22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, shining like crystal,^g spread out above their heads. ²³And under the firmament their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another; and each creature had two wings covering its body.* ²⁴And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the thunder of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of a host; when they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵And there came a voice from above the firmament over their heads; when they stood still, they let down their wings.

26 And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire;^h and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form. ²⁷And upward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire enclosed round about; and downward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him.^{i 28}Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.* And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

8 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you; be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth, and eat what I give you.” ⁹And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a written scroll was in it; ¹⁰and he spread it before me; and it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.

4 And he said to me, “Son of man, go, get you to the house of Israel, and speak with my words to them. ⁵For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ⁷But the house of Israel will not listen to you; for they are not willing to listen to me; because all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stubborn heart. ⁸Behold, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your forehead hard against their foreheads. ⁹Like adamant harder than flint have I made your forehead; fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹And go, get you to the exiles, to your people, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD’; whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the LORD arose^k from its place, I heard behind me the sound of a great earthquake; ¹³it was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, that sounded like a great earthquake. ¹⁴The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me; ¹⁵and I came to the exiles at Tela'bib, who dwelt by the river Che'bar.^l And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.

16 And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁷“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ¹⁸If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. ¹⁹But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you will have saved your life. ²⁰Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and you will have saved your life.”

22 And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said to me, “Arise, go forth into the plain,^m and there I will speak with you.” ²³So I arose and went forth into the plain;^m and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I had seen by the river Che'bar; and I fell on my face. ²⁴But the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. ²⁵And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people; ²⁶and I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them; for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD’; he that will hear, let him hear; and he that will refuse to hear, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

4 “Then lie upon your left side, and I will lay the punishment of the house of Israel upon you;ⁿ for the number of the days that you lie upon it, you shall bear their punishment. ⁵For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred and ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; so long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. ⁶And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, a day for each year. ⁷And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared; and you shall prophesy against the city. ⁸And behold, I will put cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege.

9 “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt, and put them into a single vessel, and make bread of them. During the number of days that you lie upon your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰And the food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; once a day you shall eat it. ¹¹And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; once a day you shall drink. ¹²And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.” ¹³And the LORD said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” ¹⁴Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I have never defiled myself; from my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has foul flesh come into my mouth.” ¹⁵Then he said to me, “See, I will let you have cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” ¹⁶Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and waste away under their punishment.

13 “Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself; and they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken in my jealousy, when I spend my fury upon them. ¹⁴Moreover I will make you a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations round about you and in the sight of all that pass by. ¹⁵You shall be^r a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations round about you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and with furious chastisements—I, the LORD, have spoken— ¹⁶when I loose against you^s my deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will loose to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you, and break your staff of bread. ¹⁷I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will rob you of your children; pestilence and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword upon you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

8 “Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, ⁹then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, when I have broken^u their wanton heart which has departed from me, and blinded their eyes which turn wantonly after their idols; and they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. ¹⁰And they shall know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”

11 Thus says the Lord GOD: “Clap your hands, and stamp your foot, and say, Alas! because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. ¹²He that is far off shall die of pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that is left and is preserved shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them. ¹³And you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, on all the mountain tops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing odor to all their idols. ¹⁴And I will stretch out my hand against them, and make the land desolate and waste, throughout all their habitations, from the wilderness to Riblah.^v Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

5 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes. ⁶An end has come, the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. ⁷Your doom^w has come to you, O inhabitant of the land; the time has come, the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting upon the mountains. ⁸Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways; and I will punish you for all your abominations. ⁹And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who strike.

10 “Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom^w has come, injustice^x has blossomed, pride has budded. ¹¹Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them.^{y 12}The time has come, the day draws near. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath^z is upon all their multitude. ¹³For the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. For wrath is upon all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life.^a

14 “They have blown the trumpet and made all ready; but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. ¹⁵The sword is without, pestilence and famine are within; he that is in the field dies by the sword; and him that is in the city famine and pestilence devour. ¹⁶And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, every one over his iniquity. ¹⁷All hands are feeble, and all knees weak as water. ¹⁸They clothe themselves with sackcloth, and horror covers them; shame is upon all faces, and baldness on all their heads. ¹⁹They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing; their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD; they cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. ²⁰Their^b beautiful ornament they used for vainglory, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it; therefore I will make it an unclean thing to them. ²¹And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall profane it. ²²I will turn my face from them, that they may profane my precious^c place; robbers shall enter and profane it, ²³and make a desolation.^d

