Ezekiel 4:1-23:22

New Catholic Bible

Before the Siege of Jerusalem

Chapter 4

Symbols of Siege and Exile. ¹ As for you, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it in front of you. Draw on it a city, Jerusalem.^{[a] 2} Portray it under siege, erect towers against it, pitch camps, and set up battering rams all around it. ³ Then take an iron griddle and place it as though it were an iron wall between you and the city. Keep your gaze fixed upon the city; it will be in a state of siege, and you will be the besieger. This will be a sign for the house of Israel.^[b]

^4 [c]Then lie on your left side while I place the guilt of the house of Israel upon you. You will bear their guilt for the number of days that you lie on your side. ⁵ Allowing one day for every year of their guilt, I ordain that you bear Israel’s punishment for three hundred and ninety days.

⁶ When you have completed these days, you shall lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah for forty days: one day for each year I have allotted you. ⁷ Then fix your gaze on the siege of Jerusalem, and with bared arm you shall prophesy against it. ⁸ I will tie you with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.

^9 [d]Then take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet, and spelt. Put them all into the same pot and make bread for yourself. You are to eat it for as many days as you lie upon your side—three hundred and ninety days. ¹⁰ The food that you shall eat shall weigh twenty shekels a day, and you are to eat it at fixed times. ¹¹ You are also to measure out and drink the same amount of water each day at fixed times—one-sixth of a hin. ¹² The food that you eat shall be in the form of a barley cake. Bake it in the sight of the people with human dung as fuel.

¹³ The Lord then said: Thus will the Israelites be forced to eat defiled food among the nations to which I will banish them. ¹⁴ “Lord God,” I protested, “from my youth until this very day I have never defiled myself. I have never eaten an animal that died a natural death or was torn to pieces by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.” ¹⁵ He replied: Very well. I will permit you to use cow dung instead of human dung to prepare your bread.^[e]

¹⁶ Then he said to me: Son of man, I intend to reduce greatly the supply of food in Jerusalem. The people will ration anxiously the bread they eat and sip carefully the measure of water they are allotted each day. ¹⁷ Because of the scarcity of bread and water, they will be overwhelmed with fear and waste away because of their iniquity.

Chapter 5

¹ Son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take scales and divide the hair you have cut off. ² When the days of the siege come to an end, burn one-third of the hair inside the city. Take another third and cut it up with the sword throughout the city. Scatter the last third to the wind while I pursue it with the sword. ³ In addition, take a few of these hairs and conceal them in a fold of your robe. ⁴ From these, however, take some and cast them into the fire and burn them completely. A fire will spread from there against the entire house of Israel.

⁵ Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem, which I have established in the midst of the nations and surrounded with foreign countries. ⁶ But she has rebelled against my ordinances and my statutes more wickedly than all the nations and the countries around her, rejecting my ordinances and refusing to obey my laws.

⁷ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have been more rebellious than the nations that surround you and have not followed my statutes or respected my ordinances and have not even observed the laws of the nations that surround you, ⁸ therefore, thus says the Lord God: I too am coming against you, and I will execute my judgments on you for all the nations to see. ⁹ And because of all your abominable offenses, I will inflict punishment on you that I have never done before and the like of which I will never do again. ¹⁰ Those of you who are parents will eat your children, and children will eat their parents. I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to the winds.

¹¹ Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all of your detestable and vile abominations, I will destroy you. I will not take pity on you or spare you. ¹² One-third of you will die of pestilence or perish because of famine, one-third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and one-third I will scatter to the four winds and pursue them with the sword.

¹³ Then, once my anger has abated and I have vented my wrath against them, they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy. ¹⁴ I will make you a desolate waste and the object of mockery among the nations that surround you, a fate clearly evident to all those who pass by. ¹⁵ You will be an object of mockery and abuse, a frightening warning to the nations that surround you, when I execute my judgment on you in anger and fury and dreadful punishments. I, the Lord, have spoken.

¹⁶ When I loose my deadly arrows of famine against you, arrows of destruction which I will send forth to destroy you, and when I afflict you with one famine after another and cut off your supply of food, ¹⁷ I will afflict you with even more intense famine and wild beasts, and you will be left childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Chapter 6

Against the Mountains of Israel. ¹ This word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, turn your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. ³ Say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: Behold, I am going to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. ⁴ Your altars will be demolished and your incense stands will be shattered, and I will throw down your slain in front of your idols.

⁵ I will lay the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, and I will scatter their bones all around your altars. ⁶ Wherever you live, your towns will be destroyed and your high places will be laid waste, your idols will be shattered and destroyed, your incense stands will be smashed, and all of the idols you have made will be obliterated. ⁷ As the slain will fall in your midst, you will know that I am the Lord.

⁸ However, among the nations I will spare some of you who will manage to escape the sword and be scattered throughout foreign lands. ⁹ Those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where you were carried away as captives—how I crushed their adulterous hearts for having deserted me and by their wanton eyes for lusting after idols. Then they will loathe themselves for all the evils that they have done with their abominable practices. ¹⁰ And they will know that I, the Lord, was not uttering a vain warning when I threatened to inflict this disaster upon them.

¹¹ Thus says the Lord God: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and cry, “Alas!” because of all the loathsome abominations of the house of Israel, for which the people will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence. ¹² Those who are far off will die of pestilence; those who are near will fall by the sword; any who survive and are spared will die of famine. Thus, I will exhaust my wrath upon them.

¹³ Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their slain lie among the idols around their altars, on every high hill, on every mountaintop, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered sweet-smelling sacrifices to any of their idols. ¹⁴ I will stretch out my hand against them and reduce every place where they have settled to a desolate waste, from the desert to Riblah.^[f] Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 7

The End Is Near. ¹ This word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel:

⁵ Thus says the Lord God:

¹³ The seller will not be able to recover what he has sold as long as he lives. Neither party will be willing to cancel out the transaction.

