shall be scorched with it from the south to the north. 48 And all flesh shall know that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.

49 And I said, Not so, O Lord God! they say to me, Is not this that is spoken a parable?

Chapter 21

21:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Therefore prophesy, son of man, set thy face steadfastly toward Jerusalem, and look toward their holy places, and thou shalt prophesy against the land of Israel, 3 and thou shalt say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and I will destroy out of thee the transgressor and unrighteous. 4 Because I will destroy out of thee the unrighteous and the transgressor, therefore so shall my sword come forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: 5 and all flesh shall know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more.

6 And thou, son of man, groan with the breaking of thy loins; thou shalt even groan heavily in their sight. 7 And it shall come to pass, if they shall say to thee, Wherefore dost thou groan? that thou shalt say, For the report; because it comes: and every heart shall break, and all hands shall become feeble, and all flesh and every spirit shall faint, and all thighs shall be defiled with moisture: behold, it comes, saith the Lord.

8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 Son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, Sword, sword, be sharpened and rage, 10 that thou mayest slay victims; be sharpened that thou mayest be bright, ready for slaughter, slay, set at nought, despise every tree. 11 And he made it ready for his hand to hold: the sword is sharpened, it is ready to put into the hand of the slayer.

12 Cry out and howl, son of man: for this sword is come upon my people, this sword is come upon all the princes of Israel: they shall be as strangers: judgment with the sword is come upon my people: therefore clap thine hands, for sentence has been passed: 13 and what if even the tribe be rejected? it shall not be, saith the Lord God.

14 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and clap thine hands, and take a second sword: the third sword is the sword of the slain, the great sword of the slain: and thou shalt strike them with amazement, lest the heart should faint 15 and the weak ones be multiplied at every gate—they are given up to the slaughter of the sword: it is well fitted for slaughter, it is well fitted for glittering. 16 And do thou go on, sharpen thyself on the right and on the left whithersoever thy face may set itself.

17 And I also will clap my hands, and let loose my fury: I the Lord have spoken it.

18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 19 and thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may enter in: the two shall go forth of one country; and there shall be a force at the top of the way of the city, thou shalt set it at the top of the way, 20 that the sword may enter in upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and upon Judea, and upon Jerusalem in the midst thereof.

21 For the king of Babylon shall stand on the old way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination, to make bright the arrow, and to enquire of the graven images, and to examine the victims. 22 On his right was the divination against Jerusalem, to cast a mound, to open the mouth in shouting, to lift up the voice with crying, to cast a mound against her gates, to cast up a heap, and to build forts. 23 And he was to them as one using divination before them, and he himself recounting his iniquities, that they might be borne in mind.

24 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because ye have caused your iniquities to be remembered, in the discovery of your wickedness, so that your sins should be seen, in all your wickedness and in your evil practices; because ye have caused remembrance of them, in these shall ye be taken. 25 And thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day, even and end, is come in a sea of iniquity, thus saith the Lord; 26 Thou hast taken off the mitre and put on the crown, it shall not have such another after it: thou hast abased that which was high, and exalted that which was low. 27 Injustice, injustice, injustice, will I make it: woe to it: such shall it be until he comes to whom it belongs; and I will deliver it to him.

28 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, O sword, sword, drawn for slaughter, and drawn for destruction, awake, that thou mayest gleam. 29 While thou art seeing vain visions, and while thou art prophesying falsehoods, to bring thyself upon the necks of ungodly transgressors, the day is come, even an end, in a season of iniquity.

30 Turn, rest not in this place wherein thou wert born: in thine own land will I judge thee. 31 And I will pour out my wrath upon thee, I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver thee into the hands of barbarians skilled in working destruction. 32 Thou shalt be fuel for fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of thy land; there shall be no remembrance at all of thee: for I the Lord have spoken it.

