The Book of Ezekial
Chapter 1
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth
month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the
river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of
God.
2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year
of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the
priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar;
and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the
north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was
about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the
midst of the fire.
5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four
living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of
a man.
6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four
wings.
7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their
feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour
of burnished brass.
8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on
their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not
when they went; they went every one straight forward.
10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the
face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four
had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an
eagle.
11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched
upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered
their bodies.
12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the
spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their
appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of
lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was
bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the
appearance of a flash of lightning.
15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel
upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like
unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their
appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a
wheel.
17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and
they turned not when they went.
18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were
dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by
them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the
wheels were lifted up.
20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither
was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them:
for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
21 When those went, these went; and when those stood,
these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were
lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in
the wheels.
22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the
living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth
over their heads above.
23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the
one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and
every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.
24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings,
like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of
speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their
wings.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over
their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was
the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon
the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man
above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of
fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward,
and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the
appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in
the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This
was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I
saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that
spake.
Chapter 2
1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet,
and I will speak unto thee.
2 And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me,
and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the
children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me:
they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very
day.
4 For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do
send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
GOD.
5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will
forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath
been a prophet among them.
6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be
afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou
dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed
at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they
will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most
rebellious.
8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not
thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I
give thee.
9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me;
and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within
and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and
woe.
Chapter 3
1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou
findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that
roll.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat,
and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it;
and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.
4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the
house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech
and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel;
6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard
language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee
to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for
they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent
and hardhearted.
8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces,
and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy
forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they
be a rebellious house.
10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that
I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine
ears.
11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the
children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
12 Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a
voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the LORD from
his place.
13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living
creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over
against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
14 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I
went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was
strong upon me.
15 Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that
dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there
astonished among them seven days.
16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house
of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from
me.
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and
thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his
wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his
wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but
thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his
righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before
him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die
in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be
remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the
righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he
is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
22 And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said
unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with
thee.
23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and,
behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the
river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my
feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thine
house.
25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands
upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among
them:
26 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy
mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for
they are a rebellious house.
27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and
thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let
him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a
rebellious house.
Chapter 4
1 Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it
before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:
2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it,
and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set
battering rams against it round about.
3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for
a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and
it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a
sign to the house of Israel.
4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity
of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that
thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity,
according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so
shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy
right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty
days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of
Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy
against it.
8 And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt
not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of
thy siege.
9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans,
and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and
make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou
shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat
thereof.
10 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight,
twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part
of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt
bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
13 And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of
Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive
them.
14 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been
polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that
which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable
flesh into my mouth.
15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung
for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
16 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will
break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight,
and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with
astonishment:
17 That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one
with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
Chapter 5
1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee
a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard:
then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of
the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a
third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt
scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
3 Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind
them in thy skirts.
4 Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of
the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth
into all the house of Israel.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set
it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about
her.
6 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more
than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round
about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have
not walked in them.
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied
more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my
statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to
the judgments of the nations that are round about you;
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am
against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight
of the nations.
9 And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and
whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine
abominations.
10 Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst
of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute
judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all
the winds.
11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely,
because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and
with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither
shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
12 A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and
with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part
shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part
into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause
my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know
that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my
fury in them.
14 Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among
the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass
by.
15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction
and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I
shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious
rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine,
which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy
you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of
bread:
17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and
they shall bereave thee: and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;
and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken
it.
Chapter 6
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel,
and prophesy against them,
3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the
Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to
the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon
you, and I will destroy your high places.
4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall
be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
5 And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of
Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your
altars.
6 In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid
waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid
waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your
images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye
shall know that I am the LORD.
8 Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that
shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered
through the countries.
9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the
nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with
their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes,
which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for
the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
10 And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have
not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
11 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and
stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the
house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by
the pestilence.
12 He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he
that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is
besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon
them.
13 Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain
men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high
hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and
under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all
their idols.
14 So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the
land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in
all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Chapter 7
1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying,
2 Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the
land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the
land.
3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine
anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will
recompense upon thee all thine abominations.