Chapter 8

Idolatry in the Temple.^{[g] 1} In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting beside me, suddenly the hand of the Lord fell upon me there.

² As I looked, I beheld a figure that had the form of a man. From the area of his waist downward, he appeared to be like fire, and upward from his waist, he seemed to have a brilliance like gleaming amber. ³ He stretched forth what appeared to be a hand and grasped me by a lock of my hair. A Spirit then lifted me up between earth and heaven, and in divine visions he brought me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the inner north gate, where stood the idol that arouses one to jealousy.^{[h] 4} The glory of the God of Israel was present before me, like the vision I had seen in the valley.

⁵ Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” I raised my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the temple gate, a statue of jealousy stood at the entrance. ⁶ He asked, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing? Behold the loathsome abominations that the house of Israel is engaging in here in their determination to drive me out of my sanctuary. And you will see still greater abominations.”

⁷ Then he brought me to the entrance of the court, where I perceived a hole in the wall. ⁸ He then ordered, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” After I dug through the wall, I beheld a door. ⁹ He said to me, “Enter and behold the vile abominations in which they are engaged there.”

¹⁰ I entered and looked around. Upon the wall were depicted the carved figures of every kind of creeping thing and loathsome animals and all the idols of the house of Israel.^{[i] 11} Before them stood seventy of the elders of the house of Israel, including Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan. Each of them held a censer in his hand, and all the fragrance of the incense ascended upward.

¹² Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each one at the shrine of his own idol? They think that the Lord has forsaken the land and that he does not see them.” ¹³ He also said to me, “You will see even greater abominations practiced by them.”

¹⁴ Next he took me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, where women were sitting, weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “Son of man, do you see this? You will see even greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. There, at the entrance of 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, prostrating themselves toward the east before the rising sun.

¹⁷ Then he said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it not bad enough for the house of Judah to do the loathsome things they have done here? They have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger time after time. Observe how they put the branch to their nose.^{[j] 18} Therefore, I will turn against them in fury. I will not pity them or spare them. No matter how loudly they may cry out to me, I will not listen to them.”

Chapter 9^[k]

Punishment of the Idolaters. ¹ Then he shouted loudly for me to hear: “The scourges of the city are drawing near, each brandishing his weapon of destruction.” ² Thereupon, I saw six men approaching from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each one with a weapon for slaughter in his hand. Among them was a man clothed in linen,^[l] with the necessary paraphernalia for writing in his hand. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³ The glory of the God of Israel had risen above the cherubim upon which it rested to the threshold of the temple. Then he called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing case at his side, ⁴ and he said to him: “Go throughout the city, throughout Jerusalem, and mark^[m] with a cross the foreheads of all those who grieve and lament over all the abominable practices that run rampant throughout its boundaries.”

⁵ To the others I heard him say: “Follow him throughout the city and kill, without looking upon them with pity or showing them any mercy. ⁶ Cut down old men, young men and maidens, small children and women, but touch no one who is marked on the forehead with a cross. Begin at my sanctuary.” And so they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. ⁷ Then he said to them: “Defile the temple and fill the courtyards with the slain.” Then they went forth and killed their way through the city.

⁸ While they continued with their mission of slaying, I was left alone. Throwing myself on the ground, I cried out, “Ah, Lord God, will you annihilate all that is left of Israel by pouring out your wrath on Jerusalem?” ⁹ He answered: “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is filled with bloodshed and the city is filled with perversity. They believe that the Lord has forsaken the land and that he does not see. ¹⁰ However, I will not look upon them with pity or show them any mercy. I will bring down their deeds upon their heads.”

¹¹ Then the man clothed in linen and carrying the writing case reported, “I have done as you commanded me.”

Chapter 10

God’s Glory Leaves the Temple. ¹ Then I looked and observed that above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim there was what appeared to be a sapphire in the shape of a throne. ² The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go within the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill both of your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” As I looked on, the man entered.

³ The cherubim were standing on the right side of the temple as 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 temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the entire court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God when he speaks.

⁶ When the Lord had commanded the man dressed in linen to take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim, the man entered and stood by one of the wheels. ⁷ Then one of the cherubim stretched out his hand to the fire in their midst, took up some of it, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and then went outside. ⁸ The cherubim seemed to have under their wings what appeared to be a human hand.

⁹ As I looked on, I saw that there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub, and the wheels had the appearance of sparkling chrysolite. ¹⁰ As for their appearance, all four seemed to be identical, something like a wheel within a wheel.

¹¹ When the cherubim moved, they went in any of the four directions without veering from their course. In whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without swerving as they moved. ¹² Their entire bodies—their backs, their hands, and their wings—were filled with eyes, as were their wheels.

¹³ As for the wheels, I heard them called “the wheelworks.” ¹⁴ Each one had four faces. The first face was that of a cherub, the second was that of a human, the third was that of a lion, and the fourth was that of an eagle.

¹⁵ The cherubim rose up—the identical living creatures that I had seen by the River Chebar. ¹⁶ When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the cherubim lifted up their wings and rose from the ground, the wheels at their side did not veer. ¹⁷ When they stopped, the others stopped, and when they rose up, the others rose with them, for the Spirit of the living creatures was in them.

^18 [n]Then the glory of the Lord came forth from the threshold of the temple and paused above the cherubim. ¹⁹ The cherubim lifted up their wings, and I beheld them as they rose from the ground, with the wheels beside them. They halted at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was with them.

²⁰ These were the living creatures that I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubim. ²¹ Each had four faces and four wings, and underneath their wings were what appeared to be human hands. ²² Their faces were identical to those I had seen by the River Chebar. Each one moved straight ahead.