Chapter 22

22:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 And thou, son of man, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, declare thou to her all her iniquities. 3 And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God: O city that sheds blood in the midst of her, so that her time should come, and that forms devices against herself, to defile herself; 4 in their blood which thou hast shed, thou hast transgressed; and in thy devices which thou hast formed, thou hast polluted thyself; and thou hast brought nigh thy days, and hast brought on the time of thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach to the Gentiles, and a mockery to all the countries, 5 to those near thee, and to those far distant from thee; and they shall mock thee, thou that art notoriously unclean, and abundant in iniquities.

6 Behold, the princes of the house of Israel have conspired in thee each one with his kindred, that they might shed blood. 7 In thee they have reviled father and mother; and in thee they have behaved unjustly toward the stranger: they have oppressed the orphan and widow. 8 And they have set at nought my holy things, and in thee they have profaned my sabbaths. 9 There are robbers in thee, to shed blood in thee; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains: they have wrought ungodliness in the midst of thee. 10 In thee they have uncovered the father’s shame; and in thee they have humbled her that was set apart for uncleanness. 11 They have dealt unlawfully each one with his neighbor’s wife; and each one in ungodliness has defiled his daughter-in-law: and in thee they have humbled each one his sister, the daughter of his father.

12 In thee they have received gifts to shed blood; they have received in thee interest and usurious increase; and by oppression thou hast brought thy wickedness to the full, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord.

13 And if I shall smite my hand at thine iniquities which thou hast accomplished, which thou hast wrought, and at thy blood that has been shed in the midst of thee, 14 shall thy heart endure? shall thine hands be strong in the days which I bring upon thee? I the Lord have spoken, and will do it. 15 And I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee in the countries, and thy uncleanness shall be removed out of thee. 16 And I will give heritages in thee in the sight of the nations, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 Son of man, behold, the house of Israel are all become to me as it were mixed with brass, and iron, and tin, and lead; they are mixed up in the midst of the silver.

19 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have become one mixture, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As silver, and brass, and iron, and tin, and lead, are gathered into the midst of the furnace, to blow fire into it, that they may be melted: so will I take you in my wrath, and I will gather and melt you. 21 And I will blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you.

23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 Son of man, say to her, Thou art the land that is not rained upon, neither has rain come upon thee in the day of wrath; 25 whose princes in the midst of her are as roaring lions seizing prey, devouring souls by oppression, and taking bribes; and thy widows are multiplied in the midst of thee. 26 Her priests also have set at nought my law, and profaned my holy things: they have not distinguished between the holy and profane, nor have they distinguished between the unclean and the clean, and have his their eyes from my sabbaths, and I was profaned in the midst of them. 27 Her princes in the midst of her are as wolves ravening to shed blood, that they may get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets that daub them shall fall, that see vanities, that prophesy falsehoods, saying, Thus saith the Lord, when the Lord has not spoken. 29 That sorely oppress the people of the land with injustice, and commit robbery; oppressing the poor and needy, and not dealing justly with the stranger.

30 And I sought from among them a man behaving uprightly, and standing before me perfectly in the time of wrath, so that I should not utterly destroy her: but I found him not. 31 So I have poured out my wrath upon her in the fury of mine anger, to accomplish it. I have recompensed their ways on their own heads, saith the Lord God.

Chapter 23

23:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother: 3 and they went a-whoring in Egypt in their youth: there their breasts fell, there they lost their virginity. 4 And their names were Oola the elder, and Ooliba her sister: and they were mine, and bore sons and daughters: and as for their names, Samaria was Oola, and Jerusalem was Ooliba.

5 And Oola went a-whoring from me, and doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians that were her neighbors, 6 clothed with purple, princes and captains; they were young men and choice, all horseman riding on horses. 7 And she bestowed her fornication upon them; all were choice sons of the Assyrians: and on whomsoever she doted herself, with them she defiled herself in all their devices. 8 And she forsook not her fornication with the Egyptians: for in her youth they committed fornication with her, and they deflowered her, and poured out their fornication upon her. 9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the children of the Assyrians, on whom she doted. 10 They uncovered her shame: they took her sons and daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became a byword among women: and they wrought vengeance in her for the sake of the daughters.