“Because the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence, ²⁴I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses; I will put an end to their proud might, and their holy places shall be profaned. ²⁵When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. ²⁶Disaster comes upon disaster, rumor follows rumor; they seek a vision from the prophet, but the law perishes from the priest, and counsel from the elders. ²⁷The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are palsied by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their own judgments I will judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”

5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now in the direction of the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. ⁶And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸Then said he to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall”; and when I dug in the wall, behold, there was a door. ⁹And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” ¹⁰So I went in and saw; and there, portrayed upon the wall round about, were all kinds of creeping things, and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. ¹¹And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Ja-azani'ah the son of Sha'phan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. ¹²Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, every man in his room^f of pictures? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’” ¹³He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations which they commit.”

14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.* ¹⁵Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.”

16 And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD; and behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. ¹⁷Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence, and provoke me further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸Therefore I will deal in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherubim on which it rested to the threshold of the house; and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his side. ⁴And the LORD said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” ⁵And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and kill; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity; ⁶slay old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. ⁷Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go forth.” So they went forth, and killed in the city. ⁸And while they were killing, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah, Lord GOD! will you destroy all that remains of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath upon Jerusalem?”

9 Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice; for they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.’ ¹⁰As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity, but I will repay their deeds upon their heads.”

11 And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his side, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

And he went in before my eyes. ³Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in; and a cloud filled the inner court. ⁴And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherubim to the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of the LORD. ⁵And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings.

9 And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling chrysolite. ¹⁰And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ¹¹When they went, they went in any of their four directions^g without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced the others followed without turning as they went. ¹²And^h their rims, and their spokes,ⁱ and the wheels were full of eyes round about—the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels. ¹⁴And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

18 Then the glory of the LORD went forth from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. ¹⁹And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight as they went forth, with the wheels beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the house of the LORD; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the LORD: So you think, O house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind. ⁶You have multiplied your slain in this city, and have filled its streets with the slain. ⁷Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron; but you shall be brought forth out of the midst of it. ⁸You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword upon you, says the Lord GOD. ⁹And I will bring you forth out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. ¹⁰You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel; and you shall know that I am the LORD. ¹¹This city shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the flesh in the midst of it; I will judge you at the border of Israel; ¹²and you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in my statutes, nor executed my ordinances, but have acted according to the ordinances of the nations that are round about you.”

13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelati'ah the son of Bena'iah died. Then I fell down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

14 And the word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁵“Son of man, your brethren, even your brethren, your fellow exiles,^l the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^m in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. ¹⁹And I will give them oneⁿ heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹But as for those^o whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will repay their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord GOD.”

22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. ²⁴And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chalde'a, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had showed me.

7 And I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands; I went forth in the dark, carrying my outfit upon my shoulder in their sight.

17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁸“Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with fearfulness; ¹⁹and say of the people of the land, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink water in dismay, because their land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ²⁰And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

21 And the word of the LORD came to me: ²²“Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? ²³Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are at hand, and the fulfilment^v of every vision. ²⁴For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵But I the LORD will speak the word which I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, says the Lord GOD.”

26 Again the word of the LORD came to me: ²⁷“Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days hence, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word which I speak will be performed, says the Lord GOD.”

8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered delusions and seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you, says the Lord GOD. ⁹My hand will be against the prophets who see delusive visions and who give lying divinations; they shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel; and you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. ¹⁰Because, yes, because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace; and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets daub it with whitewash; ¹¹say to those who daub it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain,^x great hailstones will fall, and a stormy wind break out; ¹²and when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the daubing with which you daubed it?’ ¹³Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath; and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to destroy it. ¹⁴And I will break down the wall that you have daubed with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare; when it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it; and you shall know that I am the LORD. ¹⁵Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall, and upon those who have daubed it with whitewash; and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who daubed it, ¹⁶the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, says the Lord GOD.