Chapter 11

Punishment of the Rulers. ¹ The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the temple of the Lord that faces eastward. There at the entrance to the gate twenty-five men were standing. Among them I saw Jaazaniah, the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

² The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil deeds and offering wicked counsel in this city. ³ They say, ‘The time has not yet come to build houses. This city is the cooking pot and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore, prophesy against them, son of man, prophesy!”

⁵ Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he instructed me to say: Thus says the Lord. This is what you are saying to yourselves, house of Israel, and I am well aware of what you are plotting. ⁶ You have killed many in this city and filled its streets with the slain.

⁷ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Those in the city whom you have slain are the meat, and the city is the pot, but I shall remove you from it.^{[o] 8} You are in dread of the sword, and I fully intend to bring the sword upon you, says the Lord God.

⁹ I will drive you from the city and hand you over to foreigners, and inflict punishments upon you. ¹⁰ You will fall by the sword, and I will pass judgment upon you at the border of Israel. You will know that I am the Lord.

¹¹ This city shall not be a cooking pot for you, nor shall you be the meat inside it. I will judge you at the border of Israel. ¹² Then you will know that I am the Lord whose statutes you have not obeyed and whose judgments you have not followed. Rather you have conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.

^13 [p]While I was prophesying, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, fell dead. I threw myself on the ground and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord God, do you intend to wipe out completely the remnant of Israel?”

¹⁴ Restoration of the People in Exile. Then the word of the Lord was addressed to me: ¹⁵ Son of man, it is about your brothers and your kinsmen and the entire house of Israel that the inhabitants of Israel have said, “They have strayed far from the Lord. This land has been given to us as our possession.”

¹⁶ Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Although I removed them far away among the nations and scattered them over the earth, I have nevertheless been a sanctuary to them for a time in the countries where they settled.

¹⁷ Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the nations and bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

¹⁸ When they return there, they will purge it of all its vile and abominable practices. ¹⁹ I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh.

²⁰ Thus, they will live according to my statutes and observe and obey my ordinances. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ However, those whose hearts are determined to continue their vile and abominable practices I will force to answer for all they have done. Thus says the Lord God.

²² Then the cherubim lifted their wings, with the wheels beside them and the glory of the God of Israel above them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. ²³ The glory of the Lord rose from the center of the city and halted on the mountain to the east of it. ²⁴ The Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea. After the vision I had seen faded, ²⁵ I told the exiles everything that the Lord had revealed to me.

Chapter 12

Acts Symbolic of the Exile.^{[q] 1} This word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes with which to see, but they do not see, and they have ears with which to hear, but they do not hear, for they are rebellious by their very nature.

³ Therefore, son of man, while they observe you, pack up your belongings and set off from your home into exile during the day. Perhaps this will cause them to understand that they are a rebellious people. ⁴ Bring out your belongings during the day as they are watching, and in the evening, again as they watch, go forth like one who has been driven into exile.

⁵ Then, as they continue to observe you, dig a hole in the wall and make your way through it. ⁶ In their presence, lift your pack onto your shoulder and set out into the darkness. Cover your face so that you may not see the land, for I have established you as a sign for the house of Israel.

⁷ I did exactly what I had been commanded. In the daytime I brought out my belongings that had been packed for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. While they looked on, I set out in the darkness, shouldering my burden.

⁸ On the following morning, this word of the Lord was addressed to me: ⁹ Son of man, did the house of Israel, that rebellious people, not even ask you what you were doing? ¹⁰ Say to them: Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and the entire house of Israel living within its territory. ¹¹ Tell them: I am a sign for you. As I have done, so will it be done to them. As captives they will go into exile. ¹² Their prince who is among them will shoulder his pack in the darkness and go out through a hole that he has dug in the wall. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land.

¹³ However, I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will take him to Babylon, into the land of the Chaldeans, where he will die without ever seeing it. ¹⁴ As for his retinue, his attendants, and all his troops, I will scatter them to the four winds and pursue them with the sword.

¹⁵ Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout foreign countries. ¹⁶ However, I will allow a few of them to escape the sword, famine, and pestilence so that they may relate all of their abominable practices to the nations where they have been exiled. Thus they will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁸ Son of man, tremble as you eat your bread, and shake with anxiety as you drink your water, ¹⁹ and you are to say to the people of that land: Thus says the Lord about those who live in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread in fearfulness and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything within it because of the violence of all those who live there. ²⁰ The inhabited cities will lie in ruins, and the land will be a desolate waste. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.

²¹ Fulfillment of Visions. This word of the Lord then came to me: ²² Son of man, there is a saying that has become fashionable in regard to the land of Israel: “The days drag by, and no visions are ever fulfilled.” ²³ Therefore, tell the people: Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and it will never again be spoken in the land of Israel.

Rather, say to them: The days are close at hand when every vision will be fulfilled. ²⁴ There will no longer be any false visions or deceptive divinations within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I, the Lord, will speak, and what I say will come true without the slightest delay. In your lifetime, O rebellious house, whatever I speak will be fulfilled, says the Lord God.

²⁶ This word of the Lord then came to me: ²⁷ Son of man, the house of Israel is saying, “The vision that this man relates is meant to be fulfilled in the far distant future.” ²⁸ Therefore say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: The fulfillment of my words will not be delayed any longer. What I have said will be done now. This is the word of the Lord God.”

Chapter 13

Prophecy against False Prophets. ¹ This word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those whose prophesies are formulated in their own minds: Hear the word of the Lord.

³ Thus says the Lord God: Disaster will engulf those foolish prophets who follow thoughts that are fabricated in their own imaginations and have received no visions. ⁴ Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals foraging among ruins. ⁵ They have not bothered to reinforce the breaches in the walls of the house of Israel so that it may stand firm in battle on the day of the Lord.

