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The Lord Will Punish Jerusalem

21 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the places in Jerusalem where people worship. Warn everyone in Israel that I am about to punish them. I will pull out my sword and have it ready to kill everyone, whether good or evil. From south to north, people will die, knowing that my sword will never be put away.

Ezekiel, groan in sorrow and despair so that everyone can hear you. When they ask why you are groaning, tell them you have terrifying news that will make them faint and tremble in fear and lose all courage. These things will happen soon. I, the Lord God, make this promise!

A Sword Is Ready To Attack Israel

The Lord said:

9-10 Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem:

I have sharpened my sword
    to slaughter you;
it is shiny and will flash
    like lightning!
Don't celebrate—
    punishment is coming,
because everyone has ignored
    my warnings.[a]
11 My sword has been polished;
    it's sharp and ready to kill.

12 Groan in sorrow, Ezekiel;
the sword is drawn against
    my people and their leaders.
They will die!
    So give up all hope.
13 I am testing my people,
and they can do nothing
    to stop me.[b]
I, the Lord, have spoken.

14 Ezekiel, warn my people,
then celebrate my victory
    by clapping your hands.
My vicious sword will attack
    again and again,
killing my people
    with every stroke.
15 They will lose all courage
    and stumble with fear.
My slaughtering sword
is waiting at every gate,
    flashing and ready to kill.[c]
16 It will slash right and left,
    wherever the blade is pointed.
17 Then I will stop being angry,
and I will clap my hands
    in victory.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

The King of Babylonia and His Sword

18 The Lord said:

19 Ezekiel, son of man, mark two roads for the king of Babylonia to follow when he comes with his sword. The roads will begin at the same place, but be sure to put up a signpost where the two roads separate and go in different directions. 20 Clearly mark where the two roads lead. One goes to Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and the other goes to Jerusalem, the fortified capital of Judah. 21 When the Babylonian king stands at that signpost, he will decide which way to go by shaking his arrows, by asking his idols, and by carefully looking at the liver of a sacrificed animal.[d] 22 His right hand will pull out the arrow marked “Jerusalem.” Then he will immediately give the signal to shout the battle cry, to build dirt ramps up to the top of the city walls, to break down its walls and gates with large wooden poles, and to kill the people. 23 Everyone in Jerusalem had promised to be loyal to Babylonia, and so none of them will believe that this could happen to them. But Babylonia's king will remind them of their sinful ways and warn them of their coming captivity.

24 Ezekiel, tell the people of Jerusalem and their ruler that I, the Lord God, am saying:

Everything you do is wicked and shows how sinful you are. You are guilty and will be taken away as prisoners.

25 And now, you evil and wicked ruler of Israel, your day of final punishment is almost here. 26 I, the Lord God, command you to take off your royal turban and your crown, because everything will be different. Those who had no power will be put in charge, and those who now rule will become nobodies. 27 I will leave Jerusalem in complete ruins like no one has ever seen until my chosen one comes to punish this city.

Judgment against Ammon

28 (A) The Lord God said:

Ezekiel, son of man, the Ammonites have insulted Israel, so condemn them and tell them I am saying:

A sword is drawn,
    ready to slaughter;
it is polished and prepared
    to kill as fast as lightning.

29 You wicked Ammonites see false visions and believe untrue messages. But your day of punishment is coming soon, and my sword will slaughter you!

30 Your days to punish others are over, so put your swords away.[e] You will be punished in the land of your birth. 31 My furious anger will scorch you like fire, and I will hand you over to cruel men who are experts in killing. 32 You will be burned and will die in your own land. Then you will be forgotten forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Jerusalem Is Condemned

22 Some time later, the Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, are you ready to condemn Jerusalem? That city is filled with murderers, so remind the people of their sins and tell them I am saying:

Jerusalem, you have murdered many of your own people and have worshiped idols. You will soon be punished! Those crimes have made you guilty, and the idols have made you unacceptable to me. So your final punishment is near. Other nations will laugh at you and make insulting remarks, and people far and near will make fun of your misery.