17 “And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own minds; prophesy against them ¹⁸and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people, and keep other souls alive for your profit? ¹⁹You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death persons who should not die and keeping alive persons who should not live, by your lies to my people, who listen to lies.

20 “Wherefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls,^y and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the souls that you hunt go free^z like birds. ²¹Your veils also I will tear off, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey; and you shall know that I am the LORD. ²²Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not disheartened him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his wicked way to save his life; ²³therefore you shall no more see delusive visions nor practice divination; I will deliver my people out of your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.”

6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. ⁷For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to inquire for himself of me, I the LORD will answer him myself; ⁸and I will set my face against that man, I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people; and you shall know that I am the LORD. ⁹And if the prophet be deceived and speak a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. ¹⁰And they shall bear their punishment—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike— ¹¹that the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, nor defile themselves any more with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, says the Lord GOD.”

21 “For thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four sore acts of judgment, sword, famine, evil beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! ²²Yet, if there should be left in it any survivors to lead out sons and daughters, when they come forth to you, and you see their ways and their doings, you will be consoled for the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. ²³They will console you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, says the Lord GOD.”

6 “And when I passed by you, and saw you weltering in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live, ⁷and grow up^b like a plant of the field.’ And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full maidenhood;^c your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.

15 “But you trusted in your beauty, and played the harlot because of your renown, and lavished your harlotries on any passer-by. ¹⁶You took some of your garments, and made for yourself gaily decked shrines, and on them played the harlot; the like has never been, nor ever shall be. ¹⁷You also took your fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the harlot; ¹⁸and you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. ¹⁹Also my bread which I gave you—I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for a pleasing odor, says the Lord GOD.^{d 20}And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your harlotries so small a matter ²¹that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? ²²And in all your abominations and your harlotries you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, weltering in your blood.

23 “And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! says the Lord GOD), ²⁴you built yourself a vaulted chamber, and made yourself a lofty place in every square; ²⁵at the head of every street you built your lofty place and prostituted your beauty, offering yourself to any passer-by, and multiplying your harlotry. ²⁶You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your harlotry, to provoke me to anger. ²⁷Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you, and diminished your allotted portion, and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philis'tines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. ²⁸You played the harlot also with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; yes, you played the harlot with them, and still you were not satisfied. ²⁹You multiplied your harlotry also with the trading land of Chalde'a; and even with this you were not satisfied.

30 “How lovesick is your heart, says the Lord GOD, seeing you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot; ³¹building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a harlot, because you scorned hire. ³²Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! ³³Men give gifts to all harlots; but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side for your harlotries. ³⁴So you were different from other women in your harlotries: none solicited you to play the harlot; and you gave hire, while no hire was given to you; therefore you were different.

35 “Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: ³⁶Thus says the Lord GOD, Because your shame was laid bare and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotries with your lovers, and because of all your idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, ³⁷therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you loathed; I will gather them against you from every side, and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. ³⁸And I will judge you as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. ³⁹And I will give you into the hand of your lovers, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places; they shall strip you of your clothes and take your fair jewels, and leave you naked and bare. ⁴⁰They shall bring up a host against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women; I will make you stop playing the harlot, and you shall also give hire no more. ⁴²So will I satisfy my fury on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you; I will be calm, and will no more be angry. ⁴³Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things; therefore, behold, I will repay your deeds upon your head, says the Lord GOD.

“Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations? ⁴⁴Behold, every one who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hit'tite and your father an Am'orite. ⁴⁶And your elder sister is Samar'ia, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. ⁴⁷Yet you were not content to walk in their ways, or do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways. ⁴⁸As I live, says the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. ⁵⁰They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them, when I saw it. ⁵¹Samar'ia has not committed half your sins; you have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations which you have committed. ⁵²Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have made judgment favorable to your sisters; because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

53 “I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samar'ia and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in the midst of them, ⁵⁴that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them. ⁵⁵As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former estate, and Samar'ia and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and you and your daughters shall return to your former estate. ⁵⁶Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride, ⁵⁷before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become like her^e an object of reproach for the daughters of E'dom^f and all her neighbors, and for the daughters of the Philis'tines, those round about who despise you. ⁵⁸You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, says the LORD.