11 And her sister Ooliba saw it, and she indulged in her fondness more corruptly than she, and in her fornication more than the fornication of her sister. 12 She doted upon the sons of the Assyrian, princes and captains, her neighbours, clothed with fine linen, horsemen riding on horses; they were all choice young men. 13 And I saw that they were defiled, that the two had one way.

14 And she increased her fornication, and she saw men painted on the wall, likenesses of the Chaldeans painted with a pencil, 15 having variegated girdles on their loins, having also richly dyed attire upon their heads; all had a princely appearance, the likeness of the children of the Chaldeans, of their native land. 16 And she doted upon them as soon as she saw them, and sent forth messengers to them into the land of the Chaldeans. 17 And the sons of Babylon came to her, into the bed of rest, and they defiled her in her fornication, and she was defiled by them, and her soul was alienated from them. 18 And she exposed her fornication, and exposed her shame: and my soul was alienated from her, even as my soul was alienated from her sister.

19 And thou didst multiply thy fornication, so as to call to remembrance the days of thy youth, wherein thou didst commit whoredom in Egypt, 20 and thou didst dote upon the Chaldeans, whose flesh is as the flesh of the asses, and their members as the members of horses. 21 And thou didst look upon the iniquity of thy youth, the things which thou wroughtest in Egypt in thy lodgings, where were the breasts of thy youth.

22 Therefore, Ooliba, thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will stir up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy soul is alienated, and I will bring them upon thee round about, 23 the children of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, Phacuc, and Sue, and Hychue, and all the sons of the Assyrians with them; choice young men, governors and captains, all princes and renowned, riding on horses. 24 And they all shall come upon thee from the north, chariots and wheels, with a multitude of nations, shields and targets; and the enemy shall set a watch against thee round about: and I will set judgement before them, and they shall take vengeance on thee with their judgements. 25 And I will bring upon thee my jealousy, and they shall deal with thee in great wrath: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and shall cast down thy remnant with the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy remnant fire shall devour. 26 And they shall strip thee of thy raiment, and take away thine ornaments. 27 So I will turn back thine ungodliness from thee, and thy fornication from the land of Egypt: and thou shalt not lift up thine eyes upon them, and shalt no more remember Egypt.

28 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hands of those whom thou hatest, from whom thy soul is alienated. 29 And they shall deal with thee in hatred, and shall take all the fruits of thy labours and thy toils, and thou shalt be naked and bare: and the shame of thy fornication shall be exposed: and thy ungodliness and thy fornication 30 brought this upon thee, in that thou wentest a-whoring after the nations, and didst defile thyself with their devices.

31 Thou didst walk in the way of thy sister; and I will put her cup into thine hands. 32 Thus saith the Lord; Drink thy sister’s cup, deep and large, and full, to cause complete drunkenness. 33 And thou shalt be thoroughly weakened; and the cup of destruction, the cup of thy sister Samaria, 34 drink thou it, and I will take away her feasts and her new moons: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord. 35 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Because thou has forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore receive thou the reward of thine ungodliness and thy fornication.

36 And the Lord said to me, Son of man wilt thou not judge Oola and Ooliba? and declare to them their iniquities? 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood was in their hands, they committed adultery with their devices, and they passed through the fire to them their children which they bore to me. 38 So long too as they did these things to me, they defiled my sanctuary, and profaned my sabbaths. 39 And when they sacrificed their children to their idols, they also went into my sanctuary to profane it: and whereas they did thus in the midst of my house; 40 and whereas they did thus to the men that came from afar, to whom they sent messengers, and as soon as they came, immediately thou didst wash thyself, and didst paint thine eyes and adorn thyself with ornaments, 41 and satest on a prepared bed, and before it there was a table set out, and as for mine incense and mine oil, they rejoiced in them, 42 and they raised a sound of music, and that with men coming from the wilderness out of a multitude of men, and they put bracelets on their hands, and a crown of glory on their heads;

43 Therefore I said, Do they not commit adultery with these? and has she also gone a-whoring after the manner of a harlot? 44 And they went in to her, as men go in to a harlot; so they went in to Oola and to Ooliba to work iniquity. 45 And they are just men, and shall take vengeance on them with the judgement of an adulteress and the judgement of blood: for they are adulteresses, land blood is in their hands.