Your own leaders use their power to murder. (B) None of you honor your parents, and you cheat foreigners, orphans, and widows. (C) You show no respect for my sacred places and treat the Sabbath just like any other day. Some of your own people tell lies, so that others will be put to death. Some of you eat meat sacrificed to idols at local shrines, and others never stop doing vulgar things. 10 (D) Men have sex with their father's wife or with women who are having their monthly period 11 or with someone else's wife. Some men even sleep with their own daughter-in-law or half sister. 12 (E) Others of you accept money to murder someone. Your own people charge high interest when making a loan to other Israelites, and they get rich by cheating. Worst of all, you have forgotten me, the Lord God.

13 I will shake my fist in anger at your violent crimes. 14 When I'm finished with you, your courage will disappear, and you will be so weak that you won't be able to lift your hands. I, the Lord, have spoken and will not change my mind. 15 I will scatter you throughout every nation on earth and put a stop to your sinful ways. 16 You[f] will be humiliated in the eyes of other nations. Then you will know that I, the Lord God, have done these things.

Jerusalem Must Be Purified

17 The Lord said:

18 Ezekiel, son of man, I consider the people of Israel as worthless as the leftover metal in a furnace after silver has been purified. 19 So I am going to bring them together in Jerusalem. 20-21 I will be like a metalworker who collects that metal from the furnace and melts it down. I will collect the Israelites and blow on them with my fiery anger. They will melt inside the city of Jerusalem 22 like silver in a furnace. Then they will know that I, the Lord, have punished them in my anger.

Everyone in Jerusalem Is Guilty

23 The Lord said:

24 Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel that their country is full of sin, and that I, the Lord, am furious! 25 Their leaders are like[g] roaring lions, tearing apart their victims. They put people to death, then steal everything of value. Husbands are killed, and many women are left as widows.

26 (F) The priests of Israel ignore my Law! Not only do they refuse to respect any of my sacred things, but they don't even teach the difference between what is sacred and what is ordinary or between what is clean and what is unclean. They treat my Sabbath like any other day, and so my own people no longer honor me.

27 Israel's officials are like ferocious wolves, ripping their victims apart. They make a dishonest living by injuring and killing people.

28 And then the prophets in Israel cover up these sins by giving false visions. I have never spoken to them, but they lie and say they have a message from me. 29 The people themselves cheat and rob; they abuse the poor and take advantage of foreigners.

30 I looked for someone to defend the city and to protect it from my anger, as well as to stop me from destroying it. But I found no one. 31 So in my fierce anger, I will punish the Israelites for what they have done, and they will know that I am furious. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Two Sinful Sisters

23 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, listen to this story about two sisters. While they were young and living in Egypt, they became prostitutes. The older one was named Oholah, which stands for Samaria; the younger one was Oholibah, which stands for Jerusalem.[h] They became my wives and gave birth to my children.

Even though Oholah was my wife, she continued to be a prostitute and chased after Assyrian lovers. She offered herself to soldiers in purple uniforms: handsome, high-ranking officers and cavalry troops. She had sex with all the important Assyrian officials and even worshiped their disgusting idols. Once she started doing these things in Egypt, she never stopped. Men slept with her, and she was always ready for sex.

So I gave Oholah to the Assyrian lovers she wanted so badly. 10 They ripped off her clothes, then captured her children and killed her. Women everywhere talked about what had happened to Oholah.

11 Oholibah saw all this, but she was more sinful and wanted sex more than her sister Oholah ever did. 12 Oholibah also chased after good-looking Assyrian officers, uniformed soldiers, and cavalry troops. 13 Just like her sister, she did vulgar things.

14 But Oholibah behaved worse than her sister. Oholibah saw images of Babylonian men carved into walls and painted red. 15 They had belts around their waists and large turbans on their heads, and they reminded her of Babylonian cavalry officers. 16 As soon as she looked at them, she wanted to have sex with them. And so, she sent messengers to bring them to her. 17 Men from Babylonia came and had sex with her so many times that she got disgusted with them. 18 She let everyone see her naked body and didn't care if they knew she was a prostitute. That's why I turned my back on her, just as I had done with her older sister.