⁶ The visions they saw were false, and their divinations were baseless. They assert: “Thus says the Lord,” despite the fact that the Lord did not send them, and then they expect their words to be proved true. ⁷ Have you not seen false visions or uttered lying divinations when you have asserted, “Thus says the Lord,” even though I have not said any such thing?

⁸ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken untruths and proclaimed false predictions, I have now set myself in opposition to you, says the Lord God. ⁹ My hand will be raised against those prophets whose visions are baseless and whose divinations are clearly false. They will not be granted any position in the council of my people, nor will their names be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they be permitted to set foot in the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ Because they lead my people astray, crying aloud, “Peace!” when there is no peace, and because, when the people were repairing a flimsy wall, these prophets concealed its flaws by smearing whitewash on it, ¹¹ say to those who covered it with whitewash that it will collapse, for I will cause rain to fall in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down and unleash a wind of gale force. ¹² When the wall collapses that you have smeared with whitewash and it falls to the ground so that its foundations will be laid bare, you will be destroyed along with it, and thus you will know that I am the Lord.

¹³ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I intend to unleash a violent stormwind in my rage, torrential rain in my anger, and hailstones in my fury, ¹⁴ and I will shatter the wall that you smeared with whitewash and knock it to the ground and lay bare its foundations. It will fall, and you will perish beneath it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁵ When I have vented my fury upon the wall and upon those who smeared it with whitewash, I will say to you, “The wall is gone, and so are those who smeared it— ¹⁶ the prophets of Israel who prophesied about Jerusalem and envisioned peace for it when there was no peace,” says the Lord God.

¹⁷ Prophecy against False Prophetesses. As for you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people whose prophecies emerge from their own imaginations. Prophesy against them ¹⁸ and say: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those women who sew magic bands on their wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every height as they strive to ensnare their souls. Will you seek to ensnare the souls of my people and still preserve your own?

¹⁹ You have dishonored me in the eyes of my people for a few handfuls of barley and a few scraps of bread. By lying to my people who listen to lies, you have caused the death of persons who should not die and kept alive those who should not live.

²⁰ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am now determined to move against your magic bands with which you entrap men’s lives. I will rip them from your arms and set free those people whom you have ensnared like birds. ²¹ I will tear off your veils and rescue my people from your clutches, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

²² Because you have intimidated the righteous with your lies and disheartened them when I had done nothing to cause them to be alarmed, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to abandon their wicked ways and save their lives, ²³ therefore, you will never again see false visions or practice divinations. I will rescue my people from your clutches, and then you will know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 14

Idolatry of the Elders. ¹ Some of the elders came into my presence and sat down before me.^{[r] 2} Then the word of the Lord came to me: ³ Son of man, these men have reserved a special place in their hearts for their idols and have continued to revere the occasions of sin that led to their downfall. Why should I allow myself to be consulted by them?

⁴ Therefore, speak to them and declare this: Thus says the Lord God: To all those belonging to the house of Israel who continue to revere their idols in their hearts and fail to remove the stumbling block of their iniquity and then approach a prophet, I, the Lord, will deliver my answer to those who approach me with their multitude of idols. ⁵ In this way, I will recapture the hearts of the house of Israel, all of those who have been estranged from me through their idols.

⁶ Therefore, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. ⁷ For if any members of the house of Israel or any aliens who reside in Israel separate themselves from me, holding the memory of their idols in their hearts and keeping the cause of their iniquity before their eyes, and then approach a prophet to consult me, I, the Lord, will answer them myself. ⁸ I will set my face against them, and I will make them an example and a byword. I will cut them off from the midst of my people, and thus you will know that I am the Lord.

⁹ If a prophet is led astray into making a prophecy, I, the Lord, shall have been the one who deceived that prophet. I will stretch out my hand against him and eradicate him from the presence of my people Israel. ¹⁰ The punishments received by the inquirer and the prophet shall be identical, ¹¹ so that the house of Israel will never again stray from me or defile themselves any longer with all their sins. Thus, they shall be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord God.

¹² Individual Responsibility.^[s] This word of the Lord came to me: ¹³ Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it and cut off its supply of food, inflicting famine on it and removing from its midst all of its inhabitants and its animals, ¹⁴ even if the three men, Noah, Daniel,^[t] and Job were there, they could save no one but themselves by their own righteousness, says the Lord God.

¹⁵ If I were to unleash wild animals throughout the land to ravage it, so that it would become a desolate wasteland through which no one could traverse because of the savage beasts, ¹⁶ even if those three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither sons nor daughters; they alone would survive.

¹⁷ Or if I were to bring the sword down on that country, commanding the sword to pass through the land, isolating it from man and beast, ¹⁸ even if those three men were in it, says the Lord God, they would be unable to save either their sons or their daughters; they alone would be saved.

¹⁹ Or if I were to inflict a pestilence upon that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, destroying all people and animals with it, ²⁰ even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither son nor daughter; they would only save themselves by their righteousness.

²¹ Thus says the Lord God: Even if I were to inflict upon Jerusalem my four dreadful scourges—sword, famine, wild animals, and pestilence—to cut off from it both men and animals, ²² even so some survivors will be left in it, both men and women. When they come to you and you observe their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled despite the disaster I have inflicted upon Jerusalem.^{[u] 23} They will be a source of consolation when you reflect upon their conduct and their deeds, and you will come to realize that it was not without good reason that I have done to it what I did.

Chapter 15^[v]

The Useless Vine. ¹ This word of the Lord came to me:

⁶ Therefore, thus says the Lord God:

Chapter 16^[w]

The Unfaithful Wife. ¹ This word of the Lord was addressed to me: ² Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominable practices. ³ Say to her: Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: By origin and birth, you belong to Canaan. Your father was an Amorite and your mother was a Hittite.