46 Thus saith the Lord God, Bring up a multitude upon them, and send trouble and plunder into the midst of them. 47 And stone them with the stones of a multitude, and pierce them with their swords: they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and shall burn up their houses. 48 And I will remove ungodliness out of the land, and all the women shall be instructed, and shall not do according to their ungodliness. 49 And your ungodliness shall be recompensed upon you, and ye shall bear the guilt of your devices: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 24

24:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying, 2 Son of man, write for thyself daily from this day, on which the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem, even from this day. 3 And speak a parable to the provoking house, and thou shalt say to them,

Thus saith the Lord; Set on the caldron, and pour water into it: 4 and put the pieces into it, every prime piece, the leg and shoulder taken off from the bones, 5 which are taken from choice cattle, and burn the bones under them: her bones are boiled and cooked in the midst of her.

6 Therefore thus saith the Lord; O bloody city, the caldron in which there is scum, and the scum has not gone out of, she has brought it forth piece by piece, no lot has fallen upon it. 7 For her blood is in the midst of her; I have set it upon a smooth rock: I have not poured it out upon the earth, so that the earth should cover it; 8 that my wrath should come up for complete vengeance to be taken: I set her blood upon a smooth rock, so as not to cover it.

9 Therefore thus saith the Lord, I will also make the firebrand great, 10 and I will multiply the wood, and kindle the fire, that the flesh may be consumed, and the liquor boiled away; 11 and that it may stand upon the coals, that her brass may be thoroughly heated, and be melted in the midst of her filthiness, and her scum may be consumed, 12 and her abundant scum may not come forth of her. 13 Her scum shall become shameful, because thou didst defile thyself: and what if thou shalt be purged no more until I have accomplished my wrath?

14 I the Lord have spoken; and it shall come, and I will do it; I will not delay, neither will I have any mercy: I will judge thee, saith the Lord, according to thy ways, and according to thy devices: therefore will I judge thee according to thy bloodshed, and according to thy devices will I judge thee, thou unclean, notorious, and abundantly provoking one.

15 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 16 Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thine eyes by violence: thou shalt not lament, neither shalt thou weep. 17 Thou shalt groan for blood, and have mourning upon thy loins; thy hair shall not be braided upon thee, and thy sandals shall be on thy feet; thou shalt in no wise be comforted by their lips, and thou shalt not eat the bread of men.

18 And I spoke to the people in the morning, as he commanded me in the evening, and I did in the morning as it was commanded me. 19 And the people said to me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are that thou doest? 20 Then I said to them, The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 Say to the house of Israel,

Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the boast of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and for which your souls are concerned; and your sons and your daughters, whom ye have left, shall fall by the sword. 22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not be comforted at their mouth, and ye shall not eat the bread of men. 23 And your hair shall be upon your head, and your shoes on your feet: neither shall ye at all lament or weep; but ye shall pine away in your iniquities, and shall comfort every one his brother. 24 And Jezekiel shall be for a sign to you: according to all that I have done shall ye do, when these things shall come; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

25 And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take their strength from them, the pride of their boasting, the desires of their eyes, and the pride of their soul, their sons and their daughters, 26 that in that day he that escapes shall come to thee, to tell it thee in thine ears? 27 In that say thy mouth shall be opened to him that escapes; thou shalt speak, and shalt be no longer dumb: and thou shalt be for a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 25

25:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face steadfastly against the children of Ammon, and prophesy against them; 3 and thou shalt say to the children of Ammon,