19 Oholibah didn't stop there, but became even more immoral and acted as she had back in Egypt. 20 She eagerly wanted to go to bed with Egyptian men, who were famous for their sexual powers. 21 And she longed for the days when she was a young prostitute, when men enjoyed caressing her body.

The Lord Will Punish Oholibah

22 The Lord God said:

Oholibah,[i] though you no longer want to be around your lovers, they will surround you like enemies, when I turn them against you. 23 I will gather all the handsome young officials and the high-ranking cavalry officers from Babylonia and Assyria, as well as from the Chaldean tribes of Pekod, Shoa, and Koa. 24 Their large armies will come from the north[j] with chariots and wagons carrying weapons. They will wear shields and helmets and will surround you, and I will let them judge and sentence you according to their own laws. 25 I am angry with you, so I will let them be very cruel. They will cut off your nose and ears; they will kill your children and burn alive anyone in your family who survives. 26 Your clothes and jewelry will be torn off. 27 I will stop your wickedness and the prostitution you started back in Egypt. You will never want to think about those days again.

28 I, the Lord God, am ready to hand you over to those hateful enemies that you find so disgusting. 29 They will cruelly take away everything you have worked for and strip you naked. Then everyone will see you for the prostitute you really are. Your own vulgar sins 30 have led to this. You were the one determined to have sex with men from other nations and to worship their idols. 31 You have turned out no better than your older sister, and now you must drink from the cup filled with my anger.

32 I, the Lord God, gave your sister a large, deep cup filled with my anger. And when you drink from that cup, you will be mocked and insulted. 33 You will end up drunk and devastated, because that cup is filled with horror and ruin. 34 But you must drink every drop! Then smash the cup and chew on its broken pieces. Use them to cut your breasts in sorrow. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

35 You have completely rejected me, and so I promise that you will be punished for the disgusting things you did as a prostitute.

The Two Sisters Are Condemned

36 The Lord said:

Ezekiel, son of man, it's time for you to tell Oholah and Oholibah[k] that they are guilty. Remind them of their evil ways! 37 They have been unfaithful by worshiping idols, and they have committed murder by sacrificing my own children as offerings to idols. 38-39 They came into my temple that same day, and that made it unfit as a place to worship me. They have even stopped respecting the Sabbath.

40 They sent messengers to attract men from far away. When those men arrived, the two sisters bathed themselves and put on eye shadow and jewelry. 41 They sat on a fancy couch, and in front of them was a table for the olive oil and incense that had belonged to me. 42 Their room was always filled with a noisy crowd of drunkards brought in from the desert. These men gave the women bracelets and beautiful crowns, 43 and I noticed that the men were eager to have sex with these women, though they were exhausted from being prostitutes.[l] 44 In fact, the men had sex over and over with Oholah and Oholibah, the two sinful sisters. 45 But honest judges will someday accuse those two of murder and of being unfaithful, because they are certainly guilty.

46 So I, the Lord God, now say to these sisters:

I will call together an angry mob that will abuse and rob you. 47 They will stone you to death and cut you to pieces; they will kill your children and burn down your houses. 48 I will get rid of sinful prostitution in this country, so that women everywhere will be warned not to act as you have. 49 You will be punished for becoming prostitutes and for worshiping idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.

A Cooking Pot

24 Nine years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the Lord spoke to me on the tenth day of the tenth month.[m] He said:

(G) Ezekiel, son of man, write down today's date, because the king of Babylonia has just begun attacking the city of Jerusalem. Then tell my rebellious people:

“Pour water in a cooking pot
    and set it over a fire.
* Throw[n] in the legs and shoulders
of your finest sheep
    and put in the juicy bones.
Pile wood[o] underneath the pot,
and let the meat and bones
    boil until they are done.”

