The children are obstinate and hardhearted. I am sending you to them, and you shall tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'

And go to the exiles, to the children of your people, and speak to them, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD'; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD': He who hears, let him hear; and he who forbears, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

"Thus says the Lord GOD: 'This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are around her.

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you are turbulent more than the nations that are around you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my ordinances, neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are around you';

therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I, even I, am against you; and I will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations.

"'Therefore as I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; neither shall my eye spare, and I also will have no pity.

and say, 'You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: "Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.

"Thus says the Lord GOD: 'Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, "Alas." because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.

"You, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel, 'An end: the end has come on the four corners of the land.

"Thus says the Lord GOD: 'A disaster, a unique disaster; behold, it comes.

Then he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery? For they say, 'The LORD doesn't see us. The LORD has forsaken the land.'"

Then he said to me, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perversion: for they say, 'The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD doesn't see.'

who say, 'The time is not near to build houses: this is the caldron, and we are the meat.'

The Spirit of the LORD fell on me, and he said to me, "Speak, Thus says the LORD: 'Thus you have said, house of Israel; for I know the things that come into your mind.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Your slain whom you have laid in its midst, they are the meat, and this is the caldron; but you shall be brought out of its midst.

You have feared the sword; and I will bring the sword on you,' says the Lord GOD.

Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Whereas I have removed them far off among the nations, and whereas I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them a sanctuary for a little while in the countries where they have come."'

Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."

But as for them whose heart walks after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their way on their own heads,' says the Lord GOD."

Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: This burden concerns the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.'

Say, 'I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done to them; they shall go into exile, into captivity.'

and tell the people of the land, 'Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with fearfulness, and drink their water in dismay, that her land may be desolate, and all that is therein, because of the violence of all those who dwell therein.

Tell them therefore, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel'; but tell them, 'The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.

For I am the LORD; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed; it shall be no more deferred: for in your days, rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it,' says the Lord GOD."

"Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, 'The vision that he sees is for many day to come, and he prophesies of times that are far off.'

Therefore tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words shall be deferred any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, says the Lord GOD.'"

"Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, 'Hear the word of the LORD:

Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing.

They have seen falsehood and lying divination, who say, "The LORD says"; but the LORD has not sent them: and they have made men to hope that the word would be confirmed.

"Haven't you seen a false vision, and haven't you spoken a lying divination, in that you say, "The LORD says"; but I have not spoken?

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have spoken falsehood, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, says the Lord GOD.

"'"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will even tear it with a stormy wind in my wrath; and there shall be an overflowing shower in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to consume it.

to wit, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace,'"' says the Lord GOD."

and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the women who sew pillows on all elbows, and make kerchiefs for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls. Will you hunt the souls of my people, and save souls alive for yourselves?

"'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against your pillows, with which you there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the souls go, even the souls whom you hunt to make them fly.

Therefore speak to them, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Every man of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him therein according to the multitude of his idols;

"Therefore tell the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Return, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

that the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God," says the Lord GOD.'"

though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD."

though these three men were in it, as I live," says the Lord GOD, "they should deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only should be delivered, but the land should be desolate.

"Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, 'Sword, go through the land'; so that I cut off from it man and animal;

though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only should be delivered themselves.

though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they could not save either son nor daughter; they would save only their own souls by their righteousness.

"For thus says the Lord GOD: 'How much more when I send my four severe judgments on Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil animals, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and animal.

They shall comfort you, when you see their way and their doings; and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it,' says the Lord GOD."

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass,' says the Lord GOD."

and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your birth and your birth is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was your father, and your mother was a Hittite.

"'Now when I passed by you, and looked at you, behold, your time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness: yes, I swore to you, and entered into a covenant with you,' says the Lord GOD, 'and you became mine.

Your renown went forth among the nations for your beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put on you,' says the Lord GOD.

My bread also which I gave you, fine flour, and oil, and honey, with which I fed you, you even set it before them for a pleasant aroma; and thus it was,' says the Lord GOD.

"'It has happened after all your wickedness, ("Woe, woe to you." says the Lord GOD),

"'How weak is your heart, says the Lord GOD, since you do all these things, the work of an impudent prostitute;

Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because your filthiness was poured out, and your nakedness uncovered through your prostitution with your lovers; and because of all the idols of your abominations, and for the blood of your children, that you gave to them;

"'Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring your way on your head,' says the Lord GOD: 'and you shall not commit this lewdness with all your abominations.

As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters.

You have borne your lewdness and your abominations, says the LORD.'

"For thus says the Lord GOD: 'I will also deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

that you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth any more, because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you have done, says the Lord GOD.'"

and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

"Say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? And not by a strong arm or many people can it be raised from its roots.

"Say now to the rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean?' Tell them, 'Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon:

"'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'As I live, surely my oath that he has despised, and my covenant that he has broken, I will even bring it on his own head.

"Thus says the Lord GOD: 'I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain:

As I live, says the Lord GOD, you shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

has walked in my statutes, and has kept my ordinances, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live," says the Lord GOD.

"Yet you say, 'Why doesn't the son bear the iniquity of the father?' When the son has done that which is lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes, and has done them, he shall surely live.

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" says the Lord GOD; "and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?

"'Yet you say, "The way of the Lord is not equal." Hear now, house of Israel: "Is my way not equal? Aren't your ways unequal?"

Yet the house of Israel says, "The way of the Lord is not fair." "House of Israel, aren't my ways fair? Aren't your ways unfair?"

"'Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,' says the Lord GOD. 'Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,' says the Lord GOD: 'therefore turn yourselves, and live.'"

and say, 'What was your mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her cubs.

"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Is it to inquire of me that you have come? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you."'

and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "In the day when I chose Israel, and swore to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, 'I am the LORD your God';

"Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

"Therefore tell the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Do you pollute yourselves in the way of your fathers? And do you play the prostitute after their abominations?

And when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to pass through the fire, do you pollute yourselves with all your idols to this day? And shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you;

and that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, in that you say, 'We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.'

As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I be king over you:

Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you," says the Lord GOD.

"'As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: "Go, serve everyone his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols.

For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel," says the Lord GOD, "there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things.

You shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, you house of Israel," says the Lord GOD.'"

and tell the forest of the South, 'Hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burnt thereby.

Then I said, "Ah Lord GOD. They say of me, 'Isn't he a speaker of parables?'"

and tell the land of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.

It shall be, when they tell you, 'Why do you sigh?' that you shall say, 'Because of the news, for it comes; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord GOD.'"

"Son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the LORD: Say, "A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;

For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that condemns shall be no more?" says the Lord GOD.

"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because you have come to memory, you shall be taken with the hand.

thus says the Lord GOD: "Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high."

"You, son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say, "A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;

You shall say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "A city that sheds blood in the midst of her, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her.

In you have they taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me,' says the Lord GOD.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Her prophets have plastered for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.

Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought on their heads, says the Lord GOD."