And it was in [the] thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, and I [was] in the midst of the exiles by the {Kebar River}. The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

So [were] their faces; their wings [were] spread out {upward}; each [had] two touching one another and two covering their bodies.

And I saw the living creatures, and look! A wheel was on the earth beside {each of the living creatures that had four faces}.

And I saw [something] like [the] outward appearance of amber, [something] like [the] appearance of fire, [with] a covering around [it], from the likeness of his loins and {upward}. And from the likeness of his loins and {downward} I saw [something] like [the] appearance of fire, and {it was radiant all around}.

Like the appearance of a bow that is in the cloud on {a rainy day}, such [was] the radiance around it; [thus was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. And I saw, and I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.

And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, so that I can speak with you."

And the children [are] {impudent} and {stubborn}, [and so] I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh!'

And come, go to the exiles, to the children of your people, and you must speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh!' whether they listen or whether they fail [to listen]."

{When I say} to the wicked, 'Surely you will die,' and you do not warn him and you do not speak to warn [the] wicked from his wicked way {so that he may live}, that wicked [person] will die because of his guilt, and from your hand I will seek his blood.

And I rose up, and I went to the valley, and, look, there the glory of Yahweh [was] standing, like the glory that I saw near the {Kebar River}, and I fell on my face.

And when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The [one] hearing him, let him hear, and the [one] failing [to hear], let him fail," ' for they {are a rebellious house}.

And he said to me, "See I will give you {cattle manure} in the place of the feces of a human, and you may prepare your food on it."

so that they will lack food and water, and they will be appalled {with one another}, and they will waste away because of their guilt.

"And you, son of man, take for yourself a sword, sharp [as] {a barber's razor}. Take it for yourself, and you must cause [it] to pass over your head and over your beard, and you must take for yourself a set of scales for weighing, and you must divide them.

and you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys: "Look, I [am] bringing upon you [the] sword, and I will destroy your high places,

In all of your dwellings, the cities will be desolate and the high places will be ruined, so that your altars will be desolate and will suffer punishment. Your idols will be broken and will come to an end, and your incense altars will be cut down, and your works will be destroyed,

But I will spare [some], {so there will be} for you fugitives from [the] sword among the nations {when you are scattered} in the countries.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Clap your hand and stamp with your foot, and say, "Alas, for all of the detestable things of the evil of the house of Israel, {because of which} they will fall with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague.

and I saw, and look! A figure like [the] appearance of a man; from the appearance of his waist and below [was] fire, and from his waist and {upward} [was] like [the] appearance of brightness, like the {outward appearance of} amber.

And look! There [was] the glory of the God of Israel like the vision that I saw in the valley.

And he said to me, "Son of man, "{Do you see} what they [are] doing--great detestable things that the house of Israel [is] committing here [so as] to drive [me] from my sanctuary, and yet {you will see again} greater detestable things."

And he brought me to the doorway of the courtyard, and I saw, and look! A hole in the wall.

And he said to me, "Come and see the detestable things, the evil that they are doing here.

And I came, and I saw, and look, all kinds of creatures and detestable beasts; [and] all of the idols of the house of Israel [were] carved on the wall {all around}.

And he said to me, "Still {you will see again} greater detestable things that they [are] doing."

And he said to me, "Have you seen, son of man? Still {you will see again} greater detestable things than these."

And so I will act in rage, and my eye will not take pity, and I will not have compassion, and they will cry in my ear [with] a loud voice, and I will not hear them."

And he said to me, "The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah [is] {exceedingly} great, and the land is filled with bloodguilt, and the city is full of injustice. For they say Yahweh abandoned the land, and {Yahweh does not see}.

And I saw, and look, four wheels beside the cherubim, {one wheel beside each cherub}, and the appearance of the wheels [was] like [the] outward appearance of {turquoise stone}.

And the cherubim rose; that is, the living creatures that I saw at the {Kebar River}.

This [was] the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel at the {Kebar River}, and I knew that they [were] cherubim.

And the likeness of their faces, they [were] the faces that I saw at the {Kebar River}; [thus was] their appearance, and they each went {straight ahead}.

And [the] Spirit lifted me up, and it brought me to the eastern gate, the one facing east, of the temple of Yahweh. And look, there were twenty-five men in the doorway of the gate, and I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur in the midst of them, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, the commanders of the people.