These words mean that Jerusalem is doomed! The city is filled with murderers and is like an old, rusty pot. The meat is taken out piece by piece, and no one cares what happens to it.[p] The people of Jerusalem murdered innocent people in the city and didn't even try to cover up the blood that flowed out on the hard ground. But I have seen that blood, and it cries out for me to take revenge.

I, the Lord God, will punish that city of violence! I will make a huge pile of firewood, 10 so bring more wood and light it. Cook the meat and boil away the broth[q] to let the bones scorch. 11 Then set the empty pot over the hot coals until it is red-hot. That will clean the pot and burn off the rust. 12 I've tried everything else. Now the rust must be burned away.[r]

13 Jerusalem is so full of sin and evil that I can't get it clean, even though I have tried. It will stay filthy until I let loose my fierce anger against it. 14 That time will certainly come! And when it does, I won't show the people of Jerusalem any pity or change my mind. They must be punished for the evil they have done. I, the Lord God, have spoken.

Ezekiel's Wife Dies

15 The Lord said, 16 “Ezekiel, son of man, I will suddenly take the life of the person you love most. But I don't want you to complain or cry. 17 Mourn in silence and don't show that you are grieving. Don't remove your turban or take off your sandals; don't cover your face to show your sorrow, or eat the food that mourners eat.”[s]

18 One morning, I was talking with the people as usual, and by sunset my wife was dead. The next day I did what the Lord had told me, 19 and when people saw me, they asked, “Why aren't you mourning for your wife?”

20 I answered:

The Lord God says 21 he is ready to destroy the temple in which you take such pride and which makes you feel so safe. Your children who now live in Jerusalem will be killed. 22 Then you will do the same things I have done. You will leave your face uncovered and refuse to eat the food that mourners usually eat. 23 You won't take off your turbans and your sandals.[t] You won't cry or mourn, but all day long you will go around groaning because of your sins.

24 I am a warning sign—everything I have done, you will also do. And then you will know the Lord God has made these things happen.

25 The Lord said, “Ezekiel, I will soon destroy the temple that makes everyone feel proud and safe, and I will take away their children as well. 26 On that same day, someone will escape from the city and come to tell you what has happened. 27 Then you will be able to speak again,[u] and the two of you will talk. You will be a warning sign to the people, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. 21.9,10 Don't celebrate … my warnings: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  2. 21.13 I am testing … me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 21.15 My slaughtering sword … ready to kill: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 21.21 shaking … animal: These were ways the Babylonians found out what their gods wanted them to do.
  5. 21.30 Your days … put your swords away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 22.16 You: Hebrew; two ancient translations “Because of you, I.”
  7. 22.25 Their leaders are like: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Their prophets are like herds of.”
  8. 23.4 Samaria … Jerusalem: After the nation of Israel was divided, the northern kingdom was called “Israel,” and the southern kingdom was called “Judah.” Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, and Jerusalem was the capital of the southern kingdom.
  9. 23.22 Oholibah: That is, Jerusalem (see verse 4).
  10. 23.24 from the north: One ancient translation; Hebrew “with weapons.”
  11. 23.36 Oholah and Oholibah: That is, Samaria and Jerusalem (see verse 4).
  12. 23.43 prostitutes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 43.
  13. 24.1 Nine years … tenth month: Probably January of 588 b.c.
  14. 24.4 Throw: When an asterisk (*) occurs before a verse number, it indicates that this verse and the following have been combined.
  15. 24.5 Pile wood: Or “Stack the bones.”
  16. 24.6 and no one cares what happens to it: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  17. 24.10 boil away the broth: One ancient translation; Hebrew “mix the spices.”
  18. 24.12 away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.
  19. 24.17 Don't remove your turban … take off your sandals … cover your face … eat the food that mourners eat: The usual way people mourned was to remove anything worn on the head, to go barefoot, to cover their faces, and to eat special food to show they were grieving.
  20. 24.22,23 You will leave your face uncovered … refuse to eat the food … won't take off your turbans and your sandals: See the note at 24.17.
  21. 24.27 you will be able to speak again: See 3.25-27; 33.21,22.

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