59 “Yes, thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, ⁶⁰yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. ⁶¹Then you will remember your ways, and be ashamed when I^g take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. ⁶²I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, ⁶³that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord GOD.”

7 “But there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage; and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him that he might water it. From the bed where it was planted ⁸he transplanted it^h to good soil by abundant waters, that it might bring forth branches, and bear fruit, and become a noble vine. ⁹Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its branches,ⁱ so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. ¹⁰Behold, when it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it grew?”

11 Then the word of the LORD came to me: ¹²“Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. ¹³And he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. (The chief men of the land he had taken away, ¹⁴that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and that by keeping his covenant it might stand.) ¹⁵But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can a man escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape? ¹⁶As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. ¹⁷Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. ¹⁸Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape. ¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely my oath which he despised, and my covenant which he broke, I will repay upon his head. ²⁰I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treason he has committed against me. ²¹And all the pick^j of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken.”

22 Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain; ²³on the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar; and under it will dwell all kinds of beasts;^k in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.”

5 “If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right— ⁶if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in her time of impurity, ⁷does not oppress any one, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, ⁸does not lend at interest or take any increase, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between man and man, ⁹walks in my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances^l—he is righteous, he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD.

10 “If he begets a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood,^{m 11}who does none of these duties, but eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, ¹²oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, ¹³lends at interest, and takes increase; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominable things; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.

14 “But if this man begets a son who sees all the sins which his father has done, and fears, and does not do likewise, ¹⁵who does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶does not wrong any one, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, ¹⁷withholds his hand from iniquity,ⁿ takes no interest or increase, observes my ordinances, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live. ¹⁸As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

21 “But if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ²²None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live. ²³Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? ²⁴But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, he shall die.

25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? ²⁶When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die for it; for the iniquity which he has committed he shall die. ²⁷Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is lawful and right, he shall save his life. ²⁸Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. ²⁹Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.^{o 31}Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? ³²For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

What a lioness was your mother

among lions!

She lurked in the midst of young lions,

rearing her whelps.

³And she brought up one of her whelps;

he became a young lion,

and he learned to catch prey;

he devoured men.

⁴The nations sounded an alarm against him;

he was taken in their pit;

and they brought him with hooks

to the land of Egypt.

⁵When she saw that she was baffled,^p

that her hope was lost,

she took another of her whelps

and made him a young lion.

⁶He prowled among the lions;

he became a young lion,

and he learned to catch prey;

he devoured men.

⁷And he ravaged their strongholds,^q

and laid waste their cities;

and the land was appalled and all who were in it

at the sound of his roaring.

⁸Then the nations set against him

snares^r on every side;

they spread their net over him;

he was taken in their pit.

⁹With hooks they put him in a cage,

and brought him to the king of Babylon;

they brought him into custody,

that his voice should no more be heard

upon the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard^s

transplanted by the water,

fruitful and full of branches

by reason of abundant water.

¹¹Its strongest stem became

a ruler’s scepter;

it towered aloft

among the thick boughs;

it was seen in its height

with the mass of its branches.

¹²But the vine was plucked up in fury,

cast down to the ground;

the east wind dried it up;

its fruit was stripped off,

its strong stem was withered;

the fire consumed it.

¹³Now it is transplanted in the wilderness,

in a dry and thirsty land.

¹⁴And fire has gone out from its stem,

has consumed its branches and fruit,

so that there remains in it no strong stem,

no scepter for a ruler.

“Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ⁹But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they dwelt, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ¹¹I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, by whose observance man shall live. ¹²Moreover I gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I the LORD sanctify them. ¹³But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not walk in my statutes but rejected my ordinances, by whose observance man shall live; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned.

“Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. ¹⁴But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, ¹⁶because they rejected my ordinances and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.

18 “And I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols. ¹⁹I the LORD am your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to observe my ordinances, ²⁰and hallow my sabbaths that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I the LORD am your God. ²¹But the children rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes, and were not careful to observe my ordinances, by whose observance man shall live; they profaned my sabbaths.

“Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. ²²But I withheld my hand, and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ²³Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, ²⁴because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers’ idols. ²⁵Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not have life; ²⁶and I defiled them through their very gifts in making them offer by fire all their first-born, that I might horrify them; I did it that they might know that I am the LORD.

