“When you say, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the peoples of other countries, worshiping wood and stone,’ what you have in mind will never happen.

“I will make you pass under the rod [as the shepherd does with his sheep when he counts them, and I will count you as Mine and constrain you] and bring you into the bond of the covenant [to which you are permanently bound].

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.

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.

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.

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.

‘It is sharpened to make a slaughter,
Polished to flash and glimmer like lightning!’

Shall we then rejoice [when such a disaster approaches]? But it rejects and views with contempt the scepter of My son [Judah].

"'For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? declares the sovereign Lord.'

Though it will become to them a veritably false divination in their eyes, even when hound by oaths to theme Yet he calling to mind iniquity, will determine that it shall he captured.

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "Because you remembered your sins when your transgressions were uncovered, your sins are visibly evident in everything you've done. And since you've remembered them, you'll be taken captive.

And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,

A total ruin I will make it! It will come to an end when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.'

Thou, therefore, son of man Prophesy and say, thus, saith My Lord. Yahweh, As to the sons of Ammon and as to their reproach Yea thou shalt say. A sword! a sword! Drawn for slaughter, Furbished, that when it beginneth, it may flash like lightning;

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.

In you they have let the shame of their fathers be seen; in you they have done wrong to a woman at the time when she was unclean.

Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the days when I deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken, and I will act.

When you've been defiled in the sight of the nations, then you'll know that I am the LORD."'"

like melting silver at the center of a furnace. When you've been melted from the center out, then you'll know that I am the LORD. I'll pour out my anger on you.'"

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.

They were acting like loose women in Egypt; when they were young their behaviour was loose: there their breasts were crushed, even the points of their young breasts were crushed.

And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,

She didn’t give up her promiscuity that began in Egypt, when men slept with her in her youth, caressed her virgin nipples, and poured out their lust on her.

They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters and they killed her with the sword. So she became notorious among women, and they executed judgments on her.

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.

And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with vermilion,

And she lusted for them {when her eyes saw them}, and she sent messengers to them [at] Chaldea.

The Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and they defiled her with their evil desire; and when she had been defiled by them, she (Jerusalem) broke the relationship and pushed them away from her in disgust.

When she flaunted her promiscuity and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust just as I turned away from her sister.

And she multiplieth her whoredoms, To remember the days of her youth, When she went a-whoring in the land of Egypt.

Thus you longed for the lewdness and vulgarity of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom on account of the breasts of your youth.

When I vent My jealous rage on you, they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and ears, and your descendants will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your descendants will be consumed by fire.

They will treat you with hatred, take away all you have labored for, and leave you naked and bare. Your nakedness will be exposed, just as when you engaged in prostitution and obscene conduct.

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.

“In addition, they sent for men who came from far away when a messenger was dispatched to them. And look how they came! You bathed, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry for them.

“Then I said concerning her who was worn out by adulteries, ‘Will they now commit adultery with her when she is thus?’

"O thou son of man, write up the name of this day; yea, even the hour of this present day when the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem.

“Heap on wood, kindle the fire,
Boil the meat well [done]
And mix in the spices,
And let the bones be burned.

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.

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,

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;

To the Sons of the East when they come against the sons of Ammon, and I will deliver it up for possession,-to the end the sons of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations:

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.

Yea therefore sayeth the LORD God: Behold O Tyre, I will upon thee, I will bring a great multitude of people against thee, like as when the sea ariseth with his waves:

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.

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?

That's when all the kings of the seafaring nations will abandon their thrones, strip off their fancy clothes, and collapse trembling on the ground. They'll be so frightened as they observe what has happened to you that they'll be unable to stop trembling. They will be utterly appalled at you!

"Now the coastland inhabitants will tremble on the day that you fall. The coastland inhabitants, who make their living from the sea, will be terrified when you pass away!'

For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;

When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;

Your wealth, your products, your merchandise your sailors, your pilots, your tailors, your salesmen, all your mercenaries with you your entire company with you will fall into the midst of the sea on the day when you're overthrown!

When your ships' captains cry out, the pasturelands along the coast will cry out!

When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.

In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.

Wilt thou really say, God, am I, before him who is slaying thee; When, thou, art a man and not a God, in the hand of them who are piercing h thee?

You were in Eden, the garden of God, and every precious stone [was] your adornment: carnelian, topaz and moonstone, turquoise, onyx and jasper, sapphire, malachite and emerald. And gold [was] the craftsmanship of your settings and your mountings in you; on the day when you were created they were prepared.

Thou, wast the anointed cherub that covered, - When I appointed thee, in the holy mount of God, thou wast, Amid stones of fire, thou didst walk to and fro:

You [were] blameless in your ways from the day {when you were created}, until wickedness was found in you.

And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob.

And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.

When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.

Again, thus sayeth the LORD God: When the forty years are expired I will gather the Egyptians together again, out of the nations, among whom they were scattered,

And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

"When that day comes about, I'll strengthen Israel's military might, and I will give you an audience in their midst. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'"

And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be destroyed.

"When that happens, couriers will go out in ships to terrify Ethiopia in its complacency. Anguish will visit them as it will visit Egypt. Watch out! It's coming!'"

At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity.

But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt.

When I disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them among the countries, they will know that I am Yahweh.”

Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.

When he is fallen, all the fowls of the air shall sit upon him, and all wild beasts of the field shall go about among his branches:

Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him.

I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.

I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.

That's when I'll make their waterways flow smoothly, and their rivers flow like olive oil,' declares the Lord GOD."

When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.

They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones, when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living.

“Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his army,” says the Lord God.

Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:

If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

then if anyone who hears the sound of the alarm does not heed the warning, when the sword arrives and destroys him, his shed blood will remain his own responsibility.

And the watchman, when he seeth the sword coming in, And he hath not blown with a trumpet, And the people hath not been warned, And come in doth a sword, And taketh away of them -- a soul, He in his iniquity is taken away, And his blood from the hand of the watchman I require.

“As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.

When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

And thou, when thou hast warned the wicked of his way, to turn back from it, And he hath not turned back from his way, He in his iniquity doth die, And thou thy soul hast delivered.

Thou, therefore, Son of man, Say unto the house of Israel, Thus, have ye spoken saying: When our transgressions and our sins are upon us, - and for them, we are melting away How then can we live?

"So you, son of man, say to {your people} [that] the righteousness of the righteous shall not save him in the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked {will not cause him to stumble} on the day of his returning from his wickedness; and [the] righteous will not be able to live by it on the day when he returns to his sin.

When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;

But the children of your people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: when it is they whose way is not equal.

When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.

And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.

Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.

And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

"This is what the Lord GOD says: "Watch out, I'm coming after you shepherds! I'm going to demand my sheep back from them and fire them as shepherds. The shepherds won't be shepherds anymore when I snatch my flock right out of their mouths so they can't be eaten by them anymore."'"

[just] like [the] caring of a shepherd [for] his herd on the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places {to which they were scattered} on [the] day {of storm and stress}.