4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have
pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations
shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the
LORD.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold,
is come.
6 An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee;
behold, it is come.
7 The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in
the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the
sounding again of the mountains.
8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and
accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy
ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.
9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity:
I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that
are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that
smiteth.
10 Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone
forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.
11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of
them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of their's: neither
shall there be wailing for them.
12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the
buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude
thereof.
13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold,
although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole
multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen
himself in the iniquity of his life.
14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready;
but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude
thereof.
15 The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine
within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is
in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
16 But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be
on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every
one for his iniquity.
17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak
as water.
18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and
horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness
upon all their heads.
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their
gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to
deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy
their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock
of their iniquity.
20 As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in
majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their
detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.
21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for
a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute
it.
22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall
pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile
it.
23 Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes,
and the city is full of violence.
24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and
they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong
to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.
25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and
there shall be none.
26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be
upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law
shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.
27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed
with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be
troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their
deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the
LORD.
Chapter 8
1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth
month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the
elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there
upon me.
2 Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of
fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his
loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of
amber.
3 And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a
lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the
heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of
the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the
image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there,
according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now
the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the
north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of
jealousy in the entry.
6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what
they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth
here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again,
and thou shalt see greater abominations.
7 And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I
looked, behold a hole in the wall.
8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall:
and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door.
9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked
abominations that they do here.
10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping
things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel,
pourtrayed upon the wall round about.
11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients
of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son
of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of
incense went up.
12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what
the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the
chambers of his imagery? for they say, the LORD seeth us not; the LORD
hath forsaken the earth.
13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou
shalt see greater abominations that they do.
14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the
LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women
weeping for Tammuz.
15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of
man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than
these.
16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's
house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the
porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs
toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they
worshipped the sun toward the east.
17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of
man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the
abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with
violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the
branch to their nose.
18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not
spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a
loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
Chapter 9
1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying,
Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man
with his destroying weapon in his hand.
2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher
gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in
his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's
inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen
altar.
3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the
cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to
the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his
side;
4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the
city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of
the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in
the midst thereof.
5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after
him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye
pity:
6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little
children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and
begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were
before the house.
7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the
courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the
city.
8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I
was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt
thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon
Jerusalem?
9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of
Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and
the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the
earth, and the LORD seeth not.
10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither
will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.
11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the
inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast
commanded me.
Chapter 10
1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was
above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a
sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said,
Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with
coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city.
And he went in in my sight.
3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house,
when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and
stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the
cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's
glory.
5 And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to
the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.
6 And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man
clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from
between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the
wheels.
7 And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the
cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof,
and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it,
and went out.
8 And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's
hand under their wings.
9 And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the
cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub:
and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl
stone.
10 And as for their appearances, they four had one
likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.
11 When they went, they went upon their four sides; they
turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they
followed it; they turned not as they went.
12 And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands,
and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the
wheels that they four had.
13 As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my
hearing, O wheel.
14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the
face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third
the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living
creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.
16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them:
and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth,
the same wheels also turned not from beside them.
17 When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted
up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature
was in them.
18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the
threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.
19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up
from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were
beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the
LORD's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them
above.
20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of
Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the
cherubims.
21 Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four
wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their
wings.
22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces
which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they
went every one straight forward.
Chapter 11
1 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto
the east gate of the LORD's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at
the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the
son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the
people.
2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that
devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
3 Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this
city is the caldron, and we be the flesh.
4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of
man.
5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto
me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for
I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.
6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have
filled the streets thereof with the slain.
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye
have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the
caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.
8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon
you, saith the Lord GOD.
9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and
deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among
you.
10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the
border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye
be the flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of
Israel:
12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not
walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after
the manners of the heathen that are round about you.
13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah
the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a
loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the
remnant of Israel?
14 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of
thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the
inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is
this land given in possession.
16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have
cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them
among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the
countries where they shall come.
17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even
gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye
have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.
18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away
all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from
thence.
19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new
spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and
will give them an heart of flesh:
20 That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine
ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their
God.
21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of
their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their
way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the
wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them
above.