And the Spirit of Yahweh fell on me, and he said to me, "Say, 'thus says Yahweh: "This is what you think, house of Israel, and I myself know them, the thoughts of your spirit.

It will not be as a pot to you, and [so] you would be in the midst of it as flesh, [for] at the border of Israel I will judge you.

Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Though I have removed them [far away] among the nations and though I have scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary to them [for a] little while in the countries {to which they have gone}.'"

Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "And I will assemble you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries [to] which you were scattered among them, and I will give the land of Israel to you.

so that they may walk in my statutes, and they will keep my regulations, and they will do them, and they will be to me a people, and I myself will be to them as God.

"Son of man, you [are] dwelling in the midst of the house of rebellion {who has eyes to see and they do not see}; {they have ears to hear}, and they do not hear, for they [are] a house of rebellion.

And you, son of man, prepare for yourself [the] baggage of an exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. And you must go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes; perhaps they will see that they [are] a house of rebellion.

Before their eyes, on your shoulder, you must lift up [the baggage] in the dusk, [and] your face you must cover, so that you may not see the land, for I make you [as] a sign to the house of Israel."

"Son of man, did not they, the house of Israel, the house of rebellion, say to you, 'What [are] you doing?'

Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "This oracle [is about] the prince in Jerusalem and {the entire} house of Israel {who are among them}." '

Say, 'I am your sign, [and] {just as} I did, so will it be done to them in the exile; into captivity they will go.'

And the prince who [is] in the midst of them, on [his] shoulder he will carry [the baggage] in the dusk, and he will go out; {the wall will be dug through} to bring him through it; and he will cover his face so that he will not see the land with his eye.

And I will spread out my net on him, and he will be captured in my hunting snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.

But I will spare from them {a few men} from [the] sword, from [the] famine and from [the] plague, so that they may tell of all their abominations among the nations [to] which they will go, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh."

And you must say to the people of the land, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the inhabitants of Jerusalem about the land of Israel: "They will eat their food with anxiety and their water they will drink with horror, because their land will be desolate from its fullness because of all the violence of {those who are dwelling in it}.

Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "I will put an end [to] this proverb, and they will not quote it as a proverb again in Israel." ' But say to them, 'The days are near, and [also] the word of every vision.'

Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "None of my words will [be] prolonged any longer that I speak [as] a word, and it will be fulfilled!" '" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"Son of man, prophesy to the prophets of Israel {who are prophesying}, and you must say to [those who are] prophets out of their own {imagination}, 'Hear the word of Yahweh!'

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Alas, for the foolish prophets who [are] going after their [own] spirit, {and they did not see anything}!

They saw falseness and {a lying divination}, the ones saying, 'Declaration of Yahweh!' and Yahweh did not send them, and they wait {for the confirmation of their word}.

Say to [those] covering [it] [with] whitewash that it will fall; there will be {a torrent of rain}, and I will give stones of hail; they will fall! And a {windstorm} will burst forth!

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'And [so] I will let burst forth a {windstorm} in my rage, and {there will be a torrent of rain} in my anger, and hailstones in [my] rage {for complete destruction}.

And I will fully vent my rage against the wall and against those covering it [with] whitewash, and I will say to you, "{The wall is no more}, and {the people covering it are no more},

And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe to {those who sew} magic charm bands on all the wrists of the hands of my [people] and {those who make the veils} [that are] on the head of [people of] every height, to ensnare [people's] lives! Will you ensnare [the] lives of my people {and keep yourselves alive}?

Because [you] disheartened [the] heart of [the] righteous [by] deception, and I have not caused him pain, and strengthened [the] hands of [the] wicked [so that he did] not turn from his wicked way to save his life.

Therefore falseness you will not see, and divination you will not practice any longer, and I will rescue my people from your hand, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh!'"

Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt and [yet] he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act with [respect to] the multitude of his idols,

so that [I may] take hold of the house of Israel by their heart, [those] who are estranged from me, all of them, through their idols.'

Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Return, and turn away from your idols and from all of your detestable things! Turn away your faces!" '

And they will bear their guilt, like the guilt of the inquirer so the guilt of the prophet will be,

so that the house of Israel will not go astray again {from me}, and they will not make themselves unclean again with all of their transgressions, and they will be for me a people, and I will be for them as God," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"If a fierce animal I [should] let cross through the land, and it [should] make it childless and it will be desolation, so that [there will] not [be] one crossing over [the land] {due to} the presence of the animal,

Or, if I bring a sword over that land, and I say, 'Sword, let it cross over into the land!' And I will cut off from it [both] human and animal.

