Ezekiel chapter 1
The vision of divine glory
1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
2 In the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, on the fifth day of the month,
3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Kebar River; the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
4 I looked, and behold, a stormy wind was coming out of the north, an enormous cloud with flashing fire and brightness around it. In the midst of the fire was something like glowing metal,
5 and in the midst of it was the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
6 Each one had four faces and four wings.
7 Their feet were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of a calf’s feet. and they glittered like burnished bronze.
8 Under their wings, on their four sides, they had human hands; and their faces and wings were on their four sides.
9 Their wings touched one another. They did not turn as they went, but each one went straight ahead.
10 As for the appearance of their faces, each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side of each of the four was the face of an ox, and on the left side of each of the four was the face of an eagle.
11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above them, each one with two wings touching one another, and the other two covering their bodies.
12 Each one went straight ahead; wherever the spirit would go, they went, and as they went, they did not turn.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the vision of burning torches moving among the living creatures; And the fire was bright, and out of the fire came flashes of lightning.
14 The living creatures darted back and forth like flashes of lightning.
15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside the living creatures on each of the four sides.
16 The wheels looked like beryl and were made like the color of silver. All four had the same appearance; they were like wheels within wheels.
17 When they moved, they went in any of their four directions; they did not turn as they moved.
18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose with them.
20 Wherever the spirit moved them to go, they went; wherever the spirit moved them to go, the wheels also rose up along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
21 When they moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped, the wheels stopped; likewise, when they rose from the ground, the wheels rose after them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Above the heads of the living creatures was an expanse like marvelous crystal, stretched out above their heads.
23 Under the expanse their wings were extended straight out toward each other, and each creature had two wings covering its body.
24 I heard the sound of their wings as they moved, like the sound of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the sound of a multitude, like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
25 When they stood still and lowered their wings, a voice came from above the expanse over their heads.
26 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne made of sapphire stone, and sitting on the throne was what appeared to be a man.
27 From what appeared to be his waist upward, I saw something like gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire within it all around. From his loins down, I saw something like fire, with radiance all around him.
28 Like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance all around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Ezekiel Chapter 2
Ezekiel's Call
1 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet, and I will speak to you.”
2 And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have rebelled against me to this very day.
4 I am sending you to a stubborn and hard-hearted people. You are to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’
5 Whether they listen or not, because they are a rebellious people, they will know that a prophet has been among them.
6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words, though briers and thorns are all around you and scorpions swarm around you. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.
7 But speak my words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are a rebellious people.”
8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.
9 Then I looked, and behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and in it was a scroll.
10 He unrolled it before me, and it was written on both sides; and on it were written lamentations, mourning, and woes.
Ezekiel Chapter 3
1 He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go and speak to the house of Israel.”
2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 Then he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak to them with my words.
5 For you are not being sent to a people of obscure speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel—
6 not to many peoples of obscure speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Even if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.
7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to me; for all the house of Israel is stubborn and hard-hearted.
8 See, I have set your face against their faces, your forehead against their foreheads.”
9 Like a diamond, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not fear them, nor be terrified before them, for they are a rebellious house.
10 Then he said to me, “Son of man, take to heart all my words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.
11 Go and enter the captives, the children of your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”
12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a voice of great noise, saying, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place!”
13 I also heard the sound of the wings of the living creatures joining one to another, and the sound of the wheels before them, and a great noise.
14 Then the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the indignation of my spirit, but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.
15 Then I came to the captives at Tel-abib, who dwelt by the river Chebar, and sat where they sat, and remained there seven days astonished among them.
The Watchtower of Israel
16 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. So hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their wicked ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or their evil ways, they will die for their sin, but you will have saved yourself.”
20 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die, because you did not warn them. They will die in their sin, and the righteous things they have done will not be remembered; but I will hold you accountable for their blood.
21 But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and they do not sin, they will surely live, because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.
The silent prophet
22 There the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he said to me, “Arise, go out into the field, and there I will speak with you.”
23 So I arose and went out into the field, and behold, the glory of the Lord was there, like the glory that I had seen by the Kebar River; and I fell on my face.
24 Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and he spoke to me and said, “Go in, shut yourself inside your house.
25 And you, O son of man, behold, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you may not go out among them.
26 And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be mute, and you will not be able to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I have spoken to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: Let him who hears, hear; and let him who will not hear, refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.”
Ezekiel Chapter 4
Prediction of the Siege of Jerusalem
1 You, son of man, take a clay tablet and set it before you, and draw on it the outline of the city of Jerusalem.
2 Lay siege to it, build a fortress against it, raise up siege ramps against it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams all around it.
3 Take also an iron plate and put it in place of an iron wall between you and the city; set your face against it, and it will be in place of a siege wall, and you will besiege it. It will be a sign to the house of Israel.
4 You will lie on your left side and bear the guilt of the house of Israel on it. For as many days as you lie on it, you will bear their guilt.
5 I have assigned you the years of their guilt, according to the number of days, 390 days; so you will bear the guilt of the house of Israel.
6 When you have completed these days, you shall lie on your right side a second time, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days; a day for each year, a day for each year I have assigned you.
7 You shall set your face against the siege of Jerusalem, and with your arm uncovered, you shall prophesy against it.
8 And behold, I have put bonds upon you, and you shall not turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.
9 And you shall take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them in a vessel, and make bread of them for the number of days that you lie on your side; 390 days you shall eat of it.
10 The food that you shall eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; you shall eat it from time to time.
11 And you shall drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; you shall drink it from time to time.
12 And you shall eat barley bread baked under the ashes; and you shall cook it in their sight over a fire of human excrement.
13 Then the Lord said, “Thus the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations where I will drive them.”
14 I said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord! I am not defiled. From my youth until now, I have never eaten anything that died of itself or was torn by wild animals, nor has any unclean meat ever entered my mouth.”
15 He said to me, “I will allow you to use cow dung instead of human excrement to bake your bread.”
16 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat bread by weight with anxiety and drink water by measure with dismay,
17 so that when bread and water are gone, they will look at one another in dismay and waste away in their wickedness.”
Ezekiel Chapter 5
1 And you, son of man, take a sharp knife, take a barber’s razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take a pair of scales and divide the hair.
2 One-third you shall burn with fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed; and you shall take another third and cut it off with the sword all around the city; and you shall scatter another third to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
3 You shall also take a few of them and bind them in the hem of your garment.
4 And you shall take some of them again and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; from there the fire will go out to all the house of Israel.
5 Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem, whom I have set in the midst of the nations and the lands all around her.
6 And she changed my decrees and my ordinances into wickedness more than the nations and more than the lands that are around her; because they rejected my decrees and my commandments, and did not walk in them.
