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Ezekiel 5-7
Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel 5-7
Contemporary English Version
Jerusalem's Coming Destruction
The Lord said:
5 Ezekiel, son of man, get a sharp sword and use it to cut off your hair and beard. Weigh the hair and divide it into three equal piles. 2 After you attack the brick that stands for Jerusalem, burn one pile of your hair on the brick. Chop up the second pile and let the small pieces of hair fall around the brick. Throw the third pile into the wind, and I will strike it with my own sword.
3 Keep a few of the hairs and wrap them in the hem of your clothes. 4 Then pull out a few of those hairs and throw them in the fire, so they will also burn. This fire will spread, destroying everyone in Israel.
5 I am the Lord God, and I have made Jerusalem the most important place in the world, and all other nations admire it. 6 But the people of Jerusalem rebelled and refuse to obey me. They ignored my laws and have become even more sinful than the nations around them.
7 So tell the people of Jerusalem:
I am the Lord God! You have refused to obey my laws and teachings, and instead you have obeyed the laws of the surrounding nations. You have become more rebellious than any of them! 8 Now all those nations will watch as I turn against you and punish you 9 for your sins. Your punishment will be more horrible than anything I've ever done or will ever do again. 10 (A) Parents will be so desperate for food that they will eat their own children, and children will eat their parents. Those who survive this horror will be scattered in every direction.
11 Your sins have disgusted me and made my temple unfit as a place to worship me. So I swear by my own life that I will cut you down[a] and show you no pity. 12 A third of you will die here in Jerusalem from disease or starvation. Another third will be killed in war. And I will scatter the last third of you in every direction, then track you down and kill you.
13 You will feel my fierce anger until I have finished taking revenge. Then you will know that I, the Lord, was furious because of your disobedience. 14 Every passerby will laugh at your destruction. Foreign nations 15 will insult you and make fun of you, but they will also be shocked and terrified at what I did in my anger. 16 I will destroy your crops until you starve to death, and disasters will strike you like arrows. 17 (B) Starvation and wild animals will kill your children. I'll punish you with horrible diseases, and your enemies will strike you down with their swords. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Israel Is Doomed
6 The Lord God said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, face the hills of Israel and tell them:
3 Listen, you mountains and hills, and every valley and gorge! I, the Lord, am about to turn against you and crush all the places where foreign gods are worshiped. 4 Every altar will be smashed, and in front of the idols I will put to death the people who worship them. 5 Dead bodies and bones will be lying around the idols and the altars. 6 Every town in Israel will be destroyed to make sure that each shrine, idol, and altar is smashed—everything the Israelites made will be a pile of ruins.[b] 7 All over the country, your people will die. And those who survive will know that I, the Lord, did these things. 8 I will let some of the people live through this punishment, but I will scatter them among the nations, 9 where they will be prisoners. And when they think of me, they will realize that they disgraced me by rebelling and by worshiping idols. They will hate themselves for the evil things they did, 10 and they will know that I am the Lord and that my warnings must be taken seriously.
11 The Lord God then said:
Ezekiel, beat your fists together and stomp your feet in despair! Moan in sorrow, because the people of Israel have done disgusting things and now will be killed by enemy troops, or they will die from starvation and disease. 12 Those who live far away will be struck with deadly diseases. Those who live nearby will be killed in war. And the ones who are left will starve to death. I will let loose my anger on them! 13 These people used to offer incense to idols at altars built on hills and mountaintops and in the shade of large oak trees. But when they see dead bodies lying around those altars, they will know that I am the Lord. 14 I will make their country a barren wasteland, from the Southern Desert to the town of Diblah in the north. Then they will know that I, the Lord, have done these things.
Disaster Is Near
7 The Lord God said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel that I am saying:
Israel will soon come to an end! Your whole country is about to be destroyed 3 as punishment for your disgusting sins. I, the Lord, am so angry 4 that I will show no pity. I will punish you for the evil you've done, and you will know that I am the Lord.