27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: In this again your fathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸For when I had brought them into the land which I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their soothing odors, and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹(I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? So its name is called Ba'mah^t to this day.) ³⁰Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go astray after their detestable things? ³¹When you offer your gifts and sacrifice your sons by fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.

32 “What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone.’

33 “As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you. ³⁴I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out; ³⁵and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. ³⁶As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, says the Lord GOD. ³⁷I will make you pass under the rod, and I will let you go in by number.^{u 38}I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

39 “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

40 “For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord GOD, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. ⁴¹As a pleasing odor I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. ⁴²And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country which I swore to give to your fathers. ⁴³And there you shall remember your ways and all the doings with which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. ⁴⁴And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, says the Lord GOD.”

45^v And the word of the LORD came to me: ⁴⁶“Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Neg'eb; ⁴⁷say to the forest of the Neg'eb, Hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. ⁴⁸All flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ⁴⁹Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! they are saying of me, ‘Is he not a maker of allegories?’”

8 And the word of the LORD came to me: ⁹“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, Say:

A sword, a sword is sharpened

and also polished,

¹⁰sharpened for slaughter,

polished to flash like lightning!

14 “Prophesy therefore, son of man; clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, thrice, the sword for those to be slain; it is the sword for the great slaughter, which encompasses them, ¹⁵that their hearts may melt, and many fall at all their gates. I have given the glittering sword; ah! it is made like lightning, it is polished^x for slaughter. ¹⁶Cut sharply to right^y and left where your edge is directed. ¹⁷I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the LORD have spoken.”

18 The word of the LORD came to me again: ¹⁹“Son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them shall come forth from the same land. And make a signpost, make it at the head of the way to a city; ²⁰mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Am'monites and to Judah and to^z Jerusalem the fortified. ²¹For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the teraphim, he looks at the liver. ²²Into his right hand comes the lot for Jerusalem,^a to open the mouth with a cry,^b to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. ²³But to them it will seem like a false divination; they have sworn solemn oaths; but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be captured.

24 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in them.^{c 25}And you, O unhallowed wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment, ²⁶thus says the Lord GOD: Remove the turban, and take off the crown; things shall not remain as they are; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. ²⁷A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it; there shall not be even a trace^d of it until he comes whose right it is; and to him I will give it.

28 “And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Am'monites, and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter, it is polished to glitter^e and to flash like lightning— ²⁹while they see for you false visions, while they make up lies for you—to be laid on the necks of the unhallowed wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment. ³⁰Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. ³¹And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, skilful to destroy. ³²You shall be fuel for the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be no more remembered; for I the LORD have spoken.”

6 “Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. ⁷Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. ⁸You have despised my holy things, and profaned my sabbaths. ⁹There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and men in you who eat upon the mountains; men commit lewdness in your midst. ¹⁰In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they humble women who are unclean in their impurity. ¹¹One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you defiles his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹²In you men take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and increase and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; and you have forgotten me, says the Lord GOD.

13 “Behold, therefore, I strike my hands together at the dishonest gain which you have made, and at the blood which has been in the midst of you. ¹⁴Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. ¹⁵I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your filthiness out of you. ¹⁶And I^g shall be profaned through you in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

17 And the word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁸“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them, silver^h and bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace, have become dross. ¹⁹Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰As men gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire upon it in order to melt it; so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. ²¹I will gather you and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. ²²As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it; and you shall know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath upon you.”

5 “Oho'lah played the harlot while she was mine; and she doted on her lovers the Assyrians, ⁶warriors clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. ⁷She bestowed her harlotries upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and she defiled herself with all the idols of every one on whom she doted. ⁸She did not give up her harlotry which she had practiced since her days in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her. ⁹Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. ¹⁰These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and her they slew with the sword; and she became a byword among women, when judgment had been executed upon her.

“You shall drink your sister’s cup

which is deep and large;

you shall be laughed at and held in derision,

for it contains much;

³³you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.