7 Therefore, thus says the Lord: “Because you have multiplied more than the nations that are around you, have you not walked in my commandments or kept my laws? You have not even walked according to the laws of the nations that are around you.”
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you; even I am, and I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations.
9 And I will do to you what I have never done, nor will I ever do anything like it again, because of all your abominations.
10 Therefore, fathers will eat their children in your midst, and children will eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you, and I will scatter to all the winds all that is left of you.
11 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, surely because you have profaned my sanctuary with all your abominations, I will also break you; My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity.
12 A third of you will die of pestilence and be consumed by famine in your midst; a third will fall by the sword all around you; and a third I will scatter to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
13 My anger will be fulfilled, and I will satisfy my wrath on them and take revenge; and they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my zeal, when I have fulfilled my wrath on them.
14 I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of every passerby.
15 You will be a reproach and a scorn, a warning and a horror to the nations around you, when I execute judgments on you in fury and indignation, and in wrathful rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken.
16 When I send down upon them the deadly arrows of famine, which will bring destruction, which I will send to destroy you, then I will increase the famine upon you and break your supply of bread.
17 I will send upon you famine and wild beasts to destroy you; pestilence and bloodshed will pass through your midst, and I will send the sword upon you. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Ezekiel Chapter 6
Prophecy against the mountains of Israel
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “ Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them.
3 Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I, even I, am going to bring a sword against you and destroy your high places.
4 Your altars will be desolate, and your sun images will be broken. I will make your slain fall before your idols.
5 I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites before their idols and scatter their bones all around your altars.
6 Wherever you live, your cities will be laid waste, and your high places will be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and desolate.’” Your idols will be broken and destroyed, your sun images will be shattered, and your works will be undone.
7 The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.
8 But I will leave a remnant among the nations, some who will escape the sword when you are scattered throughout the lands.
9 Those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are taken captive, for I grieved over their unwhoreish hearts that turned away from me and their eyes that played the harlot after their idols. They will be ashamed of themselves because of the evil they have done in all their abominations.
10 Then they will know that I am the Lord; I did not say in vain that I would bring this disaster on them.
11 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands and stamp your foot, and cry out, “Alas, because of all the great abominations of the house of Israel!” For they shall fall by sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
12 Those who are far away will die of pestilence, those who are near will fall by the sword, and those who remain and are besieged will die of famine; thus I will vent my wrath on them.
13 And you will know that I am the Lord, when their slain lie among their idols, around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and under every thick oak, the places where they offered incense to all their idols.
14 I will stretch out my hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land more desolate and devastated than the desert toward Diblath; and they will know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel Chapter 7
The end is coming
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “ Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: ‘The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
3 Now the end will come upon you, and I will unleash my wrath upon you and judge you according to your ways. I will repay you for all your detestable practices.
4 My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity. I will repay you for your ways, and your detestable practices will be in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
’ 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Disaster! See, disaster is coming!
6 The end is coming! The end has roused itself against you; see, it is coming!
7 The morning has come for you, inhabitants of the land; the time has come, the day is near—a day of tumult, not of joy, on the mountains.
8 Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you and fulfill my anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways; I will repay you with your abominations.
9 My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity. I will repay you according to your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am the one who punishes.
10 Behold, the day is coming! The morning has dawned; the rod has blossomed, pride has budded.
11 Violence has risen up as a rod of wickedness. None of them will be left, nor any of their multitude, nor any of their followers, nor will there be anyone among them to mourn.
12 The time has come, the day is at hand. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor let the seller mourn, for wrath is upon the whole multitude.
13 For the seller will not return to what he sold, even if some remain alive. The vision concerning the whole multitude will not be revoked, and because of their iniquity, no one will be able to save his life.
14 They will sound the trumpet and prepare everything, but no one will go to battle, for my wrath is upon the entire army.
15 Outside, the sword; inside, pestilence and famine. Those in the field will die by the sword, and those in the city will be consumed by famine and pestilence.
16 Those who escape will flee and be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each for their own sin.
17 Every hand will become feeble, and every knee will be as soft as water.
18 They will also put on sackcloth and terror will cover them; shame will be on every face, and all their heads will be shaven.
19 They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be rejected. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, for it has been a stumbling block to their wickedness.
20 Because they turned the glory of their ornaments into pride, and made of them the images of their abominable idols, therefore I made them repulsive.
21 I handed them over to be plundered by strangers, and they will be prey to the wicked of the earth, and they will defile them.
22 I will turn my face away from them, and my secret place will be violated; for invaders will enter it and defile it.
23 Make a chain, for the land is full of bloodguilt, and the city is full of violence.
24 Therefore I will bring the most wicked of the nations, and they will possess their houses; I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their sanctuaries will be defiled.
25 Destruction is coming; and they will seek peace, but there will be none.
26 Rumor will come upon ruin, and rumor upon rumor; They will seek answers from the prophet, but the law will depart from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
27 The king will mourn, and the prince will be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble; I will deal with them according to their ways, and I will judge them according to their judgments; and they will know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel Chapter 8
Vision of the abominations in Jerusalem
1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, and there the hand of the Lord God rested upon me.
2 And I looked, and behold, a figure like that of a man; from his waist down, fire; and from his waist up, brightness, the appearance of gleaming bronze.
3 And the figure stretched out his hand and took me by the locks of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between heaven and earth, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner gate that faces north, where the dwelling place of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was.
4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, just as the vision that I had seen in the field.
5 And he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” Then I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, to the north, by the door of the altar, stood the image of jealousy at the entrance.
6 Then he said to me, “Son of man, do you not see what these people are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is doing here to drive me far from my sanctuary? But turn again, and you will see even greater abominations.”
7 Then he brought me to the entrance of the court, and I looked, and behold, there was a hole in the wall.
8 And he said to me, “Son of man, dig now in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, a door.
9 Then he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked abominations that they are doing there.”
10 So I went in and looked, and behold, all kinds of creeping things and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, were depicted on the wall all around.
11 And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan in their midst, each with his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense ascended.
12 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen the things that the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each in his room of images? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’”
13 Then he said to me, “Turn again, and you will see even greater abominations that they are doing.”
14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord’s house, and there were women sitting and wailing for Tammuz.
15 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see this? Turn around and you will see even greater abominations than these.”
16 He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house, and there at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, bowing down to the sun.
17 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see this? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to commit these abominations they are doing here? After they have filled the land with wickedness, they have turned back to provoke me to anger. Look, they are putting the branch to their noses!
18 Therefore I also will act in fury; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. They will shout in my ears with a loud voice, but I will not hear them.
Ezekiel Chapter 9
Vision of the death of the guilty
1 He cried out in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “The executioners of the city have come, and each one has his weapon of destruction in his hand.”