23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the
city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the
city.
24 Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a
vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the
vision that I had seen went up from me.
25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things
that the LORD had shewed me.
Chapter 12
1 The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious
house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and
hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for
removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy
place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider,
though they be a rebellious house.
4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their
sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their
sight, as they that go forth into captivity.
5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out
thereby.
6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders,
and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou
see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of
Israel.
7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my
stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the
wall with mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it
upon my shoulder in their sight.
8 And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me,
saying,
9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious
house, said unto thee, What doest thou?
10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This
burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel
that are among them.
11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it
be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.
12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his
shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the
wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the
ground with his eyes.
13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be
taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the
Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.
14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about
him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after
them.
15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall
scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.
16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from
the famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their
abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know that
I am the LORD.
17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me,
saying,
18 Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy
water with trembling and with carefulness;
19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the
Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They
shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their water with
astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that is therein,
because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.
20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste,
and the land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the
LORD.
21 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
22 Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the
land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision
faileth?
23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will
make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in
Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every
vision.
24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor
flattering divination within the house of Israel.
25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I
shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your
days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith
the Lord GOD.
26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying.
27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say,
The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of
the times that are far off.
28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There
shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have
spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
Chapter 13
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that
prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts,
Hear ye the word of the LORD;
3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets,
that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the
deserts.
5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the
hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the
LORD.
6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The
LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to
hope that they would confirm the word.
7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a
lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not
spoken?
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have
spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith
the Lord GOD.
9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see
vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my
people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of
Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall
know that I am the Lord GOD.
10 Because, even because they have seduced my people,
saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo,
others daubed it with untempered morter:
11 Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter,
that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great
hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it.
12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto
you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it
with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in
mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.
14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with
untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation
thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed
in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon
them that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you,
The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;
16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy
concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is
no peace, saith the Lord GOD.
17 Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the
daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and
prophesy thou against them,
18 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that
sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every
stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye
save the souls alive that come unto you?
19 And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of
barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and
to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people
that hear your lies?
20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against
your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I
will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls
that ye hunt to make them fly.
21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people
out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and
ye shall know that I am the LORD.
22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the
righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the
wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him
life:
23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine
divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall
know that I am the LORD.
Chapter 14
1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and
sat before me.
2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their
heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face:
should I be enquired of at all by them?
4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols
in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his
face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh
according to the multitude of his idols;
5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart,
because they are all estranged from me through their idols.
6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your
faces from all your abominations.
7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger
that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth
up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity
before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me;
I the LORD will answer him by myself:
8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make
him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my
people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a
thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my
hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people
Israel.
10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity:
the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that
seeketh unto him;
11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me,
neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they
may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by
trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and
will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it,
and will cut off man and beast from it:
14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in
it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith
the Lord GOD.
15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and
they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through
because of the beasts:
16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the
Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall
be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.
17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword,
go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:
18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the
Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only
shall be delivered themselves.
19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out
my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,
saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they
shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send
my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the
noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and
beast?
22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall
be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth
unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be
comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even
concerning all that I have brought upon it.
23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and
their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all
that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
Chapter 15
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, or
than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?
3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men
take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire
devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet
for any work?
5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how
much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured
it, and it is burned?
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree
among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so
will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go out
from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that
I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.
8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have
committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.
Chapter 16
1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her
abominations,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy
birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an
Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy
navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou
wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to
have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to
the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in
thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea,
I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field,
and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent
ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas
thou wast naked and bare.
8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold,
thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and
covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant
with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed
away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee
with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered
thee with silk.
11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets
upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in
thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy
raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat
fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and
thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy
beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon
thee, saith the Lord GOD.
15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst
the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on
every one that passed by; his it was.
16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy
high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the
like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of
my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men,
and didst commit whoredom with them,
18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them:
and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil,
and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a
sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.
20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters,
whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to
be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to
cause them to pass through the fire for them?
22 And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou
hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare,
and wast polluted in thy blood.
23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe
unto thee! saith the LORD GOD;)
24 That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place,
and hast made thee an high place in every street.