Hear ye the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord; Forasmuch as ye have rejoiced against my sanctuary, because it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, because it was laid waste; and against the house of Juda, because they went into captivity; 4 therefore, behold, I will deliver you to the children of Kedem for an inheritance, and they shall lodge in thee with their stuff, and they shall pitch their tents in thee: they shall eat thy fruits, and they shall drink thy milk. 5 And I will give up the city of Ammon for camels’ pastures, and the children of Ammon for a pasture of sheep: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

6 For thus saith the Lord; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with thy foot, and heartily rejoiced against the land of Israel; 7 therefore I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will make thee a spoil to the nations; and I will utterly destroy thee from among the peoples, and I will completely cut thee off from out of the countries: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

8 Thus saith the Lord; Because Moab has said, Behold, are not the house of Israel and Juda like all the other nations? 9 Therefore, behold, I will weaken the shoulder of Moab from his frontier cities, even the choice land, the house of Bethasimuth above the fountain of the city, by the sea-side. 10 I have given him the children of Kedem in addition to the children of Ammon for an inheritance, that there may be no remembrance of the children of Ammon. 11 And I will execute vengeance on Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

12 Thus saith the Lord; Because of what the Idumeans have done in taking vengeance on the house of Juda, and because they have remembered injuries, and have exacted full recompense; 13 therefore thus saith the Lord; I will also stretch out my hand upon Idumea, and will utterly destroy out of it man and beast; and will make it desolate; and they that are pursued out of Thaeman shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will execute my vengeance on Idumea by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall deal in Idumea according to mine anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord.

15 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because the Philistines have wrought revengefully, and raised up vengeance rejoicing from their heart to destroy the Israelites to a man; 16 therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and will utterly destroy the Cretans, and will cut off the remnant that dwell by the sea-coast. 17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have brought my vengeance upon them.

Chapter 26

26:1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, because Sor has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is crushed: the nations are destroyed: she is turned to me: she that was full is made desolate: 3 therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, O Sor, and I will bring up many nations against thee, as the sea comes up with its waves. 4 And they shall cast down the walls of Sor, and shall cast down thy towers: and I will scrape her dust from off her, and make her a bare rock. 5 She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for repairing nets: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord: and it shall be a spoil for the nations. 6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain with the sword, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

7 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will bring up against thee, O Sor, Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon from the north: he is a king of kings, with horses, and chariots, and horsemen, and a concourse of very many nations. 8 He shall slay thy daughters that are in the field with the sword, and shall set a watch against thee, and build forts around thee, and carry a rampart round against thee, and set up warlike works, and array his spears against thee. 9 He shall cast down with his swords thy walls and thy towers. 10 By reason of thy multitude of his horses their dust shall cover thee, and by reason of the sound of his horsemen and the wheels of his chariots thy walls shall be shaken, when he enters into thy gates, as one entering into a city from the plain. 11 With the hoofs of his horses they shall trample all thy streets: he shall slay thy people with the sword, and shall bring down to the ground the support of thy strength.

12 And he shall prey upon thy power, and plunder thy substance, and shall cast down thy walls, and break down thy pleasant houses: and he shall cast thy stones and thy timber and thy dust into the midst of thy sea. 13 And he shall destroy the multitude of thy musicians, and the sound of thy psalteries shall be heard no more. 14 And I will make thee a bare rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord.

15 For thus saith the Lord God to Sor; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, while the wounded are groaning, while they have drawn a sword in the midst of thee? 16 And all the princes of the nations of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and shall take off their crowns from their heads, and shall take off their embroidered raiment: they shall be utterly amazed; they shall sit upon the ground, and fear their own destruction, and shall groan over thee. 17 And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and shall say to thee, How art thou destroyed from out of the sea, the renowned city, that brought her terror upon all her inhabitants. 18 And the isles shall be alarmed at the day of thy fall.

19 For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make the city desolate, as the cities that shall not be inhabited, when I have brought the deep up upon thee, 20 and great waters shall cover thee; and I shall bring thee down to them that go down to the pit, to the people of old time, and shall cause thee to dwell in the depths of the earth, as in everlasting desolation, with them that go down to the pit, that thou mayest not be inhabited, nor stand upon the land of life; 21 I will make thee a destruction, and thou shalt be no more for ever, saith the Lord God.