2 And behold, six men were coming from the direction of the upper gate that faces north, each one having his weapon of destruction in his hand. And among them was a man clothed in linen, who had a scribe’s inkhorn at his side. And they went in and stood by the bronze altar.
3 Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherubim, over which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And the Lord called to the man clothed in linen, who had the scribe’s inkhorn at his side,
4 and the Lord said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”
5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and kill; do not spare, do not have pity.
6 Kill old men, young men, virgins, children, and women, until none are left. But do not go near anyone on whom is the mark, and begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
7 Then he said to them, “Defile the house and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” So they went out and killed in the city.
8 As they were killing, I was left alone, and I fell on my face and cried out, “Ah, Lord God! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel by pouring out your wrath on Jerusalem?”
9 He said to me, “The wickedness of the house of Israel and of Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of wickedness; because they have said, “The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.”
10 So I will do; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will make them pay for their own ways.
11 And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, answered, saying, “I have done according to all that you commanded me.”
Ezekiel Chapter 10
The glory of God leaves the temple
1 I looked, and behold, in the expanse above the heads of the cherubim there was something like a sapphire stone, in the likeness of a throne, which appeared above them.
2 And he spoke to the man clothed in linen, and said to him, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherubim, and fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” So he went in before my eyes.
3 Now the cherubim were on the right side of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court.
4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim to the threshold of the gate; and the temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord.
5 And 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 So it came to pass, when he had commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim,” that he went in and stood between the wheels.
7 And a cherub stretched out his hand from the midst of the cherubim to the fire that was between them, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
8 And there appeared before the cherubim the likeness of a human hand under their wings.
9 And I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like that of beryl.
10 As for their appearance, all four were of the same form, as though one were in the midst of another.
11 When they moved, they went in any of the four directions; they did not turn as they moved, but wherever the first turned, they went after it; nor did they turn as they moved.
12 Its whole body, its back, its hands, its wings, and its four wheels were covered with eyes all around.
13 When I heard it, people called out to the wheels, “Wheel!”
14 Each wheel had four faces: the first was the face of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 Then the cherubim stood up—this was the living creature I had seen by the river Chebar.
16 Whenever the cherubim moved, the wheels moved with them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side.
17 When they stood still, the wheels stood still, and when they rose, the wheels rose with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
18 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.
19 The cherubim lifted their wings and rose from the ground before my eyes. As they went out, the wheels also rose beside them, and they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s temple, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
20 These were the same living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I knew that they were cherubim.
21 Each one had four faces and four wings, and under their wings were what looked like human hands.
22 Their faces were like the faces I had seen by the Kebar River, and their appearance and form were identical. Each one went straight forward.
Ezekiel Chapter 11
Rebuke of the wicked princes
1 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s house, which faces east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
2 He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked counsel in this city.
3 They say, ‘It will not be so soon; let us build houses. This will be the pot, and we the meat.’
4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man.”
5 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he said to me, “Say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “This is what you have said, people of Israel, and I understand the things that come into your minds.
6 You have multiplied your slain in this city and filled its streets with the dead.”’”
7 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Your dead, whom you have placed in the midst of it, are the meat, and it is the pot; but I will bring you out of the midst of it.
8 You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Sovereign Lord.
9 I will bring you out of the midst of it and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and I will execute judgments among you.
10 You shall fall by the sword; at the border of Israel I will judge you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
11 The city shall not be your pot, nor shall you be the meat in its midst; at the border of Israel I will judge you.
12 And you shall know that I am the Lord, because you have not walked in my statutes nor obeyed my decrees, but have done according to the customs of the nations that surround you.
13 And it came to pass, as I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown to the ground and cried out with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will you utterly destroy the remnant of Israel?”
Promise of restoration and renewal
14 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
15 “ Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, and all the house of Israel—all of them—are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, ‘Go far from the Lord; the land has been given to us as our possession.’
16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I have driven them far away among the nations and scattered them throughout the countries, yet I will be a little sanctuary for them in the lands where they go.’”
17 Therefore say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel.
18 They will return there and remove from it all its idols and all its detestable practices.
19 I will give them one heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,
20 so that they may follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.
21 But as for those whose hearts are set on their idols and detestable practices, I will bring their own ways down on their own heads,’ declares the Sovereign Lord.”
22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels followed them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
23 Then the glory of the Lord departed from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain east of the city.
24 And the Spirit lifted me up again, and I was brought in a vision by the Spirit of God to the land of the Chaldeans, to the exiles. And the vision that I had seen departed from me.
25 And I told the exiles all that the Lord had shown me.
Ezekiel Chapter 12
Ezekiel's departure as a sign of captivity
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “ Son of man, you live among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.
3 Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for departure and set out by day before their eyes. Move from your place to another place in their sight, in case they may pay attention, for they are a rebellious people.
4 Bring out your belongings by day before their eyes, like belongings for exile, but go out in the evening before their eyes, like one going into exile.
5 Before their eyes, break through a wall and go out through it.
6 Carry them on your shoulders before their eyes and bring them out by night. Cover your face and do not look at the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”
7 So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, like belongings of captivity, and in the evening I broke through the wall with my own hand; I went out at night, and carried them on my shoulders in their sight.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me in the morning, saying,
9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’
10 Tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’
11 Tell them, ‘I am a sign to you; as I have done, so it will be done to you; you will go into exile, into captivity.’
12 And the prince who is in their midst they will carry on their shoulders at night, and they will go out; they will break through the wall to bring him out through it; he will cover his face so that he will not see the land with his eyes.
13 But I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.
14 And all who were around him to help him, and all his troops, I will scatter to the winds, and I will draw out my sword after them.
15 And they will know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the earth.
16 And I will cause a few of them to escape the sword, the famine, and the plague, so that they may recount all their abominations among the nations where they go; and they will know that I am the Lord.
17 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
18 “ Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with trembling and anxiety.
19And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fear, and drink their water with dread; for their land shall be stripped of its fullness, because of the wickedness of all who dwell in it.
20 The inhabited cities will be deserted, and the land will be desolate; then you will know that I am the Lord.
21 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
22 “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision comes to nothing’?
23 Therefore tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer use this proverb in Israel.’ Tell them, ‘The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.’
24 For there will no longer be false visions or flattering divinations among the house of Israel.
25 For I, the Lord, will speak, and the word that I speak will be fulfilled; it will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak a word and fulfill it, declares the Lord God.
26 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
27 “ Son of man, the people of Israel are saying, ‘This man’s vision is for many days from now; he prophesies of a distant future.’
28 Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; what I speak will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Ezekiel Chapter 13
Condemnation of false prophets
1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 “ Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of the Lord.’
3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
4 Your prophets, Israel, are like foxes in the desert.
5 You have not gone up to the breaches, nor have you built a wall around the house of Israel to stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord.
6 They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, “The Lord has spoken,” when the Lord has not sent them; yet they expect him to fulfill their own words.