5 There's never been anything like the coming disaster.[c] 6 And when it comes, your life will be over. 7 You people of Israel are doomed! Soon there will be panic on the mountaintops instead of celebration.[d] 8 I will let loose my anger and punish you for the evil things you've done. You'll get what you deserve. 9 Your sins are so terrible, that you'll get no mercy from me. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have punished you.
10 Disaster is near! Injustice and arrogance are everywhere, 11 and violent criminals run free. None of you will survive the disaster, and everything you own and value will be shattered.[e] 12 The time is coming when everyone will be ruined. Buying and selling will stop, 13 and people who sell property will never get it back, because all of you must be punished for your sins. And I won't change my mind![f]
14 A signal has been blown on the trumpet, and weapons are prepared for battle. But no one goes to war, because in my anger I will strike down everyone in Israel.
Israel Is Surrounded
The Lord said to the people of Israel:
15 War, disease, and starvation are everywhere! People who live in the countryside will be killed in battle, and those who live in towns will die from starvation or deadly diseases. 16 Anyone who survives will escape into the hills, like doves who leave the valleys to find safety.
All of you will moan[g] because of your sins. 17 Your hands will tremble, and your knees go limp. 18 You will put on sackcloth[h] to show your sorrow, but terror will overpower you. Shame will be written all over your faces, and you will shave your heads in despair. 19 Your silver and gold will be thrown into the streets like garbage, because those are the two things that led you into sin, and now they cannot save you from my anger. They are not even worth enough to buy food. 20 You took great pride in using your beautiful jewelry to make disgusting idols of foreign gods. So I will make your jewelry worthless.
21 Wicked foreigners will rob and disgrace you. 22 They will break into my temple[i] and leave it unfit as a place to worship me, but I will look away and let it happen.
23 Your whole country is in confusion![j] Murder and violence are everywhere in Israel, 24 so I will tell the most wicked nations to come and take over your homes. They will put an end to the pride you have in your strong army, and they will make your places of worship unfit to use. 25 You will be terrified and will desperately look for peace—but there will be no peace. 26 One tragedy will follow another, and you'll hear only bad news. People will beg prophets to give them a message from me. Priests will stop teaching my Law, and wise leaders won't be able to give advice. 27 Even your king and his officials will lose hope and cry in despair. Your hands will tremble with fear.
I will punish you for your sins and treat you the same way you have treated others. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Footnotes
- 5.11 cut you down: Or “turn my back on you.”
- 6.6 will be a pile of ruins: Three ancient translations; Hebrew “will become guilty.”
- 7.5 disaster: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
- 7.7 celebration: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 7.
- 7.11 shattered: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 10,11.
- 7.13 mind: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 13.
- 7.16 will moan: Hebrew; two ancient translations “will die.”
- 7.18 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
- 7.22 my temple: The Hebrew text has “my treasure,” which may refer to the temple, to Jerusalem, or to Israel itself.
- 7.23 Your whole country is in confusion: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Get chains ready to drag away the dead bodies of your people.”
