When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings -- it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Almighty, or the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

As he spoke to me, a wind came into me and stood me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me.

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, and you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says.'

But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

"I have made your face adamant to match their faces, and your forehead hard to match their foreheads.

And he said to me, "Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully.

Then a wind lifted me up and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me as the glory of the Lord rose from its place,

Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.

The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God when he speaks.

I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I will give them tender hearts,

Therefore speak to them and say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry.

For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally.

"'How sick is your heart, declares the sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute.

Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why should you die, O house of Israel?

The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit. They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

They put him in a collar with hooks; they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him to prison so that his voice would not be heard any longer on the mountains of Israel.

"And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart and bitterness; groan 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."

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 silence the noise of your songs; the sound of your harps will be heard no more.

Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders have perfected your beauty.

The ships of Tarshish were the transports for your merchandise. "'So you were filled and weighed down in the heart of the seas.

Your rowers have brought you into surging waters. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.

Your wealth, products, and merchandise, your sailors and captains, your ship's carpenters, your merchants, and all your fighting men within you, along with all your crew who are in you, will fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall.

"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Your heart is proud and you said, "I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas" -- yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.

By your great skill in trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart is proud because of your wealth.

They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die violently in the heart of the seas.

Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor. I threw you down to the ground; I placed you before kings, that they might see you.

"Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.

On that day I will make Israel powerful, and I will give you the right to be heard among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.

They come to you in crowds, and they sit in front of you as my people. They hear your words, but do not obey them. For they talk lustfully, and their heart is set on their own advantage.

Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, "They are desolate, they have been given to us for food."

You exalted yourselves against me with your speech and hurled many insults against me -- I have heard them all!

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh.

So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied -- I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man was standing beside me.

When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate it -- even my house -- when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices.

This is what the sovereign Lord says: No foreigner, who is uncircumcised in heart and flesh among all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, will enter into my sanctuary.