7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations, saying, “The Lord has spoken,” when I have not spoken?’”
8 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken falsehood and seen lies, therefore I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord.
9 My hand will be against the prophets who see falsehood and divine lies; they will not be in the assembly of my people, nor will they be written in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they return to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.
10 Yes, because they misled my people, saying, “Peace,” when there was no peace; and while one was building a wall, others plastered it with whitewash.
11 Tell those who plastered it with whitewash that it will fall! A torrential downpour will come, and I will send hailstones that will cause it to fall, and a tempestuous wind will break it.
12 And when the wall has fallen down, will they not say to you, “Where is the whitewash with which you plastered it?”
13 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will unleash a stormy wind in my anger, and torrential rain will come in my fury, and hailstones in my wrath to destroy it.
14 I will break down the wall you plastered with whitewash, and I will throw it to the ground. Its foundation will be exposed, and it will fall, and you will be consumed in its midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
15 I will vent my anger on the wall and on those who plastered it with whitewash, and I will say to you, “The wall is no more, nor are those who plastered it,”
16 the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem and see visions of peace for it, when there is no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.
17 And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own minds, and prophesy against them,
18 and say, “Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those who sew magic bandages on all wrists and make magic veils for the heads of all ages, to ensnare souls! Will you ensnare the souls of my people to keep yourselves alive?
19 Will you profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread, killing those who should not die and keeping alive those who should not live, lying to my people who listen to lies?
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your magic bandages with which you ensnare souls in flight; I will deliver them from your hands, and I will set free, so that they may fly like birds, the souls you ensnare in flight.
21 I will also tear off your magic veils, and I will deliver my people from your hand, and they will no longer be prey in your hand; and you will know that I am the Lord.”
22 Because you have saddened the heart of the righteous with lies, whom I have not saddened, and have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his evil way, by encouraging him,
23 therefore you will no longer see false visions, nor practice divination; and I will deliver my people from your hand, and you will know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel Chapter 14
Judgment against the idolaters who consult the prophet
1 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.
2 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
3 “ Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I at all be consulted by them?
4 Therefore speak to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Any Israelite who sets up idols in his heart and puts wicked stumbling blocks before his face, and then comes to a prophet, I, the Lord, will answer him according to the multitude of his idols,
5 to take hold of the hearts of the Israelites, because they have all turned away from me for their idols.’
6 Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your detestable practices.’”
7 For any man of the house of Israel, or of the foreigners who sojourn in Israel, who turns aside from walking after me, and sets up idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet to inquire of me, I, the Lord, will answer him myself.
8 I will set my face against that man, and make him a sign and a warning, and I will cut him off from among my people; and you shall know that I am the Lord.
9 But if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet; and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.
10 And they shall both bear the punishment for their iniquity; as the iniquity of the one who inquires, so shall the iniquity of the prophet be,
11 so that the house of Israel may not turn aside again from following me, nor defile themselves any more in all their transgressions; «Let them be my people, and I will be their God,» declares the Lord God.
Justice of the punishment of Jerusalem
12 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
13 “ Son of man, when a land sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its staff of bread, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it both man and beast,
14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.
15 And if I cause wild beasts to pass through the land and they ravage it, and it becomes so desolate that no one can pass through because of the beasts,
16 even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither their sons nor their daughters; they alone would be delivered, and the land would become desolate.”
17 Or if I bring a sword upon the land, and say, “Sword, pass through the land!” and cut off from it man and beast,
18 and these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would not deliver their sons or their daughters; they alone would be delivered.
19 Or if I send a plague upon that land and pour out my wrath upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast,
20 and Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would not deliver son or daughter; they would deliver only their own lives by their righteousness.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord God: How much more, when I send against Jerusalem my four terrible judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—to cut off from it man and beast?
22 Yet behold, a remnant will be left in it, sons and daughters, who will be carried out; Behold, they will come to you, and you will see their ways and their deeds, and you will be comforted concerning the evil I brought upon Jerusalem, concerning all the things I brought upon it.
23 And they will comfort you when you see their ways and their deeds, and you will know that I did not do all that I have done in it without cause, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel Chapter 15
Jerusalem is like a useless vine
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 “ Son of man, what is the wood of the vine more than any other wood? What is a branch among the trees of the forest?
3 Can they take timber from it to make anything? Can they take a peg from it to hang anything on it?
4 Look, it is thrown into the fire to be consumed; the fire has consumed both ends, and the middle is burned up. Is it good for anything?
5 Look, when it was whole it was good for nothing. How much less after the fire has consumed it and it is burned up? Is it good for anything?”
6 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I gave to the fire to be consumed, so will I do to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7 I will set my face against them; though they escaped the fire, fire will consume them. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them.
8 I will make the land a desolation, because they have committed transgression, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel Chapter 16
Jerusalem's infidelity
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “ Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations,
3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning Jerusalem: Your origin and birth were in the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite.
4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.
5 No eye had compassion on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out upon the open field, despised of your life, on the day you were born.
6 And I passed by you, and saw you afflicted in your blood, and when you were in your blood I said to you, “Live!” Yes, I said to you, when you were in your blood, “Live!”
7 I made you multiply like the grass of the field; You grew up and became tall, and you became very beautiful; your breasts had formed, and your hair had grown long; but you were naked and bare.
8 Then I passed by you again and looked at you, and behold, your time was the time for love; so I spread my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.
9 I washed you with water and washed your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.
10 I clothed you with embroidered garments, shod you with fine leather, girded you with linen, and covered you with silk.
11 I adorned you with ornaments, and put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck.
12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful diadem on your head.
13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered work; You ate fine wheat flour, honey, and oil; and you became exceedingly beautiful, and prospered until you became a queen.
14 Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty; for it was perfect, because of the splendor I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.
15 But you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot because of your fame, and you lavished your prostitution on all who passed by; you were theirs.
16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself various high places and played the harlot on them. Such a thing has never happened before, nor will it ever happen again.
17 You also took your beautiful jewelry of gold and silver that I had given you and made male images for yourself and played the harlot with them.
18 You took your garments of various colors and covered them, and you set my oil and incense before them.
19My bread also, which I had given you, the fine flour, the oil, and the honey with which I fed you, you set before them as a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God.
20 Moreover, you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne to me and sacrificed them to them to be consumed. Were your fornications a small matter,
21 that you also slaughtered my children and offered them to those idols as an offering to be consumed by fire?
22 And in all your abominations and your fornications, you have not remembered the days of your youth, when you were naked and exposed, when you were covered in your own blood.
23 And it came to pass, after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God),
24 that you built yourself high places and made yourself an altar in every public square.
25 At every crossroads you built a high place and made your beauty abominable, offering yourself to all who passed by and multiplying your acts of prostitution.