Ezekiel 5-7
New International Version
Ezekiel 5-7
New International Version
God’s Razor of Judgment
5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor(A) to shave(B) your head and your beard.(C) Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. 2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn(D) a third(E) of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind.(F) For I will pursue them with drawn sword.(G) 3 But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.(H) 4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire(I) and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.(J) 6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.(K)
7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even[a] conformed to the standards of the nations around you.(L)
8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.(M) 9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.(N) 10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents.(O) I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.(P) 11 Therefore as surely as I live,(Q) declares the Sovereign(R) Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary(S) with all your vile images(T) and detestable practices,(U) I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.(V) 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds(W) and pursue with drawn sword.(X)
13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath(Y) against them will subside, and I will be avenged.(Z) And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.(AA)
14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.(AB) 15 You will be a reproach(AC) and a taunt, a warning(AD) and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke.(AE) I the Lord have spoken.(AF) 16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.(AG) 17 I will send famine and wild beasts(AH) against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed(AI) will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.(AJ)”
Doom for the Mountains of Israel
6 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face(AK) against the mountains(AL) of Israel; prophesy against them(AM) 3 and say: ‘You 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:(AN) I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.(AO) 4 Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars(AP) will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.(AQ) 5 I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones(AR) around your altars.(AS) 6 Wherever you live,(AT) the towns will be laid waste and the high places(AU) demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols(AV) smashed and ruined, your incense altars(AW) broken down, and what you have made wiped out.(AX) 7 Your people will fall slain(AY) among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(AZ)
8 “‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape(BA) the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.(BB) 9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember(BC) me—how I have been grieved(BD) by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols.(BE) They will loathe themselves for the evil(BF) they have done and for all their detestable practices.(BG) 10 And they will know that I am the Lord;(BH) I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.(BI)
11 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.(BJ) 12 One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath(BK) on them.(BL) 13 And they will know that I am the Lord, when their people lie slain among their idols(BM) around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak(BN)—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.(BO) 14 And I will stretch out my hand(BP) against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah[b]—wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(BQ)’”
The End Has Come
7 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:
“‘The end!(BR) The end has come
upon the four corners(BS) of the land!
3 The end is now upon you,
and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct(BT)
and repay you for all your detestable practices.(BU)
4 I will not look on you with pity;(BV)
I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.
“‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’(BW)
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Disaster!(BX) Unheard-of[c] disaster!
See, it comes!
6 The end(BY) has come!
The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
See, it comes!
7 Doom has come upon you,
upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day(BZ) is near!(CA)
There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
8 I am about to pour out my wrath(CB) on you
and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
and repay you for all your detestable practices.(CC)
9 I will not look on you with pity;
I will not spare you.(CD)
I will repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.(CE)
“‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.(CF)
10 “‘See, the day!
See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
the rod(CG) has budded,
arrogance has blossomed!
11 Violence(CH) has arisen,[d]
a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
nothing of value.(CI)
12 The time has come!
The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer(CJ) rejoice
nor the seller grieve,
for my wrath is on the whole crowd.(CK)
13 The seller will not recover
the property that was sold—
as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
will preserve their life.(CL)
14 “‘They have blown the trumpet,(CM)
they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
for my wrath(CN) is on the whole crowd.
15 Outside is the sword;
inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
will die by the sword;
those in the city
will be devoured by famine and plague.(CO)
16 The fugitives(CP) who escape
will flee to the mountains.
Like doves(CQ) of the valleys,
they will all moan,
each for their own sins.(CR)
17 Every hand will go limp;(CS)
every leg will be wet with urine.(CT)
18 They will put on sackcloth(CU)
and be clothed with terror.(CV)
Every face will be covered with shame,
and every head will be shaved.(CW)
19 “‘They will throw their silver into the streets,(CX)
and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
will not be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s wrath.(CY)
It will not satisfy(CZ) their hunger
or fill their stomachs,
for it has caused them to stumble(DA) into sin.(DB)
20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
and used it to make(DC) their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;(DD)
therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.(DE)
21 I will give their wealth as plunder(DF) to foreigners
and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
who will defile it.(DG)
22 I will turn my face(DH) away from the people,
and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
and will defile it.(DI)
23 “‘Prepare chains!
For the land is full of bloodshed,(DJ)
and the city is full of violence.(DK)
24 I will bring the most wicked of nations
to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
and their sanctuaries(DL) will be desecrated.(DM)
25 When terror comes,
they will seek peace in vain.(DN)
26 Calamity upon calamity(DO) will come,
and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,(DP)
priestly instruction in the law will cease,
the counsel of the elders will come to an end.(DQ)
27 The king will mourn,
the prince will be clothed with despair,(DR)
and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,(DS)
and by their own standards I will judge them.
“‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.(DT)’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 5:7 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac You have
- Ezekiel 6:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts Riblah
- Ezekiel 7:5 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Disaster after
- Ezekiel 7:11 Or The violent one has become
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