25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the
way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to
every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.
26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians
thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to
provoke me to anger.
27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over
thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the
will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are
ashamed of thy lewd way.
28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians,
because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them,
and yet couldest not be satisfied.
29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the
land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied
therewith.
30 How weak is thine heart, saith the LORD GOD, seeing
thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish
woman;
31 In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head
of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not
been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;
32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh
strangers instead of her husband!
33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy
gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on
every side for thy whoredom.
34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy
whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that
thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art
contrary.
35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD:
36 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was
poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy
lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of
thy children, which thou didst give unto them;
37 Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with
whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all
them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against
thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy
nakedness.
38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and
shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and
jealousy.
39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they
shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high
places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair
jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and
they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their
swords.
41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute
judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to
cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any
more.
42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my
jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more
angry.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth,
but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will
recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not
commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.
44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this
proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her
husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which
lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and
your father an Amorite.
46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her
daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that
dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done
after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou
wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.
48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath
not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy
daughters.
49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom,
pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her
daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and
needy.
50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before
me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but
thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified
thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.
52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine
own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they:
they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear
thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity
of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her
daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the
midst of them:
54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be
confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto
them.
55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return
to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to
their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your
former estate.
56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in
the day of thy pride,
57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of
thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her,
the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.
58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations,
saith the LORD.
59 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee
as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the
covenant.
60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in
the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting
covenant.
61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when
thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will
give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou
shalt know that I am the LORD:
63 That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never
open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward
thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.
Chapter 17
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto
the house of Israel;
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with
great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came
unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried
it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.
5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in
a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow
tree.
6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature,
whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so
it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth
sprigs.
7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and
many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and
shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows
of her plantation.
8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it
might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be
a goodly vine.
9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper?
shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof,
that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even
without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots
thereof.
10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it
not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the
furrows where it grew.
11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying,
12 Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these
things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem,
and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them
with him to Babylon;
13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant
with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of
the land:
14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift
itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.
15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors
into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he
prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the
covenant, and be delivered?
16 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place
where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and
whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall
die.
17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great
company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts,
to cut off many persons:
18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant,
when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall
not escape.
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely
mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even
it will I recompense upon his own head.
20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be
taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with
him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.
21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by
the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and
ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.
22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the
highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from
the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high
mountain and eminent:
23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant
it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly
cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of
the branches thereof shall they dwell.
24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the
LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have
dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the
LORD have spoken and have done it.
Chapter 18
1 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the
land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the
children's teeth are set on edge?
3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have
occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father,
so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall
die.
5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and
right,
6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath
lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath
defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous
woman,
7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the
debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to
the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath
taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath
executed true judgment between man and man,
9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments,
to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord
GOD.
10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood,
and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath
eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife,
12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by
violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the
idols, hath committed abomination,
13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase:
shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these
abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's
sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath
lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled
his neighbour's wife,
16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the
pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the
hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,
17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath
not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked
in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall
surely live.
18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed,
spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his
people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of
the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and
hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely
live.
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not
bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the
iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him,
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he
hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and
right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they
shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he
shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?
saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and
live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the
abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his
righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass
that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall
he die.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now,
O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his
iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his
wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and
right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his
transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not
die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is
not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways
unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every
one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves
from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye
have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will
ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth,
saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Chapter 19
1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of
Israel,
2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down
among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.
3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young
lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.
4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their
pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.
5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was
lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young
lion.
6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a
young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.
7 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste
their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the
noise of his roaring.
8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the
provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their
pit.
9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to
the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no
more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the
waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many
waters.
11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that
bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she
appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.
12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to
the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were
broken and withered; the fire consumed them.
13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and
thirsty ground.
14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which
hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to
rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
Chapter 20
1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth
month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel
came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me.
2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I
live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them?
cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
5 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day
when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of
Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted
up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;
6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to
bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for
them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the
abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of
Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto
me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes,
neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out
my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the
land of Egypt.
9 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be
polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made
myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of
Egypt.