26 You committed adultery with the Egyptians, your neighbors, who were fat, and you increased your acts of prostitution to provoke me to anger.
27 Therefore, behold, I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your regular provision, and I gave you over to the desire of the daughters of the Philistines, who hate you, who are ashamed of your depraved ways.
28 You also committed adultery with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; you committed adultery with them, and still you were not satisfied.
29 You also multiplied your acts of adultery in the land of Canaan and the Chaldeans, and even then you were not satisfied.
30 “How fickle your heart is,” declares the Lord God, “having done all these things, the works of a shameless prostitute,
31 building your high places at every street corner and erecting altars in every public square. You were not like a prostitute, in that you despised her wages,
32 but like an adulterous woman, who receives strangers instead of her husband.
33 Gifts are given to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers and bestowed presents upon them, so that they might come to you from every direction in your prostitution.”
34 And it has happened with you in your prostitution, the opposite of other women: for no one has solicited you for prostitution, and you pay instead of receiving; therefore you have been different.
35 Therefore, you whore, hear the word of the Lord.
36 Thus says the Lord God: Because your nakedness has been exposed in your prostitution, and your shame has been revealed to your lovers, and to the idols of your abominations, and in the blood of your children whom you gave them;
37 Therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, and all those you loved, with all those you hated; and I will gather them around you and uncover your nakedness to them, and they shall see all your nakedness.
38 And I will judge you according to the laws of adulteresses and of those who shed blood; and I will bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy.
39 And I will deliver you into their hands; and they shall destroy your high places and tear down your altars, and strip you of your garments, and take away your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and uncovered.
40 They will bring up a mob against you, and they will stone you and pierce you with their swords.
41 They will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments on you in the presence of many women. So I will put an end to your prostitution and your lavish gifts.
42 I will satisfy my anger against you, and my jealousy will turn away from you; I will rest and be angry no more.
43 Because you did not remember the days of your youth and provoked me to anger in all this, therefore I will bring your ways upon your own head, declares the Sovereign Lord, for you have not even considered all your lust.
44 Everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb against you: “Like mother, like daughter.”
45 You are your mother’s daughter, who rejected her husband and her children; and you are your sister’s sister, who rejected their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
46 Your older sister is Samaria, she and her daughters, who live to the north of you; and your younger sister is Sodom with her daughters, who live to the south of you.
47 You did not walk in their ways or do any of their abominations. On the contrary, you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.
48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters did not do as you and your daughters did.
49 Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
50 They were arrogant and did detestable things in my sight, so when I saw it, I removed them.
51 Samaria did not commit half of your sins; For you multiplied your abominations more than they did, and you have justified your sisters by all the abominations you committed.
52 You also, who judged your sisters, bear your shame for the sins you committed, which are more abominable than theirs. They are more righteous than you; be ashamed, therefore, and bear your disgrace, for you have justified your sisters.
53 I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore the fortunes of your captivity among them,
54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done, since you have been a comfort to them.
55 And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state; you also and your daughters will return to your former state.
56 Was your sister Sodom not worthy of mention in your mouth in the times of your pride,
57before your wickedness was discovered. So now you also bear the reproach of the daughters of Syria and all the daughters of the Philistines, who despise you on every side.
58 You must bear the punishment for your lust and your abominations, declares the Lord.
59 But the Lord God says: Will I do to you as you have done, who despised the oath to break the covenant?
60 But I will remember my covenant that I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.
61 You will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and younger sisters, whom I will give to you as daughters, not because of your covenant,
62 but because of my covenant that I will confirm with you. Then you will know that I am the Lord;
63 so that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth again, because of your shame, when I forgive all that you have done, says the Lord God.
Ezekiel Chapter 17
Parable of the Eagles and the Vine
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “ Son of man, set forth a riddle, and make up a parable for the house of Israel.
3 And you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle, with great wings and long limbs, full of feathers of various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of a cedar.
4 It plucked off the topmost shoot of it and carried it to a land of merchants, and planted it in a city of traders.
5 It also took some of the seed of the land and sowed it in good ground, and planted it by abundant waters, and made it like a willow.
6 And it sprouted and became a vine with many branches, though short in stature, and its branches looked up to the eagle, and its roots were under it; so it became a vine, and put forth branches and sprouted shoots.
7 There was also another great eagle, with great wings and many feathers; And behold, this vine drew its roots close to it and spread out its branches toward it, to be watered by it through the furrows of its planting.
8 In a good field, beside abundant water, it was planted, to produce branches and bear fruit, and to become a robust vine.
9 Tell them, Thus says the Lord God: Will it prosper? Will it not uproot itself, destroy its fruit, and wither? All its green leaves will wither; and this without great power or many people to uproot it.
10 And behold, it is planted; will it prosper? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it? In the furrows of its verdure it will wither.
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
12 Say now to the rebellious house, “Have you not understood what these things mean?” Tell them: “Look, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took your king and his princes and carried them off to Babylon. He
also took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him and made him swear an oath. He also took the most powerful men of the land with him, so that the kingdom might be brought low and never rise again, but would remain standing by keeping the covenant. But he rebelled against him, sending ambassadors to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will he escape? Will he who has done these things escape? Will he who has broken the covenant escape? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, he will die in Babylon, in the place where the king who made him king lives, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke.” 17 And Pharaoh with neither a great army nor a great company will be able to do anything for him in battle, when walls are set up and towers are built to cut off many lives.
18 Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, when behold, he had given his hand, and has done all these things, he shall not escape.
19 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will bring down on his own head the oath he has despised and the covenant he has broken.
20 I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, and there I will put him on trial for his treachery, by which he has rebelled against me.
21 All his fugitives and all his troops will fall by the sword, and those who remain will be scattered to the four winds. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.
22 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take a shoot from the top of a tall cedar and plant it; from its topmost branch I will cut a sprig and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23 On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it; it will put forth branches and bear fruit and become a magnificent cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it; They will dwell in the shade of its branches.
24 And all the trees of the field will know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree, made the low tree grow tall, dried up the green tree, and made the dry tree flourish. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.
Ezekiel Chapter 18
The soul that sins will die.
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
3 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer use this proverb in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine; the soul who sins shall die.
5 And if a man is righteous and does what is just and right—
6 who does not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, who does not defile his neighbor’s wife or have sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual impurity,
7 or oppress anyone— who returns to the debtor his pledge, who does not commit robbery, and who gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing,
8 who does not lend at interest or take usury; who withholds his hand from wickedness, and executes true justice between man and man,
9 who walks in my statutes and keeps my ordinances to do righteousness, he is righteous; he shall live, says the Lord God.
