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 each person according to his conduct, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity.

Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed [against Me], and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you 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 a fire will go forth from a rod of her branches; it consumed her fruit, and there was not in her a rod of strength, a rod to rule. It is a lamentation, and it shall be for a lamentation.

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 tell them: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me, declares the sovereign Lord.'

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;

But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away the detestable things on which they feasted their eyes, nor did they give up the idols of Egypt.

“Then I decided to pour out My wrath on them and finish My anger against them in 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.

I gave them my statutes and revealed my regulations to them. The one who carries them out 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 the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them.

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

Treat my Sabbaths as holy and they will be a reminder of our relationship, and then you will know that I am the Lord your God."

"'But the children rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness.

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.

Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances in which they will not live.

I declared them to be defiled because of their sacrifices -- they caused all their first born to pass through the fire -- so that I would devastate them, so that they will know that I am the Lord.'

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 say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves like your fathers and engage in prostitution with detestable idols?

When you present your sacrifices -- when you make your sons pass through the fire -- you defile yourselves with all your idols to this very day. Will I allow you to seek me, O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will not allow you to seek me!

"'What you plan will never happen. You say, "We will be like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone."

As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm, and with an outpouring of rage, I will be king over you.

I will bring you out from the nations, and will gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a powerful hand and an outstretched arm and with an outpouring of rage!

I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.

Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the sovereign Lord.

I will make you pass under the shepherd's staff, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

"'As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, if you will not listen to me. But my holy name will not be profaned again by your sacrifices and your idols.

For there on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, all the house of Israel will serve me, all of them in the land. I will accept them there, and there I will seek your contributions and your choice gifts, with all your holy things.

When I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, I will accept you along with your soothing aroma. I will display my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.

Then you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land I swore to give to your fathers.

And there you will remember your conduct and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves because of all the evil deeds you have done.

Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for the sake of my reputation and not according to your wicked conduct and corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord.'"

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

and say to the scrub land of the Negev, 'Hear the word of the Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, I am about to start a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it.

And everyone will see that I, the Lord, have burned it; it will not be extinguished.'"

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 them, 'This is what the Lord says: Look, I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.

Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone from the south to the north.

Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who drew my sword from its sheath -- it will not be sheathed again!'

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

When they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you will reply, 'Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.' Pay attention -- it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord."

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

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 too will clap my hands together, I will exhaust my rage; I the Lord have spoken."

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

"You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon's sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city.

But those in Jerusalem will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, but the king of Babylon will accuse them of violations in order to seize them.

"Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: 'Because you have brought up your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force.

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

thus says the Lord God, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high.

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

Return it to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in your native land, I will judge you.

I will pour out my anger on you; the fire of my fury I will blow on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, who are skilled in destruction.

You will become fuel for the fire -- your blood will stain the middle of the land; you will no longer be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.'"

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

“And you, son of man [Ezekiel], will you judge, will you judge the city of bloodshed? Then make her recognize all her repulsive acts.

You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time [of doom] will come, and makes idols to defile her, contrary to her interest!

you are guilty because of the blood you shed and defiled by the idols you made. You have hastened the day of your doom; the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations, an object to be mocked by all lands.

Those both near and far from you will mock you, you with your bad reputation, full of turmoil.

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 your heart endure, or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!

I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you.

You will be profaned within yourself in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.'"

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

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you [O Israel] into the midst of Jerusalem.

As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there and melt you.

I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it.

As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger 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.

Therefore will I poured out my cruel displeasure upon them, and burn them in the fire of my wrath: their own ways will I recompense upon their heads, sayeth the LORD God.'"

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.