A cup of horror and desolation,

is the cup of your sister Samar'ia;

³⁴you shall drink it and drain it out,

and pluck out your hair,ⁿ

and tear your breasts;

36 The LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oho'lah and Ohol'ibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds. ³⁷For they have committed adultery, and blood is upon their hands; with their idols they have committed adultery; and they have even offered up to them for food the sons whom they had borne to me. ³⁸Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my sabbaths. ³⁹For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house. ⁴⁰They even sent for men to come from far, to whom a messenger was sent, and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments; ⁴¹you sat upon a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil. ⁴²The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort drunkards^o were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets upon the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.

43 “Then I said, Do not men now commit adultery^p when they practice harlotry with her? ⁴⁴For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a harlot. Thus they went in to Oho'lah and to Ohol'ibah to commit lewdness.^{q 45}But righteous men shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women that shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is upon their hands.”

Set on the pot, set it on,

pour in water also;

⁴put in it the pieces of flesh,

all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder;

fill it with choice bones.

⁵Take the choicest one of the flock,

pile the logs^r under it;

boil its pieces,^s

seethe^t also its bones in it.

6 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is in it, and whose rust has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.^{u 7}For the blood she has shed is still in the midst of her; she put it on the bare rock, she did not pour it upon the ground to cover it with dust. ⁸To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. ⁹Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great. ¹⁰Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil well the flesh, and empty out the broth,^v and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, that its filthiness may be melted in it, its rust consumed. ¹²In vain I have wearied myself;^w its thick rust does not go out of it by fire. ¹³Its rust is your filthy lewdness. Because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your filthiness, you shall not be cleansed any more till I have satisfied my fury upon you. ¹⁴I the LORD have spoken; it shall come to pass, I will do it; I will not go back, I will not spare, I will not repent; according to your ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord GOD.”

15 Also the word of the LORD came to me: ¹⁶“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of mourners.”^{x 18}So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.

19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” ²⁰Then I said to them, “The word of the LORD came to me: ²¹‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²²And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of mourners.^{x 23}Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan to one another. ²⁴Thus shall Ezek'iel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

25 “And you, son of man, on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their heart’s desire, and also their sons and daughters, ²⁶on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. ²⁷On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. So you will be a sign to them; and they will know that I am the LORD.”

8 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab^z said, Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations, ⁹therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities^a on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jesh'imoth, Ba'al-me'on, and Kir''iatha'im. ¹⁰I will give it along with the Am'monites to the people of the East as a possession, that it^b may be remembered no more among the nations, ¹¹and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

12 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because E'dom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance upon them, ¹³therefore thus says the Lord GOD, I will stretch out my hand against E'dom, and cut off from it man and beast; and I will make it desolate; from Te'man even to De'dan they shall fall by the sword. ¹⁴And I will lay my vengeance upon E'dom by the hand of my people Israel; and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath; and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord GOD.

15 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philis'tines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of heart to destroy in never-ending enmity; ¹⁶therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philis'tines, and I will cut off the Cher'ethites, and destroy the rest of the seacoast. ¹⁷I will execute great vengeance upon them with wrathful chastisements. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”

7 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. ⁸He will slay with the sword your daughters on the mainland; he will set up a siege wall against you, and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. ⁹He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. ¹⁰His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as one enters a city which has been breached. ¹¹With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people with the sword; and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. ¹²They will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. ¹³And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. ¹⁴I will make you a bare rock; you shall be a place for the spreading of nets; you shall never be rebuilt; for I the LORD have spoken, says the Lord GOD.

15 “Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: Will not the islands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? ¹⁶Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones, and remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit upon the ground and tremble every moment, and be appalled at you. ¹⁷And they will raise a lamentation over you, and say to you,

‘How you have vanished^c from the seas,

O city renowned,

that was mighty on the sea,

you and your inhabitants,

who imposed your terror

on all the mainland!^d

¹⁸Now the isles tremble

on the day of your fall;

yes, the isles that are in the sea

are dismayed at your passing.’

19 “For thus says the Lord GOD: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, ²⁰then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the nether world, among primeval ruins, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or have a place^e in the land of the living. ²¹I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more; though you be sought for, you will never be found again, says the Lord GOD.”

“O Tyre, you have said,

‘I am perfect in beauty.’

⁴Your borders are in the heart of the seas;

your builders made perfect your beauty.

⁵They made all your planks

of fir trees from Se'nir;

they took a cedar from Lebanon

to make a mast for you.

