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.

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 you, son of man, you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because briers and thorns [are] with you, and you [are] sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their {looks}, for they [are] a rebellious house.

And you, son of man, hear what I [am] speaking to you: you must not be rebellious like [the] house of rebellion. Open your mouth and eat what I [am] giving to you."

Like a diamond {harder than flint} I have made your forehead; you must not fear them, and you must not be dismayed {on account of them}, for they {are a rebellious house}.

And {when the righteous turns from his righteousness} and does injustice, and I place a stumbling block {before him}, he will die, for you did not warn him. Because of his sin he will die, and his righteousness that he did will not be remembered, and his blood I shall seek from your hand.

And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silenced, and you will not be a reproving man for them, for they {are a rebellious house}.

And take for yourself a plate of iron, and you must place it [as] a wall of iron between you and the city, and you must set your face against it, and it must be {under siege}, and you must lay the siege against it; it is a sign for the house of Israel.

And your food that you will eat [will be] according to weight; twenty shekels for each day {at fixed times} you shall eat it.

And he said to me, "Son of man, look, I [am] going to break the {supply} of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight, {anxiously}, and {rationed water}, and they will drink with horror,

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 I will make you into a desolate place and into a disgrace among the nations that surround you before the eyes of {every one who passes by}.

And it will be [an] object of taunting and [an] object of mockery, a warning and a horror to the nations that [are] around you whenever I execute judgments against you in anger and in wrath and in furious punishments! I, Yahweh, have spoken!

When I send my arrows of deadly famine against them, which will be as destruction that I will send [in order] to destroy you, I will increase famine against you, and I will break {the supply of food} for you.

and your altars will be desolate, and your incense altars will be broken, and I will throw down your slain ones {before} your idols,

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.

And your fugitives will remember me among the nations [to] which they were taken captive, that I was shattered by {their adulterous heart} which departed from me, and by {their adulterous eyes} which [went] after their idols, and they will feel loathing {for themselves}, for the evil that they did, for all of their detestable things.

The one who is far [away] will die by the plague, and the one who is near will fall by the sword, and the one who is being left behind and being spared will die by the famine, and I will complete my rage on them.

And my eye will not take pity on you, and I will not show compassion for your ways; on you I will bring your detestable things; they will be in the midst of you, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh.'

And my eye will not take pity, and I will not show compassion. According to your ways I will {deal with you}, and your detestable things will be in the midst of you, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh [who] strikes.

Violence has grown to [become] a staff of wickedness; {none} from them [will remain], and {none} from their abundance nor from their wealth; and prominence [will] not [be] among them.

For the seller will not return to the merchandise {while they are still alive}, for the vision [is] about all of its multitude; it will not change, and a man because of his guilt will not be able to hold onto his life.

The sword {is outside}, and the plague and the famine {are inside}; [the one] who [is] in the field will die by the sword, and [the one] who [is] in the city, famine and plague will devour him.

And [if] their survivors will escape, they will be on the mountains, like the doves of the valley, all of them groaning, each because of his guilt.

All of the hands will hang limp, and all of {the knees will be wet with urine}.

And they will wear sackcloth, and horror will cover them, and on all of [the] faces [will be] shame, and baldness on all of their heads.

Their silver they will discard on the streets, and filth will be their gold; their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them on the day of the wrath of Yahweh. They will not satisfy their {hunger} and their stomachs they will not fill, for their guilt will be their stumbling block.

And I will bring [the] worst of [the] nations, and they will take possession of their houses, and I will put to an end [the] pride of [the] mighty ones, and their sanctuaries will be defiled.

Anguish comes, and they will seek peace, and [there will be] none.

Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor will be upon rumor. And they will seek a vision from a prophet, but instruction will perish from [the] priest and counsel from [the] elders.

The king will mourn, and [the] prince will be dressed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh.'"

And he sent out [the] form of a hand, and he took me by a lock of hair of my head, and [the] Spirit lifted me between earth and heaven, and it brought me to Jerusalem in visions of God to the doorway of [the] inner gate {that faced north}, [at] which there [was] the seat of the image of jealousy, which was making jealous.

{And then} {as they were striking}, and I [was] left behind, I fell on my face, and I cried out, and I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! "[Will] you [be] destroying all of the remnant of Israel {while you pour out your rage} on Jerusalem?"

By the sword you will fall at the border of Israel; I will judge you, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh.

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.

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.

And [the] Spirit lifted me up, and it brought me to Chaldea, to the exiles, in the vision by the spirit of God; and the vision that I had seen {left me}.

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.

And you must bring out your baggage like [the] baggage of an exile by day before their eyes, and you must go out in the evening before their eyes like {those who go into exile}.

And I did {just as} I was commanded; my baggage, like [the] baggage of an exile, I brought out by day, and in the evening I dug through for myself into the wall with my hand in the dusk; I brought [the baggage] on [my] shoulder; I carried [it] before their eyes.