Chapter 27

27:1 And the word of the Lord came to me saying,

2 And thou, son of man, take up a lamentation against Sor; 3 and thou shalt say to Sor that dwells at the entrance of the sea, to the mart of the nations coming from many islands, Thus saith the Lord to Sor;

Thou hast said, I have clothed myself with my beauty. 4 In the heart of the sea thy sons have put beauty upon thee for Beelim. 5 Cedar in Senir was employed for thee in building: boards of cypress timber were taken out of Libanus, and wood to make thee masts of fir. 6 They made thine oars of wood out of the land of Basan; thy sacred utensils they made of ivory, thy shady houses of wood from the isles of Chetiim. 7 Fine linen with embroidery from Egypt supplied the couch, to put honour upon thee, and to clothe thee with blue and purple from the isles of Elisai; and they became thy coverings.

8 And thy princes were the dwellers in Sidon, and the Aradians were thy rowers: thy wise men, O Sor, who were in thee, these were thy pilots. 9 The elders of the Biblians, and their wise men, who were in thee, these helped thy counsel: and all the ships of the sea and their rowers traded for thee to the utmost west.

10 Persians and Lydians and Libyans were in thine army: thy warriors hung in thee shields and helmets; these gave thee thy glory. 11 The sons of the Aradians and thine army were upon the walls; there were guards in thy towers: they hung their quivers on thy battlements round about; these completed thy beauty.

12 The Carthaginians were thy merchants because of the abundance of all thy strength; they furnished thy market with silver, and gold, and iron, and tin, and lead. 13 Greece, both the whole world, and the adjacent coasts, these traded with thee in the persons of men, and they gave as thy merchandise vessels of brass.

14 Out of the house of Thogarma horses and horsemen furnished the market. 15 The sons of the Rhodians were thy merchants; from the islands they multiplied thy merchandise, even elephants’ teeth: and to them that came in thou didst return thy prices, 16 even men as thy merchandise, from the multitude of thy trading population, myrrh and embroidered works from Tharsis: Ramoth also and Chorchor furnished thy market. 17 Juda and the children of Israel, these were thy merchants; in the sale of corn and ointments and cassia: and they gave the best honey, and oil, and resin, to thy trading population. 18 The people of Damascus were thy merchants by reason of the abundance of all thy power; wine out of Chelbon, and wool from Miletus; and they brought wine into thy market.

19 Out of Asel came wrought iron, and there is the sound of wheels among thy trading population. 20 The people of Daedan were thy merchants, with choice cattle for chariots. 21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, these were thy traders with thee, bringing camels, and lambs, and rams, in which they trade with thee. 22 The merchants of Sabba and Ramma, these were thy merchants, with choice spices, and precious stones: and they brought gold to thy market. 23 Charra, and Chanaa, these were thy merchants: Assur, and Charman, were thy merchants: 24 bringing for merchandise blue, and choice stores bound with cords, and cypress wood. 25 Ships were thy merchants, in abundance, with thy trading population: and thou wast filled and very heavily loaded in the heart of the sea.

26 Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the south wind has broken thee in the heart of the sea. 27 Thy forces, and thy gain, and that of thy traders, and thy rowers, and thy pilots, and thy counselors, and they that traffic with thee, and all thy warriors that are in thee: and all thy company in the midst of thee shall perish in the heart of the sea, in the day of thy fall. 28 At the cry of thy voice thy pilots shall be greatly terrified.

29 And all the rowers and the mariners shall come down from the ships, and the pilots of the sea shall stand on the land. 30 And they shall wail over thee with their voice, and cry bitterly, and put earth on their heads, and spread ashes under them.

31 32 And their sons shall take up a lament for thee, even a lamentation for Sor, saying, 33 How large a reward hast thou gained from the sea? thou hast filled nations out of thine abundance; and out of thy mixed merchandise thou hast enriched all the kings of the earth. 34 Now art thou broken in the sea, thy traders are in the deep water, and all thy company in the midst of thee: all thy rowers have fallen. 35 All the dwellers in the islands have mourned over thee, and their kings have been utterly amazed, and their countenance has wept. 36 Merchants from the nations have hissed at thee; thou art utterly destroyed, and shalt not be any more for ever.