10 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of
Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.
11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my
judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign
between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify
them.
13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the
wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my
judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths
they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in
the wilderness, to consume them.
14 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be
polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
15 Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the
wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given
them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
16 Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in
my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their
idols.
17 Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them,
neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.
18 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk
ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments,
nor defile yourselves with their idols:
19 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep
my judgments, and do them;
20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign
between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they
walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if
a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I
said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against
them in the wilderness.
22 Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my
name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen,
in whose sight I brought them forth.
23 I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness,
that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the
countries;
24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had
despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were
after their fathers' idols.
25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good,
and judgments whereby they should not live;
26 And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they
caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might
make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the
LORD.
27 Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel,
and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have
blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.
28 For when I had brought them into the land, for the
which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high
hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices,
and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also
they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink
offerings.
29 Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto
ye go? And the name whereof is called Bamah unto this day.
30 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye
whoredom after their abominations?
31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to
pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even
unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I
live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
32 And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at
all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the
countries, to serve wood and stone.
33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty
hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule
over you:
34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will
gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty
hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people,
and there will I plead with you face to face.
36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness
of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will
bring you into the bond of the covenant:
38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and
them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the
country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of
Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD;
Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not
hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and
with your idols.
40 For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the
height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel,
all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there
will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with
all your holy things.
41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring
you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye
have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the
heathen.
42 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall
bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted
up mine hand to give it to your fathers.
43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your
doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in
your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD when I have
wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways,
nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord
GOD.
45 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying,
46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy
word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south
field;
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of
the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee,
and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the
flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the
north shall be burned therein.
48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled
it: it shall not be quenched.
49 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not
speak parables?
Chapter 21
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy
word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of
Israel,
3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD;
Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath,
and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous
and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath
against all flesh from the south to the north:
5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth
my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of
thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore
sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh:
and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every
spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it
cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
8 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say,
A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is
furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth
the rod of my son, as every tree.
11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be
handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the
hand of the slayer.
12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my
people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of
the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn
even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.
14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine
hands together. and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of
the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth
into their privy chambers.
15 I have set the point of the sword against all their
gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it
is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.
16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or
on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause
my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
18 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the
sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of
one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the
city.
20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of
the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the
way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows
bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to
appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice
with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a
mount, and to build a fort.
23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in
their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to
remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made
your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are
discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I
say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the
hand.
25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is
come, when iniquity shall have an end,
26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take
off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and
abase him that is high.
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall
be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it
him.
28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the
Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say
thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to
consume because of the glittering:
29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a
lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the
wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.
30 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will
judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy
nativity.
31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will
blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand
of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.
32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be
in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD
have spoken it.
Chapter 22
1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me,
saying,
2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge
the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.
3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city
sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh
idols against herself to defile herself.
4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed;
and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou
hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years:
therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to
all countries.
5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee,
shall mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.
6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to
their power to shed blood.
7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the
midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee
have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.
8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned
my sabbaths.
9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in
thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit
lewdness.
10 In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness:
in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.
11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's
wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in
thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.
12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast
taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours
by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy
dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in
the midst of thee.
14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong,
in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and
will do it.
15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse
thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.
16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the
sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
17 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross:
all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the
furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all
become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of
Jerusalem.
20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead,
and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt
it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave
you there, and melt you.
21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire
of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst therof.
22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so
shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD
have poured out my fury upon you.
23 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not
cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst
thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls;
they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many
widows in the midst thereof.
26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned
mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and
profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the
clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among
them.
27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves
ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest
gain.
28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered
morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the
Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
29 The people of the land have used oppression, and
exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have
oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up
the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not
destroy it: but I found none.
31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them;
I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I
recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Chapter 23
1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one
mother:
3 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed
whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they
bruised the teats of their virginity.
4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and
Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters.
Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.
5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she
doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all
of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all
them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted:
with all their idols she defiled herself.
8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for
in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her
virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her
lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
10 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and
her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among
women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more
corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than
her sister in her whoredoms.
12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains
and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of
them desirable young men.