10 But if he fathers a son who is a robber, a sheder of blood, or who does any of these things,
11 and does not do the others, but eats on the mountains, or violates his neighbor’s wife,
12 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not return the pledge, or lifts up his eyes to idols and commits abomination,
13 lends at interest and takes usury; shall he live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; He shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
14 But if this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has committed, and seeing them does not do likewise;
15 does not eat at the mountain shrines, nor lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; does not defile his neighbor’s wife,
16 nor oppress anyone, does not withhold a pledge, nor commit robbery; gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with clothing;
17 withholds his hand from the poor, does not take interest or usury; keeps my statutes and walks in my ordinances; this man shall not die for the iniquity of his father; he shall surely live.
18 His father, because he committed wickedness, and robbed his brother, and did what was not good in the midst of his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
19 And if you say, “Why should the son not bear the guilt of his father?” Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes and obeyed them, he shall surely live.
20The soul who sins shall die; the son shall not bear the sin of the father, nor the father bear the sin of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
God's way is righteous
21 But if the wicked person turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.
22 None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him; because of the righteous things he has done, he will live.
23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
24 But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, doing all the detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things they have done will be remembered. Because of the transgression they have committed and the sin they have committed, they will die.
25 And though you say, “The way of the Lord is not just,” hear now, you people of Israel: Is my way not just? Are your ways not crooked?
26 When a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits iniquity, they will die for it; because of the iniquity they have committed, they will die.
27 But when a wicked person turns from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life.
28 Because they have looked and turned away from all the transgressions they had committed, they will surely live; they will not die.
29 Though the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is not just,” are my ways not just, O house of Israel? Indeed your ways are not just.
30 Therefore I will judge each of you according to your ways, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all the transgressions you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?
32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; repent therefore, and live.
Ezekiel Chapter 19
Lament over the princes of Israel
1 And you, raise up a lament concerning the princes of Israel.
2 You shall say: “How your mother, the lioness, lay down among the lions! She raised her cubs among the young lions,
3 and made one of her cubs come up; it became a young lion and learned to tear apart its prey and devour men.
4 And the nations heard of it; he was taken into their trap, and they brought him in chains to the land of Egypt.
5 When she saw that she had waited a long time, and that her hope was failing, she took another of her cubs and made it a young lion.
6 And it went among the lions; it became a young lion and learned to tear apart its prey; it devoured men.
7 It plundered strongholds and laid waste cities; and the land and all that was in it were laid waste at the sound of its roaring.
8 The people of the surrounding provinces rushed upon him, and spread their net over him, and he was taken captive in the pit.
9 They put him in a cage and led him away in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they put him in the fortresses, so that his voice would no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine in the midst of a vineyard, planted by the waters, bearing fruit and putting forth branches because of the abundant water.
11 She had strong branches like a king’s scepter; her stature grew high above the boughs, and she was seen because of her height and the multitude of her branches.
12 But she was uprooted in anger, thrown down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit; her strong branches were broken off and withered; fire consumed them.
13 And now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and parched land.
14 And fire has come out from the shaft of its branches, which has consumed its fruit, and there is no strong shaft left in it to be a king’s scepter. This is a lament, and it will be used as a lament.
Ezekiel Chapter 20
God's way of dealing with Israel
1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me.
2 The word of the Lord came to me:
3 “ Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not answer you,” declares the Sovereign Lord.
4 “Do you want to judge them? Do you want to judge them, son of man? Make them aware of the abominations of their ancestors,
5 and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose Israel and swore an oath to the descendants of Jacob, when I revealed myself to them in Egypt, when I swore an oath to them, saying, “I am the Lord your God;
6 On that day I raised my hand to them, swearing that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into the land I had provided for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
7 Then I said to them, “Each of you must rid yourselves of the detestable things that are in your sight, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
8 But they rebelled against me and refused to obey me. Each of them did not rid himself of the detestable things that were in his sight, nor did he forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said that I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger on them in the land of Egypt.
9 Nevertheless, for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I was known, I acted to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
10 I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.
11 I gave them my statutes and made known to them my decrees, by which a person will live if they obey them.
12 I also gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between me and them, so they would know that I am the Lord who makes them holy.
13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not walk in my statutes and rejected my decrees, by which a person will live if they obey them. They also greatly profaned my Sabbaths. Therefore I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness to destroy them.
14 But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations before whom I had brought them out.
15 I also lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, swearing that I would not bring them into the land I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands;
16because they rejected my decrees and did not walk in my statutes, and they profaned my Sabbaths, for their hearts went after their idols.
17 Yet my eye spared them, for I did not kill them or destroy them in the wilderness.
18 But I said to their children in the wilderness, “Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their laws, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
19 I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my precepts, and do them.”
20 Keep my Sabbaths holy, and they will be a sign between me and you, so you may know that I am the Lord your God.
21 But the children rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes or keep my ordinances to perform them, by which a person will live if he does them; they profaned my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to spend my anger on them in the wilderness.
22 But I withdrew my hand for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations before whom I had brought them out.
23 I also lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, swearing that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries,
24 because they did not perform my ordinances, but rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes went after the idols of their ancestors.
25 Therefore I also gave them statutes that were not good, and decrees by which they could not live.
26 And I defiled them in their offerings when they made all their firstborn pass through the fire, to make them desolate and to make them 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: Even in this your fathers reproached me when they rebelled against me.
28 For I brought them to the land over which I had lifted up my hand on oath that I would give it to them, and they looked at every high hill and every leafy tree, and there they sacrificed their victims, and there they presented offerings that provoked me, there they also put their pleasing incense, and there they poured out their drink offerings.
29 Then I said to them, “What is this high place to which you are going?” So its name has been called Bamah to this day.
30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Are you not defiling yourselves in the manner of your fathers, and committing harlotry after their abominations?
31 For by offering your gifts, by making your children pass through the fire, you have defiled yourselves with all your idols to this day. And should I answer you, house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not answer you.’”
32 And it shall not be as you have thought. For you say, “Let us be like the nations, like the other families of the earth, who worship wood and stone.”
33 As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpouring of wrath.
34 I will bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpouring of wrath.
35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will contend with you face to face.
36 As I contended with your ancestors in the wilderness of Egypt, so I will contend with you, declares the Lord God.
37 I will make you pass under the rod and bring you into the bonds of the covenant.
38 I will purge from among you the rebels and those who have transgressed against me. I will bring them out of the land where they have sojourned, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord.
39 And to you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go after your idols, each of you, and serve them, if indeed you will not obey me; but do not profane my holy name any longer with your offerings and with your idols.
40 But on my holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your gifts, with all your consecrated things.
41 As pleasing incense I will accept you, when I have brought you out from the nations and gathered you from the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations.
42 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have brought you into the land of Israel, the land which I swore with uplifted hand to give to your fathers.
43 There you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the sins you have committed.
44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or your wicked deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.
