Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid of them or discouraged by the look on their faces, even though they are a rebellious house.”

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.

I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be mute and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house.

But I said, “Oh, Lord God, I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. And impure meat has never entered my mouth.”

He appointed His beautiful ornaments for majesty,
but they made their abhorrent images from them,
their detestable things.
Therefore, I have made these
into something filthy for them.

They are saying, ‘Isn’t the time near to build houses? The city is the pot, and we are the meat.’

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: The slain you have put within it are the meat, and the city is the pot, but I will remove you from it.

The city will not be a pot for you, and you will not be the meat within it. I will judge you at the border of Israel,

And while they look on, lift the bags to your shoulder and take them out in the dark; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it might stand in battle on the day of the Lord.

Even when it was whole it could not be made into a useful object. How much less can it ever be made into anything useful when the fire has devoured it and it is charred!

I made you thrive like plants of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were stark naked.

So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained royalty.

You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and you engaged in prostitution on them. These places should not have been built, and this should never have happened!

You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you, and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them.

“you built yourself a mound and made yourself an elevated place in every square.

But Samaria did not commit even half your sins. You have multiplied your detestable practices beyond theirs and made your sisters appear righteous by all the detestable things you have committed.

You must also bear your disgrace, since you have been an advocate for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you because of your sins, which you committed more abhorrently than they did. So you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.

But I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

But there was another great eagle
with great wings and thick plumage.
And this vine bent its roots toward him!
It stretched out its branches to him
from its planting bed,
so that he might water it.

He took one of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he took away the leading men of the land,

so the kingdom might be humble and not exalt itself but might keep his covenant in order to endure.

However, this king revolted against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so they might give him horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still escape?

When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.

Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of Jacob’s house and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, saying: I am Yahweh your God.

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made Myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.

When they made every firstborn pass through the fire, I defiled them through their gifts in order to devastate them so they would know that I am Yahweh.

You are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled from the idols you have made. You have brought your judgment days near and have come to your years of punishment. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.

“Now look, I clap My hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.

I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.

“Now her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was even more depraved in her lust than Oholah, and made her promiscuous acts worse than those of her sister.

For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; they have committed adultery with their idols. They have even made the children they bore to Me pass through the fire as food for the idols.

Place the pieces of meat in it,
every good piece—
thigh and shoulder.
Fill it with choice bones.

Pile on the logs and kindle the fire!
Cook the meat well
and mix in the spices!
Let the bones be burned!

On that day your mouth will be opened to talk with him; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign for them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

They made your oars of oaks from Bashan.
They made your deck of cypress wood
from the coasts of Cyprus,
inlaid with ivory.

Your sail was made of
fine embroidered linen from Egypt,
and served as your banner.
Your awning was of blue and purple fabric
from the coasts of Elishah.

Your heart became proud because of your beauty;
For the sake of your splendor
you corrupted your wisdom.
So I threw you down to the earth;
I made you a spectacle before kings.

Speak to him and say: This is what the Lord God says:

Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,
the great monster lying in the middle of his Nile,
who says, ‘My Nile is my own;
I made it for myself.’

Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
will know that I am Yahweh,
for they have been a staff made of reed
to the house of Israel.

When Israel grasped you by the hand,
you splintered, tearing all their shoulders;
when they leaned on you,
you shattered and made all their hips unsteady.

The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am Yahweh. Because you said, ‘The Nile is my own; I made it,’

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder chafed, but he and his army received no compensation from Tyre for the labor he expended against it.

The waters caused it to grow;
the underground springs made it tall,
directing their rivers all around
the place where the tree was planted
and sending their channels
to all the trees of the field.

I made it beautiful with its many limbs,
and all the trees of Eden,
which were in God’s garden, envied it.

“This is what the Lord God says: I caused grieving on the day the cedar went down to Sheol. I closed off the underground deep because of it: I held back the rivers of the deep, and its abundant waters were restrained. I made Lebanon mourn on account of it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.

I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol to be with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, all the well-watered trees, the choice and best of Lebanon, were comforted in the underworld.

“As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.

Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the fugitive arrived, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.

Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: You eat meat with blood in it, raise your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then receive possession of the land?

therefore, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side, so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people’s gossip and slander,

He spoke to me: “Son of man, look with your eyes, listen with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for you have been brought here so that I might show it to you. Report everything you see to the house of Israel.”

The altar was made of wood, 5¼ feet high and 3½ feet long. It had corners, and its length and sides were of wood. The man told me, “This is the table that stands before the Lord.”

When they enter the gates of the inner court they must wear linen garments; they must not have on them anything made of wool when they minister at the gates of the inner court and within it.