Chapter 28

28:1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2 And thou, son of man, say to the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord; Because thine heart has been exalted, and thou hast said, I am God, I have inhabited the dwelling of God in the heart of the sea; yet thou art man and not God, though thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God: 3 art thou wiser than Daniel? or have not the wise instructed thee with their knowledge? 4 Hast thou gained power for thyself by thine own knowledge or thine own prudence, and gotten gold and silver in thy treasures? 5 By thy abundant knowledge and thy traffic thou hast multiplied thy power; thy heart has been lifted up by thy power.

6 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Since thou hast set thine heart as the hart of God; 7 because of this, behold, I will bring on thee strange plagues from the nations; and they shall draw their swords against thee, and against the beauty of thy knowledge, 8 and they shall bring down thy beauty to destruction. And they shall bring thee down; and thou shalt die the death of the slain in the heart of the sea. 9 Wilt thou indeed say, I am God, before them that slay thee? whereas thou art man, and not God. 10 Thou shalt perish by the hands of strangers among the multitude of the uncircumcised: for I have spoken it, saith he Lord.

11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation for the prince of Tyre, and say to him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou art a seal of resemblance, and crown of beauty. 13 Thou wast in the delight of the paradise of God; thou hast bound upon thee every precious stone, the sardius, and topaz, and emerald, and carbuncle, and sapphire, and jasper, and silver, and gold, and ligure, and agate, and amethyst, and chrysolite, and beryl, and onyx: and thou hast filled thy treasures and thy stores in thee with gold. 14 From the day that thou wast created thou wast with the cherub: I set thee on the holy mount of God; thou wast in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast faultless in thy days, from the day that thou wast created, until iniquity was found in thee.

16 Of the abundance of thy merchandise thou hast filled thy storehouses with iniquity, and hast sinned: therefore thou hast been cast down wounded from the mount of God, and the cherub has brought thee out of the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thy heart has been lifted up because of thy beauty; thy knowledge has been corrupted with thy beauty: because of the multitude of thy sins I have cast thee to the ground, I have caused thee to be put to open shame before kings. 18 Because of the multitude of thy sins and the iniquities of thy merchandise, I have profaned thy sacred things; and I will bring fire out of the midst of thee, this shall devour thee; and I will make thee to be ashes upon thy land before all that see thee. 19 And all that know thee among the nations shall groan over thee: thou art gone to destruction, and thou shalt not exist any more.

20 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 Son of man, set thy face against Sidon, and prophesy against it, 22 and say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, O Sidon; and I will be glorified in thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought judgments in thee, and I will be sanctified in thee. 23 Blood and death shall be in thy streets; and men wounded with swords shall fall in thee and on every side of thee; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 24 And there shall no more be in the house of Israel a thorn of bitterness and a pricking briar proceeding from them that are round about them, who dishonoured them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

25 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also gather Israel from the nations, among whom they have been scattered, and I will be sanctified among them, and before the peoples and nations: and they shall dwell upon their land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 Yea, they shall dwell upon it safely, and they shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and dwell securely, when I shall execute judgment on all that have dishonoured them, even on those that are round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and the God of their fathers.

Chapter 29

29:1 In the twelfth year, in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Pharao king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against the whole of Egypt: 3 and say,

Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against Pharao, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his rivers, that says, The rivers are mine, and I made them. 4 And I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy river to stick to thy sides, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy river: 5 and I will quickly cast down thee and all the fish of thy river: thou shalt fall on the face of the plain, and shalt by no means be gathered, and shalt not be brought together: I have given thee for food to the wild beasts of the earth and to the fowls of the sky. 6 And all the dwellers in Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because thou hast been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. 7 When they took hold of thee with their hand, thou didst break: and when