Prophecy against the Negev
45 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
46 “ Son of man, set your face toward the south, pour out your words toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.
47 And you shall say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I kindle a fire in you, and it shall consume every green tree and every dry tree in you; the flame of the fire shall not be quenched, and all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it.
48 And all flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.’”
49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! They say of me, ‘Does he not speak parables?’
Ezekiel Chapter 21
The sharp sword of Jehovah
1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 “ Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem, and speak against its holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel.
3 Say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you, and I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
4 Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be drawn from its sheath against all people, from south to north.
5 Then all people will know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its sheath; I will not put it back into its sheath.
’ 6 But you, son of man, groan with anguish and bitterness in your loins; groan before their eyes.
7 And when they ask you, “Why are you groaning?” say, “Because of news that, when it comes, will make every heart melt, every hand become feeble, every spirit faint, and every knee become weak as water; “Behold, it is coming, and it shall be done,” declares the Lord God.
8 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
9 “ Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Say, “The sword, the sword is sharpened and polished.
10 It is sharpened to slaughter, it is polished so that it flashes bright. Should we rejoice? He has despised the scepter of my son as a piece of stick.
11 He has given it to be polished to hold in his hand; the sword is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry out and wail, son of man, for this will be upon my people, it will be upon all the princes of Israel; they will fall by the sword with my people. Therefore, strike your thigh,
13 for it has been tested. What if the sword despises even the scepter? It shall be no more,” declares the Lord God.
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike one hand against the other, and let the fury of the murderous sword be doubled and tripled; this is the sword of the great slaughter that will pierce them,
15 so that their hearts melt and the devastation multiply. I have set the terror of the sword at all their gates. Ah! It is ready to flash, and prepared to cut down.
16 Cut to the right, strike to the left, wherever you turn.
17 And I also will strike my hand against my hand, and I will rest my wrath. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
18 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
19 “Son of man, mark out two roads by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come; let both roads come from the same land. And set a signpost at the beginning of each road, indicating the city to which it leads.
20You will show the way by which the sword will come to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah against Jerusalem, the fortified city.
21 For the king of Babylon has stood at the crossroads, at the beginning of the two ways, to use divination; he has shaken the arrows, consulted his idols, looked at the liver.
22 The divination pointed to his right hand, upon Jerusalem, to give the order to attack, to begin the slaughter, to raise the voice in a war cry, to place battering rams against the gates, to raise up walls, and to build siege towers.
23 But to them it will be like a lying divination, for he has made them swear solemn oaths; yet he brings their iniquity to mind in order to ensnare them.
24 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have brought your iniquities to mind, revealing your treachery, and uncovering your sins in all your deeds, because you have come to mind, you shall be delivered into his hand.
25 And you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of the consummation of wickedness,
26 thus says the Lord God: Take off the turban, remove the crown; this shall no longer be so; let the lowly be exalted, and the exalted brought low.
27 I will make it a ruin, a ruin, a ruin, and this shall no longer be, until he comes to whose right it is, and I will give it to him.
Trial against the Ammonites
28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and their reproach.’ Say, ‘The sword, the sword is drawn to slaughter; it is polished to devour with brilliance.’
29 They prophesy falsehood to you, they divine lies for you, so that you may use it on the necks of the wicked, condemned to death, whose day has come in the time of the consummation of wickedness.
30 Shall I return it to its sheath? In the place where you were brought up, in the land where you have lived, I will judge you,
31 and I will pour out my wrath upon you; I will kindle the fire of my anger upon you, and I will deliver you into the hands of ruthless men, artisans of destruction.
32 You will be fuel for the fire; the earth will be drenched with your blood; you will be remembered no more, for I, the Lord, have spoken.
Ezekiel Chapter 22
The sins of Jerusalem
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 “ Son of man, will you not judge, will you not judge the city that sheds blood, and show it all its abominations?
3 You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “City that sheds blood in its midst, longing for its time to come, and that makes idols against itself to defile itself!
4 You have sinned with the blood you have shed, and you have defiled yourself with the idols you have made; you have brought your day near, and the end of your years has come; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a scorn to all the lands.
5 Those who are near to you and those who are far away will laugh at you, defiled by name and by great turmoil.
6 Behold, the princes of Israel, each according to his power, are eager to shed blood.
7 They have treated father and mother with contempt in you; they have dealt violently with the foreigner in your midst;
8 You have despised my sanctuaries and profaned my Sabbaths.
9 Slanderers were among you to shed blood; they feasted on the mountains among you; they committed perversions in your midst.
10 They uncovered their father’s nakedness in you, and violated her during her menstrual impurity.
11 Each one committed an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; each one defiled his daughter-in-law with perversion; each one violated his sister, his father’s daughter, among you.
12 They took from you a price to shed blood; you charged interest and usury, and you defrauded your neighbors by violence; you forgot me, declares the Lord God.
13 And behold, I clapped my hands because of your covetousness that you committed, because of the blood that you shed among you.
14 Will your heart be steadfast? Will your hands be strong in the days when I act against you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.
15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you throughout the countries, and I will purge your filthiness from you.
16 You will be humiliated in the sight of the nations by your own doing, and you will know that I am the Lord.
17 The word of the Lord came to me:
18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the midst of the furnace; they have become dross of silver.”
19 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: “Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you in the midst of Jerusalem.”
20As one gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into a furnace to kindle a fire and melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and wrath, and put you there and melt you.
21 I will gather you together and blow on you in the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.
22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my wrath upon you.
23 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
24 “ Son of man, say to her: ‘You are not a land cleansed, nor sprinkled with rain in the day of wrath.
25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devoured souls, seized wealth and honor, and multiplied her widows within her.
26 Her priests have violated my law and profaned my sanctuaries; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, nor have they distinguished between the unclean and the clean; and they have turned their eyes away from my Sabbaths, and I have been profaned in their midst.’”
27 Her princes within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, destroying souls to gain unjust profit.
28 Her prophets plastered her with whitewash, prophesying falsehoods and divining lies for her, saying, “Thus says the Lord God,” when the Lord had not spoken.
29 The people of the land practiced oppression and robbery; they oppressed the poor and needy and oppressed the foreigner without justice.
30 I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not destroy it, but I found no one.
31 Therefore I poured out my wrath on them; in the heat of my anger I consumed them; I brought down on their own heads the way they had done, declares the Lord God.
Ezekiel Chapter 23
The two sisters
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 “ Son of man, there were two women, daughters of one mother,
3 who played the harlot in Egypt; in their youth they played the harlot. There their breasts were pressed, there their virgin breasts were squeezed.
4 The name of the older was Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. Their names were: Samaria, Oholah; and Jerusalem, Oholibah.
5 But Oholah continued to play the harlot while she was under my control. She lusted after the Assyrians, her lovers,
6 men clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.