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.

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}.

And {the inhabited cites will be desolate}, and the land will be a desolation, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh." '"

For [there] will not be any longer {any false vision} or flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel.

For I, Yahweh, I will speak what I will speak [as a] word, and it will be done. It will not prolong [itself] any longer, for in your days, house of rebellion, I will speak a word and I will fulfill it!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

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.

"And it will be my hand against the prophets who [are] seeing falseness and who [are] practicing lying divination. They will not be in the council of my people, and they will not be written [down] in the record [book] of the house of Israel, and into the land of Israel they will not come, and [then] you will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh.

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!

And look! [When] the wall falls, will it not be said to you, 'Where [is] the whitewash [with] which you covered [it]?'

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 break down the wall that you covered [with] whitewash, and I will knock it to the ground, and its foundation will be revealed, and it will fall, and you will come to an end in the midst of it, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh!

And you defiled me among my people for a handful of barley and for morsels of bread to kill persons who should not die and to keep alive persons who should not live by [means of] your lies to my people [who are] listening to [your] lies." '

And I will tear off your veils, and I will deliver my people from your hand, and they will not any longer be in your hand as prey, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh.

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.

"Son of man, these men took up their idols into their heart and {they placed before themselves} a stumbling block of their guilt. {Should I really let myself be consulted by them}?

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.'

And I will set my face against that person, and I will make him to [be] a sign and [make him] into [the subject of] proverbs; and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you will know I [am] Yahweh.

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.

"Son of man, when a land sins against me by {acting very unfaithfully}, then I will stretch out my hand against it, and I will break for it [the] {supply of food}, and I will send against it famine, and I will cut it off, [both] human and animal.

"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,

[even if] these three men [were] in the midst of it, {as surely as I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "surely they will not save sons and daughters; {they themselves alone}, they will be saved, but the land will be desolation.

And [if] these three men [were] in the midst of it, {as surely as I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "they will not save sons and daughters, but {they alone} will be saved.

and [if] Noah, Daniel, and Job [were] in the midst of her, {as surely as I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "surely not son, surely not daughter will they save by their righteousness; they would save {themselves}."

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.

"Son of man, how will the wood of the vine be {better than} {any of the wood of} the branch which is among the trees of the forest?

Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can they take a tent peg from it to hang on it any object?

Look! It is given to the fire as fuel. The fire will consume two of its ends, and its middle will be charred. Is it useful for anything?

Look! {When it is in perfect condition}, it will not be used for anything, {how much less} {when the fire has consumed it} and it is charred; and [then] can it be used again for anything?

" '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 you adorned yourself with gold and silver, and your clothing [was] fine linen and costly fabric and beautiful finished cloth; you ate finely milled flour and honey and olive oil, and you became exceedingly beautiful; {you were fit to be a queen}.

'And you trusted in your beauty, and you prostituted on account of your name, and you poured out your fornication on every [one] passing by, [saying], "Let it be his."

'And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne for me, and you sacrificed them to them to be eaten, {as if your whorings were not enough}.

And you slaughtered my children, and you gave them {to be sacrificed to them}.

And I will satisfy my rage on you, and my jealousy will turn away from you, and I will be calm, and I will not be angry [any] longer.

Also, you bear your disgrace, [by] which you furnished justification to your sisters through your sins [by] which you acted more abominably than they; they were more righteous than you, and also, you be ashamed and bear your disgrace through your making your sister righteous.

in order that you may bear your disgrace and you may be put to shame because of all that you did at your consoling them.

And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your sisters, {both the older and the younger}, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant.

in order that you will remember, and you will be ashamed, and {you will not open your mouth again} {because of} your disgrace when I forgive you for all that you have done!'" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

It was planted in good field by many waters to produce branches and to bear fruit to become {a beautiful vine}." '

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

But he rebelled against him by sending his messengers [to] Egypt to give to him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he escape doing these [things], and can he break [the] covenant and escape?

And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net, and I will bring him [to] Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there [about] his infidelity that he displayed against me.

And all of his choice troops, among all of his troops, they will fall by the sword, and [those who] [are] remaining, they will be scattered to all [the directions of the] wind, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken.'

"{What do you mean by} quoting this proverb about the land of Israel, {saying}, 'The fathers, they ate unripe fruit, and the teeth of the child became blunt.'

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

{He charges interest} and takes usury. Then, shall he live? He shall not live, [for] he did all of these detestable things. Surely he will die! His blood will be on him.

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.

All of his transgressions that he committed will not be remembered against him. Through his righteousness that he has done he shall 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.

"Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one according to his ways," {declares} the Lord Yahweh. "Repent and turn around from all of your transgression, and it will not be as a stumbling block of iniquity to you.

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 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.