⁴ As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut. You were neither bathed in water, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling clothes. ⁵ No one took pity on you or did any of these deeds out of compassion for you. Rather, you were thrown out into an open field, for you were regarded as something loathsome on the day you were born.

⁶ Then I passed by and saw you kicking helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live, ⁷ and grow like a plant of the field.” You grew up and developed and reached the stage of full womanhood. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and exposed.

⁸ I passed by you again and saw that you were old enough for love. I spread the edge of my cloak over you and covered your nakedness. I swore an oath to you and made a covenant with you, says the Lord God, and you became mine. ⁹ Then I bathed you in water, washed away the blood from your body, and anointed you with oil.

¹⁰ After this, I clothed you with embroidered gowns and sandals of fine leather, as well as with a linen headband and a silk cloak. ¹¹ I adorned you with jewels: bracelets for your arms, a chain around your neck, ¹² a ring in your nose, pendants for your ears, and a beautiful crown for your head.

¹³ Thus, you were adorned with gold and silver, and your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. Fine flour, honey, and oil were your food. You grew exceedingly beautiful, fit to be a queen. ¹⁴ You were renowned among the nations because of your beauty, since it was perfect because of the splendor I had bestowed upon you, says the Lord God.

¹⁵ But you became infatuated with your own beauty, and you exploited your renown as you freely offered to play the harlot to every passerby. ¹⁶ You used some of your garments to decorate colorful shrines for yourself where you played the harlot. ¹⁷ You also took the beautiful gold and silver jewelry that I had given you and made for yourself male images, with which you committed fornication.

¹⁸ Furthermore, you took your embroidered clothes to cover these images and set my oil and my incense before them. ¹⁹ You also took the food that I had given you—the fine flour, the oil, and the honey with which I fed you—and set it before them as a pleasant odor, says the Lord God.

²⁰ You took the sons and daughters you had borne to me and offered them as sacrifices. Was it not enough that you had become a harlot? ²¹ You slaughtered my children and immolated them as an offering to your idols. ²² And throughout all your abominations and your harlotries you never gave a thought to your youth when you were naked and bare and kicking helplessly in your own blood.

²³ Then, after all your wicked deeds—woe, woe to you! says the Lord God— ²⁴ you built for yourself a platform and erected for yourself a lofty place in every square. ²⁵ At the head of every street, you built your dais and degraded your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in countless acts of harlotry. ²⁶ You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and provoked me to anger with your repeated acts of fornication.

²⁷ Therefore, I stretched out my hand against you, reduced your supply of food, and delivered you into the hands of your enemies, the Philistine women, who were horrified by your lewd behavior. ²⁸ You also played the whore with the Assyrians in your insatiable lust, and even then you were not satisfied. ²⁹ Again and again you continued to play the harlot in Chaldea, the land of merchants, and still you remained unsatisfied.

³⁰ How truly sick you are, says the Lord God, for engaging in the deeds of a brazen prostitute, ³¹ building your platform at every street corner and erecting your lofty dais in every square. Yet you do not truly fulfill the role of a prostitute because you scorn any payment.

³² An adulterous wife welcomes strangers instead of her husband. ³³ All prostitutes receive gifts, but you gave gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come from everywhere to receive your favors. ³⁴ Thus in your harlotry, you were different from other such women. No one sought you out for prostitution, and you gave payment instead of receiving it. You are the complete opposite of all other whores.

³⁵ Therefore, you harlot, listen to the word of the Lord. ³⁶ Thus says the Lord God: Because you poured forth your lust and revealed your nakedness in your promiscuous dealings with your lovers, and because you surrendered to them the blood of your children, ³⁷ therefore, I will gather together all your lovers in whom you took pleasure, all those whom you loved and all those whom you disliked. I will gather them from all sides and expose you naked for them to see.

³⁸ I will inflict on you the sentence that is imposed on adulteresses and murderesses and bring down upon you the bloody vengeance of my wrath and jealousy. ³⁹ I will deliver you into their hands, and they will destroy your platforms and tear down your lofty places. They will strip off your clothes, take away your jewels, and leave you stark naked. ⁴⁰ They will assemble a mob to punish you, stoning you and cutting you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ They will burn down your houses and execute judgments against you while many women look on. Thus, I shall put an end to your harlotry, and never again will you make payments to your lovers.

⁴² Once my fury against you has been exhausted, then my jealousy will turn away from you. I will be calm and will no longer be provoked to anger. ⁴³ Because you have never called to mind the days of your youth but enraged me with all of your wicked deeds, I have brought your conduct down upon your head, says the Lord God. For did you not add lewd behavior to all of your other abominable deeds?

⁴⁴ Everyone who quotes proverbs will use this one in regard to you: “Like mother, like daughter.” ⁴⁵ You are a true daughter of your mother who loathed her husband and her children, and you are a true sister of your sisters who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Your elder sister is Samaria, who lives to the north of you with her daughters, and your younger sister is Sodom, who lives to the south of you with her daughters. ⁴⁷ You not only followed their ways and imitated their loathsome practices, but within a brief period of time you were more corrupt than they in all of your ways.

⁴⁸ As I live, says the Lord God, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ The crimes of your sister Sodom were pride, gluttony, and lack of concern for the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ They were haughty and committed abominable deeds in my presence. Therefore, I swept them from my sight, as you have seen.

⁵¹ Samaria did not commit half of the sins of which you have been guilty. You have done far more abominable crimes than they did, and you have made your sisters appear to be innocent because of all the abominations that you have committed. ⁵² Bear the shame of your disgrace, as a result of which you have made possible a more favorable judgment for your sisters. Because your conduct was far more abominable than theirs, they appear to be more upright in comparison with you. Therefore, blush for shame, and bear the disgrace of having made your sisters appear to be righteous.

⁵³ I intend to restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and your own fortunes along with theirs, ⁵⁴ so that you may bear your own disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done as you offer consolation to them.

