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, by which 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

And she will see that waiting her hope perished, and she will take one of her whelps setting him a young lion.

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 palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land will be desolate and its fulness from the voice of his roaring.

And the nations will give against him round about from the provinces, and they will spread their net upon him, being taken 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.

And there will be to her rods of strength to the rods of those ruling, and his stature will be lifted up between the thick boughs, and he will be seen in his height from the multitude of his 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 to the elders of Israel, and say to 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.

Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations 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;

But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken to 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,

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 defiled them through their gifts in sacrificing all of [the] first offspring of [the] womb, in order that I will cause them to be stunned, so that they will know that I [am] Yahweh.

And I shall bring them to the land which I lifted up my hand to give, it to them, and they will see every high hill and every thick tree, and they will sacrifice there their sacrifices, and they will give there the provocation of their oblation, and they will set there the odor of their sweetnesses, and they will pour out there their libations:

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 to 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 an out-stretched 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 in which ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an out-stretched 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.

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 to me: but profane ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.

For on my holy mountain, on the mountain of the hight 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 first fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.

I will accept you with your sweet savor, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries in which 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 you will remember there your ways, and all of your deeds {by which you were made unclean}, and you will feel a loathing {for yourself} for all of your evils that you have done.

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 creatures will see that I, Yahweh, I kindled it--it will 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 its 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 from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:

And they will know, all creatures, that I, Yahweh, I will bring out my sword from its sheath; it will not return again!" '

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

{And then} when they say to you, 'On account of what [are] you groaning?' then you must say, 'On account of [the] report, for it [is] coming, and every heart will be weak and all hands will hang limp and every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will go [like] water.' Look! It [is] coming, and it will happen!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

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

It is sharpened to slaughter a slaughter, {polished to flash like lightning}! Or will we rejoice? A rod, my son, [is] despising every tree.

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.

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

And you, son of man, prophesy {and clap your hands}. And the sword will {strike twice}; let it happen a third time. It [is] a sword of the dead, [the] sword of the great dead that [is] surrounding them,

I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.

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

“As for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city.

And it shall be to 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.

"Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt by the uncovering of your transgressions, so that your sins in all of your deeds appear--because of your being remembered, you will be captured in the hand.'

And you, O dishonored and wicked one [Zedekiah], the prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of final punishment is here,’

This is what the Lord has said: Take away the holy head-dress, take off the crown: this will not be again: let that which is low be lifted up, and that which is high be made low.

I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he cometh whose right it is; and I will give it him.

Shall I cause it to return into its sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.

And I will pour out my indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy.

You will be as fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the earth. You will not be remembered, for I, Yahweh, I have spoken.'"

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

Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yes, thou shalt show her all her abominations.

You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement!

In thy blood which thou didst pour out thou went guilty; and by thy blocks which thou didst make thou wert defiled; and thou wilt cause thy days to draw near, and thou wilt come even to thy years: for this, I gave thee a reproach to the nations, and a derision to all the lands.

The [people] near and the [people] far from you will make fun of you, {the unclean and the terrified}.

They took a gift in thee to pour out blood; thou tookest usury and interest, and thou wilt plunder thy neighbors by violence, and thou didst forget me, says the Lord Jehovah.

Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it.

And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.

And I will be profaned by you before [the] eyes of [the] nations, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh." '"

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

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

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 my anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

Yes, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst of it.

Thus you will be melted like [the] melting of silver in the midst of a furnace, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have poured out my rage on you.'"

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

A conspiracy of her prophets in her midst as a roaring lion rending the prey; they consumed the soul; they will take the wealth and the precious thing; they multiplied her widows in her midst

Her priests did violence to my law, and they will profane my holy place: between the holy to the profane they separated not, and they did not make known between the unclean to the clean, and from my Sabbath they hid their eyes, and I shall be profaned in the midst of them.

And I will pour out mine indignation upon them; I will consume them in the fire of my wrath: their own way will I recompense upon their head, saith the Lord Jehovah.

The word of Jehovah will come to me, saying,

And they will commit fornication in Egypt; in their youth they committal fornication: there were their breasts pressed, and the breasts of their virginity fell away.

And their names Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister; and they will be to me, and they will bring forth sons and daughters, and their names Shomeron-Aholah and Jerusalem Aholibah.

And Aholah will commit fornication under me; and she will desire after those loving her, after Assur, they being near.

And she will give her whoredoms upon them from the choice of the sons of Assur all of them, and with all whom she desired; being defiled with all their blocks.

And her fornications from Egypt she forsook not: for they lay with her in her youth, and they handled the breasts of her virginity, and they will pour forth her fornications upon her.

They uncovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters and slew them with the sword: and she will be a name to women, and they did judgments upon her.

And her sister Aholibah will see, and she will corrupt her love more than they, and her fornications more than the fornication of her sister.

And she will add to her fornications: and she will see men delineated. upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans being delineated with red color.

And she will desire after them at the sight of her eyes, and she will send messengers to them to Chaldea.

And the sons of Babel will come to her to the bed of loves, and defile her with their fornications, and she will be defiled with them, and her soul will be rent away from them.

And she will uncover her fornications, and she will uncover her nakedness: and my soul will be rent away from her, as my soul was rent away from her sister.