But look! A remnant will be left over in it, sons and daughters {who will be brought out}. Look! They are coming out to you, and you will see their way, and with their deeds you will be consoled with respect to the evil that I brought over Jerusalem, all of [it] that I brought over it.

And they will console you when you see their way and their deeds, and you will know that not for nothing I did all that I did in it," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: {Just like} the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest which I gave to the fire for fuel, so I have given the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth [were] from the land of the Canaanites, your father [was] an Amorite, and your mother [was] a Hittite.

" 'And I passed by you, and I saw you kicking about in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, "Live!

" 'And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, {your time of lovemaking had come}, and [so] I spread out my hem over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you, and I entered into a covenant with you,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, 'and {you became mine}.

And my bread that I gave to you, finely milled flour and oil and honey [with which] I fed you, then you set it {before them} as a {pleasing odor}, and so it was,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

{when you built} your mound at [the] head of every street and your high place you made on every street, yet you were not like a prostitute, [as you were] scorning [your] harlot's wages.

And it was the opposite with you from the [other] women in your whorings; {no one solicited you as a prostitute}. {You gave} a harlot's wages, and harlot's wages [were] not given to you, and [so] it was [just] the opposite.

therefore, look! I [am] gathering all of your lovers {whom you were pleased about}, and all of whom you loved in addition to all of whom you hated, and I will gather them against you from {everywhere}, and I [will] uncover your nakedness to them, and they will see all of your nakedness.

And they will burn your houses with fire, and they will execute against you judgments {before} many women, and I will stop you from prostitution, and also a harlot's wages you will not give again.

And they were proud, and they did a detestable thing {before me}, and I removed them {because} I saw [it].

and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{The great eagle with great wings and long feathers} [and] {full of variegated plumage} came to Lebanon and he took the treetop of the cedar.

Say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Will it prosper? Will he not tear out its roots, and will he not make its fruit scaly, and it will wither, and all of the freshness of its vegetation will dry up? And to lift it from its roots {will not require great strength or many people}.

"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.

so that [they would] be a humble kingdom and not lift itself up to keep his covenant {in order for it to stand}.

He oppresses [the] needy and [the] poor, [and] {he commits robbery}, [and] he [does] not return pledge for a loan, [and] he lifts his eyes to the idols [so] he does a detestable thing.

"Yet you say, 'Why [does] the son not bear the guilt of the father?' And [since] the son does justice and righteousness and he keeps all of my statutes and does them, he shall surely live!

Have I delight by any means [in the] death of [the] wicked, {declares} the Lord Yahweh, [and] not at his turning from his way, {so that} he lives?

And {when the righteous turns} from his righteousness, so that he does injustice, and does all of the detestable things that the wicked do, then will he live [because of] all of his righteousness that he did? [Those things] will not be remembered because of his infidelity that he displayed, and because of his {sin that he committed}. Through them he shall die.

"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' Listen, now, house of Israel, is my way not fair? [Is it] not your ways [that] are not fair?

And [yet] they, the house of Israel, say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' [Are] not my ways fair, house of Israel? {Are not your ways unfair?}

Throw {away from yourselves} all of your transgressions that you committed, and make {for yourselves} a new heart and new spirit, and [so] why will you die, house of Israel?

For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying," {declares} the Lord Yahweh. "And [so] repent and live!"

and you must say, 'What a lioness [was] your mother among [the] lions. She lay down in the midst of young lions, [and] she reared her lion cubs.

And she saw that she was waiting [in vain]; her hope was destroyed, and she took one from her cubs, [and] she made him a fierce lion.

And they put him in a collar with hooks, and they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into a prison, so that his voice [would] not be heard {any longer} on the mountains of Israel.

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}.

"Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "[Are] you coming to consult me? {As I live}, I will surely not allow myself to be consulted by you!" ' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

And you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "On the day of my choosing Israel {I swore} to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and {I swore} to them, {saying}, 'I [am] Yahweh your God.'

And also my Sabbaths I gave to them to be a sign between me and between them {so they would know} that I, Yahweh, [am] [the one] sanctifying them.

I, Yahweh, [am] your God, [so] go in my statutes and keep my regulations and do them.

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.

"Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Again [in] this your ancestors blasphemed me {at their display of infidelity toward me}." '