⁵⁵ As for your sisters, when Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former state and Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state. ⁵⁶ Did you not regard with contempt your sister Sodom in the days of your pride, ⁵⁷ before your wickedness was revealed? Now you are regarded with contempt by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors and by the daughters of the Philistines—all these people despise you. ⁵⁸ You must suffer the consequences of your lewdness and your loathsome abominations, says the Lord.

⁵⁹ For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have deserved, you who despised your oath and broke the covenant. ⁶⁰ However, I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I shall establish with you an everlasting covenant. ⁶¹ Then you will recall your former conduct and be ashamed when I take your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger, and give them to you as daughters, even though I am not bound to do so by my covenant with you.

⁶² Thus I will reestablish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord, ⁶³ and thus remember and be ashamed and be reduced to silence when I forgive you for everything that you have done, says the Lord God.

Chapter 17^[x]

Allegory of the Eagles and Vine. ¹ This word of the Lord was addressed to me: ² Son of man, propose a riddle and expound this parable to the house of Israel. ³ Say: Thus says the Lord God:

⁹ Therefore, thus says the Lord God:

¹¹ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ¹² Say now to this rebellious people: Do you not understand what all this means? Say to them: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its princes, and brought them back to Babylon with him. ¹³ Then he selected a prince of the royal family and made a covenant with him, binding him under oath, and he deported the leading men of the land ¹⁴ so that the kingdom would be humble and submissive and be able to survive only by keeping his covenant and obeying him.

¹⁵ However, the prince rebelled against him and sent envoys to Egypt with a request for horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and remain unscathed?

¹⁶ As I live, says the Lord God, I swear that that man will die in Babylon, in the country of the king who appointed him to rule, whose oath he forsook and whose covenant he broke. ¹⁷ Despite Pharaoh’s mighty army and hordes of troops, he will not be able to save him in war, no matter how many ramps are raised up and siege-towers are built to destroy many lives. ¹⁸ He has violated the treaty and disregarded the oath by breaking the treaty he had pledged to observe. Since he has done all this, he will not go unpunished.

¹⁹ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will bring down upon his head my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke. ²⁰ I will spread my net over him, and he will be trapped in my snare. I will take him to Babylon and bring him to judgment there for the treasonous acts he has committed against me. ²¹ All of his most valiant troops will fall by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.

²² Thus says the Lord:

Chapter 18^[y]

Individual Responsibility. ¹ This word of the Lord came to me: ² Why do you insist on repeating this proverb in the land of Israel:

³ As I live, says the Lord God, you will no longer repeat this proverb in Israel. ⁴ Do not forget that all lives are mine. The life of the father and the life of the son are both mine. Only the person who sins shall die.

¹⁰ But this man may have a son who is violent and sheds blood, ¹¹ or does any of these other deeds, even though his father has done none of them:

Will such a man live? He will not. Since he has done all of these detestable acts, he shall surely be put to death, and his blood will be on his own head.

¹⁴ But suppose this man has a son who observes all the sins his father has committed, and even though he sees them, he refuses to follow in his footsteps:

This man will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. ¹⁸ But his father will die for his iniquity because he practiced extortion, robbed his brothers, and never did what was good for his people.

¹⁹ You may ask, “Why should not the son share the guilt of his father?” If the son has done what is lawful and just, and he has been careful to observe all my laws, he will surely live. ²⁰ The person who sins is the one who will die. A son shall not bear the responsibility for his father’s guilt, nor shall a father be charged with the guilt of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man shall be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked man shall be charged against him.

²¹ However, if the wicked renounce all of the sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is right and just, they shall surely live; they shall not die. ²² None of the crimes that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they shall live because of the righteous deeds that they have done ²³ Do I derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? asks the Lord God. Would I not rather rejoice to see them turn away from their wickedness and live?

²⁴ But if the righteous turn away from their virtuous ways to follow the path of evil and do the same kind of abominable deeds that the wicked do, can they do this and live? None of their virtuous deeds will be remembered. Because of their infidelity and the sins they have committed, they shall die.

²⁵ Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unjust.” Now listen, O house of Israel! Is my way unfair? Or, rather, is it not your ways that are unfair? ²⁶ When those who are righteous turn away from their righteousness and turn to evil pursuits, they shall die as a result of the iniquity that they have committed.

²⁷ Similarly, when those who are wicked turn away from the wickedness that they have committed and do what is right and just, they shall save their life. ²⁸ Since they have chosen to renounce all of the evil ways that they have followed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.

²⁹ Yet the house of Israel says, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?

³⁰ Therefore, I will judge you, O house of Israel, each one of you according to his ways, says the Lord God. Repent and renounce all your transgressions. Otherwise your iniquity will prove to be your downfall. ³¹ Cast away from you all the transgressions you have committed, and strengthen yourself with a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? ³² I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Repent and live!

Chapter 19^[aa]

Allegory of the Lions^[ab]

¹ Raise a lamentation for the princes of Israel, ² and say:

Allegory of the Vine Branch

This is a lamentation, and it is used for this purpose.

Chapter 20

History of Israel’s Infidelity. ¹ In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to consult the Lord and were sitting with me.

² Then this word of the Lord came to me: ³ Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Have you come to consult me? As I live, I will refuse to be consulted by you, says the Lord God.

⁴ Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then make clear to them the abominations of their ancestors, ⁵ and say to them: The Lord says: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob and revealed myself to the land of Egypt, declaring: I am the Lord, your God.

⁶ On that day I swore that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had personally chosen for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the fairest of all lands. ⁷ And I said to them, “Each one of you must cast away the loathsome things upon which your eyes have feasted and refuse to defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.”