7 She played the harlot with them, with all the choice men of the Assyrians, and with all those with whom she lusted. She defiled herself with all their idols.
8 She did not forsake the harlotry she had in Egypt; For in her youth they lay with her, and they pressed her virgin breasts and poured out their fornication upon her.
9 Therefore I delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Assyria, with whom she had become enamored.
10 They uncovered her nakedness, took her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword; and she became famous among the women, for they made an example of her.
11 When her sister Oholibah saw it, she became even more enraptured with lust than she; and her fornications were more than her sister’s.
12 She became enamored of the sons of Assyria, her neighbors, governors and commanders, clothed in fine garments and armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.
13 And I saw that she had defiled herself; the two of them had one same way.
14 And she increased her fornications; When she saw the painted images of Chaldeans on the wall,
15 wearing belts around their waists and colorful turbans on their heads, all of them looking like captains, like the men of Babylon, from Chaldea, her homeland,
16 she was instantly attracted to them and sent messengers to them in the land of the Chaldeans.
17 So the men of Babylon came to her in her bed of love and defiled her, and she was defiled by them, and her soul loathed them.
18 Thus she exposed her prostitution and uncovered her nakedness, and my soul loathed her, just as my soul had loathed her sister.
19 She continued to multiply her acts of prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
20And she became enamored of her lovers, whose lust is like the lust of donkeys, and whose flow is like the flow of horses.
21 So you remembered the lust of your youth, when the Egyptians pressed your breasts, the breasts of your youth.
22 Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers, with whom your soul is filled, and I will bring them against you all around:
23 those of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, those of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; desirable young men, governors, and captains, nobles and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.
24 And chariots, wagons, and wheels, and a multitude of peoples, will come against you. Shields, bucklers, and helmets they will set up against you all around; I will set judgment before them, and they will judge you by their laws.
25 I will set my jealousy against you, and they will deal with you in fury; they will cut off your nose and your ears, and what remains of you will fall by the sword. They will take your sons and your daughters, and your remnant will be consumed by fire.
26 They will strip you of your clothes and take away all your beautiful ornaments.
27 I will put an end to your lust and your whoring from the land of Egypt; you will no longer lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.
28 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hand of those you hated, into the hand of those you loathed;
29 they will deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor, and leave you naked and exposed; And the filthiness of your fornications, your lust, and your prostitution will be revealed.
30 These things will be done to you because you played the harlot with the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.
31 You walked in the ways of your sister; therefore I will put her cup in your hand.
32 Thus says the Lord God: You shall drink your sister’s deep and wide cup, which is of great capacity; the nations will mock you and derision you.
33 You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow with the cup of loneliness and desolation, with the cup of your sister Samaria.
34 You shall drink it and drain it dry, and break its potsherds; and you shall rend your breasts, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
35 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, therefore you also shall bear your lust and your harlotries.
36 Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you not judge Oholah and Oholibah and denounce their abominations?
37 For they have committed adultery, and there is blood on their hands, and they have committed fornication with their idols. They even made their children, whom they bore to me, pass through the fire, burning them.
38 Moreover, they did this to me: they defiled my sanctuary on that day and profaned my Sabbaths.
39 For having sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary on the same day to defile it; and behold, they did so in the midst of my house.
40 Moreover, they sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger had been sent, and behold, they came. And for their sake you washed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
41 You sat on a sumptuous couch, and a table was prepared before you, and you placed my incense and my oil on it.”
42 And the sound of a reveler was heard among her, rejoicing with her; and with the men of the common people, the Sabeans were brought from the wilderness, and they put bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.
43 And I said concerning the woman who was old in adultery, “Will they still commit fornication with her, and she with them?
44 For they have come to her as one comes to a prostitute; so they came to Oholah and Oholibah, depraved women.
45 Therefore, righteous men shall judge them by the law of adulteresses, and by the law of those who shed blood, for they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.
46 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will bring up troops against them, and I will give them over to disorder and plunder,
47 and the mobs shall stone them, and pierce them with their swords; they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn their houses with fire.
48And I will put an end to the lust of the land, and all women will be chastened, and will not follow your perverse ways.
49 And your perverse ways will be brought upon you, and you will pay for the sins of your idolatry; and you will know that I am the Lord God.
Ezekiel Chapter 24
Parable of the boiling pot
1 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 down the date of this day, for on this very day the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem.
3 And speak a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Put on a pot, put it on, and also pour water into it;
4 gather its pieces of meat into it, all the best pieces, the leg and the shoulder; fill it with choice bones.
5 Take a choice sheep, and also light the bones under it; make it boil well; boil its bones also in it.’
6 For thus says the Lord God: ‘Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the rusty pot whose rust has not been removed! Take it out piece by piece, without casting lots for it.
7 For its blood is in the midst of it; it has been poured out on a smooth stone; He did not pour it out on the ground to be covered with dust.
8 Having therefore stirred up wrath to take vengeance, I will set her blood upon the hard stone, so that it will not be covered.
9 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the city of blood! For I also will make a great fire,
10 multiplying the wood, and kindling the fire to consume the meat and make the sauce; and the bones shall be burned.
11 Then I will set the empty pot upon its coals, so that it may be heated, and its bottom may be scorched, and its filth melted into it, and its rust consumed.
12 In vain it labored, and its great rust did not come out of it. Only in fire shall its rust be consumed.
13 In your foul lust you shall suffer, for I cleansed you, and you did not cleanse yourself of your filthiness; you shall never be cleansed again, until I have satisfied my wrath upon you.
14 I, the Lord, have spoken; It will come, and I will do it. I will not turn back, nor will I have mercy, nor will I relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, says the Lord God.
Muerte de la esposa de Ezequiel
15 The word of the Lord came to me, saying:
16 “ Son of man, I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes with a single blow; do not mourn or weep or let your tears flow.
17 Refrain from sighing, do not mourn for the dead; tie your turban around you and put your sandals on your feet, do not wrap your headscarf around you, and do not eat the bread of mourners.”
18 I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died; in the morning I did as I was commanded.
19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean to us?”
20 So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
21 ‘Say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I am desecrating my sanctuary, the glory of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left shall fall by the sword.
22 And you shall do as I have done: You shall not cover yourselves with a veil, nor eat the bread of men in mourning.
23 Your turbans shall be on your heads, and your sandals on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall waste away because of your sins, and wail for one another.
24 Therefore Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; According to all the things he did, you will do; when this happens, then you will know that I am the Lord God.
25 And you, son of man, on the day that I take away from them their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the delight of their eyes, and the desire of their souls, and also their sons and their daughters,
26 on that day one who has escaped will come to you to bring the news.
27 On that day your mouth will be opened to speak with the fugitive, and you will speak, and you will no longer be mute; and you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.