13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both
one way,
14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw
men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with
vermilion,
15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed
attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner
of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted
upon them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love,
and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them,
and her mind was alienated from them.
18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her
nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was
alienated from her sister.
19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to
remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in
the land of Egypt.
20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as
the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy
youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy
youth.
22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold,
I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated,
and I will bring them against thee on every side;
23 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and
Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable
young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them
riding upon horses.
24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons,
and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee
buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before
them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall
deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears;
and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy
daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
26 They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take
away thy fair jewels.
27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and
thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift
up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
28 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver
thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from
whom thy mind is alienated:
29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take
away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the
nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy
whoredoms.
30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast
gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their
idols.
31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore
will I give her cup into thine hand.
32 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy
sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in
derision; it containeth much.
33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with
the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister
Samaria.
34 Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou
shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I
have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
35 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast
forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy
lewdness and thy whoredoms.
36 The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou
judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their
abominations;
37 That they have committed adultery, and blood is in
their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have
also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through
the fire, to devour them.
38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled
my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
39 For when they had slain their children to their idols,
then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus
have they done in the midst of mine house.
40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from
far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou
didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with
ornaments,
41 And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared
before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.
42 And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her:
and with the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the
wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns
upon their heads.
43 Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will
they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?
44 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman
that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah,
the lewd women.
45 And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the
manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood;
because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
46 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company
upon them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.
47 And the company shall stone them with stones, and
dispatch them with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their
daughters, and burn up their houses with fire.
48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land,
that all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness.
49 And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and
ye shall bear the sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord
GOD.
Chapter 24
1 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the
tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this
same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same
day.
3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour
water into it:
4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good
piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.
5 Take the choice of the flock, and burn also the bones
under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it
therein.
6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody
city, to the pot whose scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of
it! bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it.
7 For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon
the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with
dust;
8 That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I
have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be
covered.
9 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody
city! I will even make the pile for fire great.
10 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and
spice it well, and let the bones be burned.
11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the
brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be
molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.
12 She hath wearied herself with lies, and her great scum
went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire.
13 In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged
thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy
filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.
14 I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I
will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I
repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they
judge thee, saith the Lord GOD.
15 Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of
thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither
shall thy tears run down.
17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the
tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and
cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.
18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even
my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded.
19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what
these things are to us, that thou doest so?
20 Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto
me, saying,
21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength,
the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons
and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall by the sword.
22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your
lips, nor eat the bread of men.
23 And your tires shall be upon your heads, and your shoes
upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for
your iniquities, and mourn one toward another.
24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that
he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am
the Lord GOD.
25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when
I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of
their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their
daughters,
26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee,
to cause thee to hear it with thine ears?
27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is
escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a
sign unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Chapter 25
1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, and
prophesy against them;
3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord
GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my
sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it
was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into
captivity;
4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the
east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make
their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink
thy milk.
5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the
Ammonites a couching place for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the
LORD.
6 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped
thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy
despite against the land of Israel;
7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon
thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut
thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the
countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the
LORD.
8 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do
say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;
9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the
cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the
country, Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim,
10 Unto the men of the east with the Ammonites, and will
give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among
the nations.
11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall
know that I am the LORD.
12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt
against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended,
and revenged himself upon them;
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch
out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I
will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the
sword.
14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my
people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and
according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord
GOD.
15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have
dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to
destroy it for the old hatred;
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will
stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the
Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.
17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with
furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay
my vengeance upon them.
Chapter 26
1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first
day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against
Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is
turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against
thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the
sea causeth his waves to come up.
4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break
down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like
the top of a rock.
5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the
midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall
become a spoil to the nations.
6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain
by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon
Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north,
with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much
people.
8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field:
and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and
lift up the buckler against thee.
9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and
with his axes he shall break down thy towers.
10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust
shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and
of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as
men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all
thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong
garrisons shall go down to the ground.
12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a
prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy
thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy
dust in the midst of the water.
13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and
the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt
be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the
LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
15 Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles
shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter
is made in the midst of thee?
16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from
their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their