⁸ However, they rebelled against me and refused to listen to me. Not a single one of them cast aside the loathsome things that seemed so desirable, nor did any of them forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I resolved to pour out my wrath on them, and to vent my anger against them in the land of Egypt. ⁹ However, for the sake of my name I acted in such a way that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, and I promised to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ Therefore, I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the desert. ¹¹ I gave them my laws and made known to them my ordinances according to the observance of which they would live. ¹² And I also gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between me and them so that they would know that I, the Lord, made them holy.

¹³ However, the house of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They refused to obey my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances whose observance is necessary for life. Furthermore, they profaned my Sabbaths. I then resolved to pour out my fury on them in the desert and 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, in whose presence I had brought them out.

¹⁵ Furthermore, I swore to them in the desert that I would not bring them into the land I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the fairest of all lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected my ordinances, they did not observe my statutes, and they desecrated my Sabbaths, for their hearts were devoted to their idols. ¹⁷ Nevertheless, I pitied them too much to destroy them, and I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ Then I gave this warning to their children in the desert: Do not follow the statutes of your parents or observe their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. ¹⁹ I, the Lord, am your God. You must obey my laws and be careful to observe my ordinances. ²⁰ Keep holy my Sabbaths as a sign between me and you so that you will know that I am the Lord, your God.

²¹ However, the children rebelled against me. They did not observe my statutes or keep my ordinances, even though observance of them would lead to life. Moreover, they profaned my Sabbaths. Then I again resolved to pour forth my wrath against them and vent my anger on them in the wilderness. ²² But I restrained my hand and acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose presence I had brought them out.

²³ Nevertheless, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them over the earth, ²⁴ because they had rejected my laws and profaned my Sabbaths and had regard only for the idols of their ancestors. ²⁵ Furthermore, I imposed on them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could never live. ²⁶ I also defiled them through their offerings, making them sacrifice their firstborn son, in order to fill them with revulsion. Thus they would know that I am the Lord.

²⁷ Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: In this way also your ancestors blasphemed me by dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and made offerings that aroused my anger; there they sent up offerings of pleasing odors, and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ I then said to them, “What is this high place to which you go?” And ever since it has been called Bamah.

³⁰ Therefore, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves the way your fathers did and lust after their loathsome gods? ³¹ When you offer your gifts and burn your children as sacrifices, you defile yourselves with all your idols even to this day. Shall I allow myself to be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I swear that I will not allow myself to be consulted by you.

³² When you say to yourselves, “We shall become like the nations and peoples of foreign lands, worshiping wood and stone,” you are making plans for something that will never occur. ³³ As I live, says the Lord God, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with my wrath poured out, I shall reign over you. ³⁴ I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you have been dispersed with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with my wrath poured out.

³⁵ Then I will lead you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will bring you to judgment face to face. ³⁶ As I judged your ancestors in the Desert^[ac] of Egypt, so will I judge you, says the Lord God. ³⁷ I will make you pass under the staff and bring you into the bond of the covenant. ³⁸ I will purge out those of you who revolt and rebel against me. I will bring them out of the land where they reside as aliens, but they will not set foot on the soil of Israel. Thus, you will know that I am the Lord.

³⁹ As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Continue, each one of you, to serve your idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me. But later on you will listen to me and never again profane my name with your gifts and your idols. ⁴⁰ For on my holy mountain, on the mountain heights of Israel, there in the land the entire house of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. There I will require your presents and your choicest offerings and all your consecrated gifts. ⁴¹ I will accept you as a pleasing odor when I bring you back from the peoples and gather you out of the countries to which you have been scattered. Through you I will manifest my holiness in the sight of all the nations.

⁴² You shall know that I am the Lord when I bring you back to the land of Israel, to the country that I swore to give to your ancestors. ⁴³ There you will remember your past conduct and all the deeds by which you have defiled yourselves. Then you will loathe yourselves for all the wickedness you have committed. ⁴⁴ You will know that I am the Lord when I deal with you thus for your name’s sake, and not as your wicked behavior and corrupt deeds deserve, O house of Israel, says the Lord God.

⁴⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ⁴⁶ Son of man, turn your face to the south. Preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negeb. ⁴⁷ Say to the forest of the Negeb: Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God: I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will burn up every green tree in you and every dry tree. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and from south to north every face shall be scorched by it. ⁴⁸ All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it, and it will not be extinguished. ⁴⁹ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, they are always saying of me, ‘He only speaks in riddles.’ ”

Chapter 21^[ad]

The Unsheathed Sword. ¹ Then the word of the Lord was addressed to me: ² Son of man, turn your face in the direction of Jerusalem; preach against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel. ³ Say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am coming against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the upright and the wicked.

⁴ Because I will cut off from you both the upright and the wicked, my sword shall be unsheathed against everyone from south to north, ⁵ and all people will know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its sheath, and it will never again be sheathed.

Symbols of the City’s Fall. ⁶ As for you, son of man, groan. With a breaking heart grieve bitterly as they look on. ⁷ And when they ask you why you are groaning, you shall reply: Because of the news that is about to come. Every heart will melt and every hand will become feeble; every spirit will grow faint and all knees will turn to water. Behold, it is coming now. It will surely take place, says the Lord God.

Song of the Sword. ⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ Prophesy, son of man, and say: Thus says the Lord:

¹⁸ The King of Babylon at the Crossroads. The following word of the Lord was addressed to me: ¹⁹ Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take. Both roads shall begin from the same land. Then put up a signpost for the place where the roads diverge. ²⁰ Indicate the route which the sword should take for Rabbah of the Ammonites, and the one for Judah and the fortress of Jerusalem.

²¹ For the king of Babylon will stand at the fork where the two roads divide to seek an omen. He will shake the arrows, consult the household gods, and inspect the liver. ²² Into his right hand the arrow marked Jerusalem will fall. Here, then, he will issue the command for slaughter, sound the battle cry, post battering rams at the gates, cast up siege-ramps, and build siege-towers. ²³ The inhabitants who have sworn allegiance^[ae] to him will believe that this is a false omen, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.

