And the word of Jehovah will be to me, saying,

"Say now to the rebellious house of Israel, 'Do you not know what these [are]?' Say, 'Look! The king of Babylon will come [to] Jerusalem, and he will take its king and its officials, and he will bring them to himself, [to] Babylon.

And he will take from the seed of the kingdom and cut out with him a covenant, and he will bring him in with an oath, and he took the mighty of the land:

But Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant [with Babylon] and [still] escape?

{As I live},' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, '{surely} in the place of the king {who made} him king, who despised his oath and who broke his covenant with him--in the midst of Babylon he will die.

And not with a great army and with a great crowd will Pharaoh work with him in the war, at the pouring out of a siege ramp and the building of siege works to destroy many lives.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

And the word of Jehovah will be to me, saying,

What to you making use of this parable upon the land of Israel, saying, The fathers will eat sour grapes and the sons' teeth will be blunted?

{As I live}, {declares} the Lord Yahweh, it will surely not any longer be {appropriate for you} to quote this proverb in Israel!

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.

and has not ill-treated any man, but has given the debtor's pledge back to him, has robbed none by violence, has given his bread to the hungry and has covered the naked with a garment;

[and] in my statutes he goes about and my regulations he keeps, {performing faithfully} --[then] he is righteous, [and] certainly he will live," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

And he all those hath not done, For even on the mountains he hath eaten, And the wife of his neighbour he hath defiled,

has ill-treated the poor and needy; thieving, he stole; has not given back the pledge; and has lifted up his eyes to the idols; has committed abomination;

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.

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,

nor has ill-treated any man; has not withheld the pledge; nor has robbed by violence; but has given his bread to the hungry; and has covered the naked with clothes;

He brings back his hand from iniquity; he does not take interest and usury; he does my regulations; he goes in my statutes. He will not die because of the guilt of his father; he will surely live!

Because his father {oppressed severely}; {he stole from his brother}; [that] which [is] not good he did in the midst of his people, and look! He will die through his guilt.

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.

The person, the [one] sinning, will die. A son shall not bear the guilt of the father, and a father shall not bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him; the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

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.

All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.

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?

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.

Can ye then say - The way of My Lord will not be equal? Hear I pray you O house of Israel, Will my way, not be equal? Will not your ways be unequal?

When the righteous turns from his righteousness, and he does injustice, then he will die because of them; because of his injustice that he did he will die!

And when the wicked turns from his wickedness that he did and he does justice and righteousness, {he will preserve his life}.

Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Can the house of Israel then say- The way of My Lord will not be equal? Will my ways, not be equal O house of Israel? Will not your ways be unequal?

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.

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?

And she will bring up one of her whelps: it was a young lion, and it will learn to rend the prey eating man.

And the nations will hear concerning him; in their pit he was taken, and they will bring him with hooks to the land of Egypt

Now when the dame saw, that all her hope and comfort was away, she took another of her whelps, and made a lion of him.

And he will go about in the midst of the lions; he was a young lion, and he will learn to tear in pieces the prey, eating man.

And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities, so that the land was desolate, and all it contained, by the noise of his roaring.

Then came the heathen together on every side out of all countries against him, laid their nets for him, and took him in their pit.

And they will give him in a prison with hooks, and they will bring him to the king of Babel: they will bring him into fastnesses so that his voice shall no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

"'Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by water. It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.

It had strong branches, fit for the scepters of rulers;
its height towered among the clouds.
So it was conspicuous for its height
as well as its many branches.

And [so] fire has gone out from the stem of its branches; its fruit it has consumed, and [there] was not in it {a strong branch}, a scepter for ruling.'" This [is] a lament, and {it will be used as a lament}.

And it will be in the seventh year, in the fifth, in the tenth to the month, men from the old men of Israel came to seek Jehovah, and they sat before my face.

Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.

Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Then make them know [accurately] and understand fully the repulsive acts of their fathers;

And say to them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of my choosing upon Israel, and I will lift up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and I will be known to them in the land of Egypt, and I will lift up my hand to them, saying, I am Jehovah your God;

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:

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.

And I will do for sake of my name, that it was not profaned before the eyes of the nations which they were in the midst of them, which I was made known to them before their eyes to bring them forth from the land of Egypt.

and I gave my statutes to them, and my regulations I made known to them, which, if a person does them, then he will live by them.

I also gave them My Sabbaths to serve as a sign between Me and them, so they will know that I am Yahweh who sets them apart as holy.

"But in the desert the house of Israel rebelled against me; {they did not walk in my statutes}, and they rejected my regulations, which, if a person does them, he will live by them, and they greatly profaned my Sabbaths, and I decided to pour out my rage on them in the desert to destroy them,

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;

And mine eye will spare for them from destroying them, and I made not a completion with them in the desert

And treat my Sabbaths as holy, and they will be a sign between me and between you {that you may know} that I, Yahweh, [am] your God.'

But the children rebelled against me; {they did not walk in my statutes}, and {they did not observe my regulations}, which [if] a person does them, then he will live by them. My Sabbaths they desecrated, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to finish my anger against them in the desert.

And I turned back my hand; and I will do for sake of my name, that it was not profaned before the eyes of the nations which I brought them forth before their eyes.

And in turn I gave to them rules [that were] not good and regulations {by which they will not live}.

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.

"Therefore, O thou son of man, tell the house of Israel, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Beside all this, your forefathers have yet blasphemed me more, and greatly offended against me.

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.

And saying to them, What the height where ye go there? And its name will be called Height, even to this day.

Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "In the way of your ancestors [will] you defile yourself, and after their vile idols [will] you prostitute [yourselves]?

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 inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.

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.

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:

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.

And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.

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.

And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:

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.

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.

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.

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 you will know that I [am] Yahweh {when I bring you} to the land of Israel, to the land that {I swore} to give to your ancestors.

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.

And you will know that I [am] Yahweh {when I deal with you} for the sake of my name and {not according to your evil ways} or {according to} your corrupted deeds, house of Israel," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

And the word of Jehovah will be to me, saying,

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.

And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.

Then said I, "O LORD, they will say of me, 'Tush, they are but fables that he telleth.'"

And the word of Jehovah will be to me, saying,

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.

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:

That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.

Sigh therefore, you son of man; with the breaking of your thighs and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes.

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.

And the word of Jehovah will be to me, saying,

"Thou son of man, prophesy and speak, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: speak, the sword is sharpened and well scoured.

It is sharpened for sore slaughter, it is furbished that it may glitter. Shall we then make mirth, saying, The sceptre of my son contemneth all wood?

And he will give it to be polished, to be taken in the hand: this sword was sharpened, and it was polished to give it into the hand of him slaying.

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.

For {examine}! And what if also [the] rod will not be despising?' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.