⁶Of oaks of Ba'shan

they made your oars;

they made your deck of pines

from the coasts of Cyprus,

inlaid with ivory.

⁷Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt

was your sail,

serving as your ensign;

blue and purple from the coasts of Eli'shah

was your awning.

⁸The inhabitants of Si'don and Arvad

were your rowers;

skilled men of Ze'mer^f were in you,

they were your pilots.

⁹The elders of Ge'bal and her skilled men were in you,

caulking your seams;

all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you,

to barter for your wares.

10 “Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war; they hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor. ¹¹The men of Arvad and He'lech^g were upon your walls round about, and men of Ga'mad were in your towers; they hung their shields upon your walls round about; they made perfect your beauty.

12 “Tar'shish trafficked with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares. ¹³Ja'van, Tu'bal, and Me'shech traded with you; they exchanged the persons of men and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. ¹⁴Beth''-togar'mah exchanged for your wares horses, war horses, and mules. ¹⁵The men of Rhodes^h traded with you; many islands were your own special markets, they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony. ¹⁶E'domⁱ trafficked with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and agate. ¹⁷Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat, olives and early figs,^j honey, oil, and balm. ¹⁸Damascus trafficked with you for your abundant goods, because of your great wealth of every kind; wine of Helbon, and white wool, ¹⁹and wine^k from U'zal they exchanged for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were bartered for your merchandise. ²⁰De'dan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding. ²¹Arabia and all the princes of Ke'dar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they trafficked with you. ²²The traders of Sheba and Ra'amah traded with you; they exchanged for your wares the best of all kinds of spices, and all precious stones, and gold. ²³Haran, Canneh, Eden,^l Asshur, and Chil'mad traded with you. ²⁴These traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of blue and embroidered work, and in carpets of colored stuff, bound with cords and made secure; in these they traded with you.^{m 25}The ships of Tar'shish traveled for you with your merchandise.ⁿ

“So you were filled and heavily laden

in the heart of the seas.

²⁶Your rowers have brought you out

into the high seas.

The east wind has wrecked you

in the heart of the seas.

²⁷Your riches, your wares, your merchandise,

your mariners and your pilots,

your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,

and all your men of war who are in you,

with all your company

that is in your midst,

sink into the heart of the seas

on the day of your ruin.

²⁸At the sound of the cry of your pilots

the countryside shakes,

²⁹and down from their ships

come all that handle the oar.

The mariners and all the pilots of the sea

stand on the shore

³⁰and wail aloud over you,

and cry bitterly.

They cast dust on their heads

and wallow in ashes;

³¹they make themselves bald for you,

and put on sackcloth,

and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,

with bitter mourning.

³²In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you,

and lament over you:

‘Who was ever destroyed^o like Tyre

in the midst of the sea?

³³When your wares came from the seas,

you satisfied many peoples;

with your abundant wealth and merchandise

you enriched the kings of the earth.

³⁴Now you are wrecked by the seas,

in the depths of the waters;

your merchandise and all your crew

have sunk with you.

³⁵All the inhabitants of the islands

are appalled at you;

and their kings are horribly afraid,

their faces are convulsed.

³⁶The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;

you have come to a dreadful end

and shall be no more for ever.’”

“Because your heart is proud,

and you have said, ‘I am a god,

I sit in the seat of the gods,

in the heart of the seas,’

yet you are but a man, and no god,

though you consider yourself as wise as a god—

³you are indeed wiser than Daniel;

no secret is hidden from you;

⁴by your wisdom and your understanding

you have gotten wealth for yourself,

and have gathered gold and silver

into your treasuries;

⁵by your great wisdom in trade

you have increased your wealth,

and your heart has become proud in your wealth—

⁶therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

“Because you consider yourself

as wise as a god,

⁷therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you,

the most terrible of the nations;

and they shall draw their swords

against the beauty of your wisdom

and defile your splendor.

⁸They shall thrust you down into the Pit,

and you shall die the death of the slain

in the heart of the seas.

⁹Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’

in the presence of those who slay you,

though you are but a man, and no god,

in the hands of those who wound you?

¹⁰You shall die the death of the uncircumcised