²⁴ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because your open rebellion has caused us to remember your guilt, in that you have paraded your misdeeds and flaunted your sins in all your deeds, you shall be taken into captivity.

²⁶ Thus says the Lord:

²⁸ The Ammonites’ Punishment. As for you, son of man, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord in regard to the Ammonites and their insults:

Chapter 22

The Sins of Jerusalem. ¹ This word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, are you ready to judge? Will you judge this city renowned for its bloodshed and confront her with all of her abominable deeds?

³ Say to her: Thus says the Lord: Woe to the city that sheds blood within itself. You thus hasten your doom, having made idols and thereby defiling yourself. ⁴ You have incurred guilt by the blood that you have shed, and you have become defiled by the gods that you have fashioned. Thus, you have shortened your lifespan; the end of your years are at hand. This is why you are now regarded by the nations as a disgrace. You have become a laughingstock to all foreign lands. ⁵ Those who are near you and those who are far off shall mock you because you have become infamous for your great perversity.

⁶ The princes of Israel who dwell in your land are there only for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷ The fathers and the mothers within your borders are treated with contempt. The resident aliens are forced to endure extortion. Orphans and widows are oppressed. ⁸ You have spurned what is holy to me, and you have profaned my Sabbaths.

⁹ In you are those whose slander incites to bloodshed; in you are those who eat^[af] on the mountains and revel in their lewdness. ¹⁰ In you are men who have exposed the nakedness of their fathers and who violate women during their menstrual periods. ¹¹ In you are men who engage in abominable practices with their neighbors’ wives and lewdly defile their daughters-in-law. Still others among you ravish their sisters, the daughters of their fathers. ¹² In you are those who take bribes to shed blood. Others lend for profit and charge interest. Still others profit from extortion against their neighbors. You have forgotten about me, says the Lord God.

¹³ I will strike my hands together because of the unjust profits you have made and the unending bloodshed in your midst. ¹⁴ Will your courage endure and your hands remain strong in the days when I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I intend to act. ¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you throughout foreign countries, and I will thereby purge you of your filthiness. ¹⁶ When I shall be profaned through you in the sight of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁸ Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross in my eyes; all of them are nothing more than copper and tin, iron and lead, that have become dross in the midst of a furnace.

¹⁹ Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because all of you have become dross, I will gather you together inside Jerusalem. ²⁰ As one gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin and smelts it in a blazing furnace, so I will gather you in my furious wrath and cause you to be melted down. ²¹ When I have assembled you, I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted down within the city. ²² As silver is smelted in a furnace, so shall you be melted down within the city, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured forth my wrath upon you.

²³ This word of the Lord came to me: ²⁴ Son of man, say to the land: You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained upon in the day of my anger. ²⁵ Your princes have been like a roaring lion tearing apart its prey. They have devoured people, absconded with their wealth and precious treasures, and caused many women within it to become widows.

²⁶ Your priests have violated my law and made profane my holy things. They have failed to make any distinction between the sacred and the profane, nor have they taught the difference between the clean and the unclean. They have completely ignored my Sabbaths, and I have been profaned in their midst. ²⁷ Your priests are like wolves tearing apart their prey, shedding blood, and killing people in the pursuit of dishonest gain. ²⁸ Your prophets whitewash their deeds by revealing false visions and offering lying prophecies asserting that the Lord God has spoken when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ Meanwhile the people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and forced resident aliens to submit to injustice.

³⁰ I searched among my people for someone who could build a barricade and stand before me in the breach to keep me from destroying the land, but I found no one. ³¹ Therefore, I poured forth my fury upon them and consumed them with my fiery wrath. I have brought down their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord God.

Chapter 23^[ag]

The Sins of Two Sisters. ¹ This word of the Lord came to me: ² Son of man, there once were two women, the daughters of the same mother. ³ Even as young girls they became prostitutes in Egypt. There the Egyptians caressed their bosoms and fondled their virginal breasts. ⁴ The older was named Oholah,^[ah] and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

⁵ Oholah became a whore even though she belonged to me. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians— ⁶ warriors dressed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men and skilled horsemen. ⁷ She offered herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians, and she defiled herself with the idols of all those for whom she lusted. ⁸ Nor did she discontinue the harlotry she had begun in Egypt, where men had slept with her as a young girl, fondling her virginal breasts and pouring out their lust upon her.

⁹ Therefore, I abandoned her to her lovers, the Assyrians, for whom she had lusted. ¹⁰ They stripped her naked, and after they took away her sons and her daughters, they slew her with the sword. She became a byword among women for the justice that was inflicted upon her.

¹¹ Her sister Oholibah saw all this, but she was even more depraved in her lust than her sister, and she surpassed her in harlotry. ¹² She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors arrayed in full armor, skilled horsemen, all of them handsome young men. ¹³ Then I realized that she, too, had been defiled. Both she and her sister had traveled the same path.

¹⁴ However, this younger sister went even further in her harlotry. When she saw male figures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, ¹⁵ with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like Babylonian officers, natives of Chaldea; ¹⁶ as soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers^[ai] to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ Then the Babylonians came to her, shared her bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. And after she had defiled herself with them, she turned away from them in disgust.

¹⁸ After she had flaunted her harlotry so openly and her nakedness was revealed, I turned from her in disgust as I had withdrawn from her sister. ¹⁹ Yet she became even more promiscuous, remembering the days of her youth when she had played the whore in Egypt ²⁰ and lusted for her lecherous paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys and whose ejaculations were like those of stallions.

²¹ You longed for the lewdness of your youth when the Egyptians fondled your bosom and caressed your breasts. ²² Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: I will now stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned away in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: