At the same time came the word of the LORD unto Ezekiel the son of Buzi the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans by the water of Chebar, where the hand of the LORD came upon him.

And then said he unto me, "Stand up upon thy feet, O thou son of man, and I will talk with thee."

And he said, "Behold, thou son of man: I will send thee to the children of Israel, to those renegades and obstinate people - for they have taken part against me, and are run away from me: both they and their forefathers unto this day.

"Therefore, thou son of man, fear them not; neither be afraid of their words: for they shall rebel against thee, and despise thee. Yea, thou shalt dwell among scorpions. But fear not their words, be not abashed at their looks: for it is a froward household.

Therefore, thou son of man, obey thou all things, that I say unto thee, and be not thou stiffnecked, like as they are a stiffnecked household. Open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee."

After this said he unto me, "Thou son of man, eat that, whatsoever it be: Yea, eat that closed book, and go thy way, and speak unto the children of Israel."

and said unto me, "Thou son of man, thy belly shall eat, and thy bowels shall be filled with the book, that I give thee." Then did I eat the book and it was, in my mouth, sweeter than honey.

And he said unto me, "Thou son of man, get thee soon unto the house of Israel, and show them the words that I command thee.

He said moreover unto me, "Thou son of man, take diligent heed with thine ears, to the words that I speak unto thee, fasten them in thine heart:

Now when the spirit took me up, and carried me away, I went with a heavy and sorrowful mind, but the hand of the LORD comforted me right soon.

"Thou son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore take good heed to the words, and give them warning at my commandment.

"Now if a righteous man go from his righteousness, and do the thing that is evil: I will lay a stumbling block before him, and he shall die, because thou hast not given him warning - Yea, die shall he in his own sin, so that the virtue which he did before shall not be thought upon, but his blood will I require of thine hand.

Nevertheless, if thou exhortest the righteous, that he sin not, and so the righteous do not sin - then shall he live, because he hath received thy warning, and thou hast discharged thy soul."

Behold, O thou son of man, there shall chains be brought for thee, to bind thee withal, so that thou shalt not escape out of them.

Thou son of man, take a tile stone, and lay it before thee, and describe upon it the city of Jerusalem;

But thou shalt sleep upon thy left side, and lay the sin of the house of Israel upon thee. Certain days appointed, thou shalt sleep upon that side, and bear their sins.

And he said unto me, "Behold thou son of man, I will minish all the provision of bread in Jerusalem, so that they shall weigh their bread, and eat it with scarceness. But as for water, they shall have a very little measure thereof, to drink.

O Thou son of man, take thee then a sharp knife, namely a razor. Take that, and shave the hair of thy head and beard: Then take the scales and weight, and divide the hair asunder.

"Thou son of man, turn thy face to the mountains of Israel, that thou mayest prophesy unto them,

"Thee I call, O thou son of man. Thus sayeth the LORD God unto the land of Israel: The end cometh: yea, verily the end cometh upon all the four corners of the land.

And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was in the same place: even as I had seen it afore in the field.

And he said unto me, "Thou son of man, O lift up thine eyes, and look toward the north." Then lift I up mine eyes toward the north, and behold: beside the port northward, there was an altar made unto the image of provocation in the very entering in.

And he said furthermore unto me, "Thou son of man, seest thou what these do? Seest thou the great abominations that the house of Israel commit in this place? Which ought not to be done in my sanctuary: But turn thee about, and thou shalt see yet greater abominations."

Then said he unto me, "Thou son of man, dig through the wall." And when I digged through the wall, behold there was a door.

There stood also before the images: Seventy lords of the counsel of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. And every one of them had a censor in his hand, and out of the incense there went a smoke, as it had been a cloud.

Then said he unto me, "Thou son of man, hast thou seen what the Senators of the house of Israel do secretly, everyone in his chamber? For they say, 'Tush, the LORD seeth us not, the LORD regardeth not the world.'"

Then said he unto me, "Hast thou seen this, thou son of man? Turn ye about, and thou shalt see yet greater abominations."

And so he brought me into the inward court of the LORD's house. And behold, at the port of the LORD's house, betwixt the fore entry and the altar, there were five and twenty men that turned their backs on the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, and these worshiped the sun.

And he said unto me, "Hast thou seen this thou son of man? Thinketh the house of Israel that it is but a trifle to do these abominations here? Should they fill the land full of wickedness, and undertake to provoke me unto anger? Yea, and purposely to cast up their noses upon me?

Now the figure of their faces was even as I had seen them, by the water of Chebar, and so was the countenance of them: Every one in his going went straight forward.

Moreover, the spirit of the LORD lift me up, and brought me unto the east port of the LORD's house. And behold, there were twenty five men under the door: among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, the rulers of the people.

Then said the LORD unto me, "Thou son of man: these men imagine mischief, and a wicked counsel take they in this city,

Therefore shalt thou prophesy unto them: yea, prophesy shalt thou unto them, O son of man."

Now when I preached, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, "O LORD God, wilt thou then utterly destroy all the remnant in Israel?"

"Thou son of man: thy brethren, thy kinsfolk, and the whole house of Judah which dwell at Jerusalem, say, 'They be gone far from the LORD, but the land is given us in possession.'

But the wind took me up, and in a vision which came by the spirit of God it brought me again into Chaldea among the prisoners. Then the vision that I had seen vanished away from me.

"Thou son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a froward household: which have eyes to see, and yet see not; ears have they to hear, and yet hear they not. For they are an obstinate household.

Therefore, O thou son of man, make thy gear ready to flit, and go forth by fair daylight, that they may see. Yea, even in their sight shalt thou go from thy place to another place: if peradventure they will consider that they be an unobedient household.

"Thou son of man, if Israel, that froward household, ask thee and say, 'What doest thou there?'

"Thou son of man: with a fearful trembling shalt thou eat thy bread, with carefulness and sorrow shalt thou drink thy water.

"Thou son of man, what manner of byword is that, which ye use in the land of Israel? Saying, 'Tush, seeing that the days are so slack in coming, all the visions are of none effect.'

"Behold, thou son of man: The house of Israel say in this manner, 'Tush, as for the vision that he hath seen, it will be many a day or it come to pass: It is far off yet, the thing that he prophesieth.'

"Thou son of man, speak prophecy against those prophets that preach in Israel: and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, 'Hear ye the word of the LORD.

Vain visions have ye seen, and spoken false prophesies, when ye say, 'The LORD hath spoken it,' whereas I never said it.

"Wherefore, O thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people which prophesy out of their own hearts: and speak thou prophecy against them,

"Thou son of man, these men bear their idols in their hearts, and go purposely upon the stumbling block of their own wickedness: how dare they then ask counsel at me?

and they both shall be punished for their wickedness. According to the sin of him that asketh, shall the sin of the Prophet be:

"Thou son of man, when the land sinneth against me and goeth forth in wickedness: I will stretch out mine hand upon it, and destroy all the provision of their bread, and send dearth upon them, to destroy man and beast in the land.

"Thou son of man: What cometh of the vine among all other trees? And of the vine stock among all other timber of the grove?

"Thou son of man, show the city of Jerusalem their abominations,

but were proud - And did abominable things before me, wherefore I took them away when I had seen it.

"Thou son of man, put forth a dark speaking and a parable unto the house of Israel,

Behold, it was planted: shall it prosper therefore? Shall it not be dried up and withered, yea even in the shooting out of his blossoms, as soon as the east wind bloweth?'"

Namely, upon the high hill of Zion will I plant it: that it may bring forth twigs, and give fruit, and be a great Cedar tree: so that all manner of fowls may bide in it, and make their nests under the shadow of his branches.

Behold, all souls are mine. Like as the father is mine, so is the son mine also. The soul that sinneth, shall die.

"If he now get a son, that is a murderer, a shedder of blood: if he do one of these things

Now if this man get a son also, that seeth all his father's sins, which he hath done, and feareth, neither doth such like:

he opresseth not the poor; he receiveth no usury, nor anything over; he keepeth my laws, and walketh in my commandments: this man shall not die in his father's sin, but shall live without fail.

As for his father, because he oppressed and spoiled his brother, and did wickedly among his people: Lo, he is dead in his own sin.

And yet say ye, 'Wherefore then should not this son bear his father's sin?' Therefore, because the son hath done equity and right, hath kept all my commandments and done them: therefore shall he live indeed.

The soul that sinneth, she shall die. The son shall not bear part of the father's wickedness. The righteousness of the right shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

And so if a righteous turn from his righteousness and do wickedness, and shall do like unto all the abominations which a wicked doth, shall he live? No, none of those righteousness that he did shall be remembered. But in the wickedness which he wrought, and in the sin which he did, in them shall he die.

"As for me, I will judge every man, according to his ways, O ye house of Israel, sayeth the LORD God. Wherefore be converted, and turn you clean from all your wickedness, so shall there no sin do you harm.

"Thou son of man: speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Are ye come hither to ask anything at me? As truly as I live, sayeth the LORD God,

I will give you no answer.' Wilt thou not reprove them, thou son of man? Wilt thou not reprove them? Show them the abominations of their forefathers, and tell them: 'Thus sayeth the LORD God:

"Therefore, O thou son of man, tell the house of Israel, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Beside all this, your forefathers have yet blasphemed me more, and greatly offended against me.

"Thou son of man, set thy face toward the south, and speak to the south wind,

"Thou son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, speak against the Sanctuary, and prophesy against the land of Israel, say to the land of Israel,

Mourn therefore, O thou son of man, that thy loins crack withal; yea mourn bitterly for them.

"Thou son of man, prophesy and speak, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: speak, the sword is sharpened and well scoured.

Sharpened is it for the slaughter, and scoured that it may be bright. O, the destroying staff of my son shall bring down all wood.

Cry, O thou son of man, and howl: for this sword shall smite my people, and all the rulers in Israel, which with my people shall be slain down to the ground through this sword. Smite therefore thou upon thy thigh, for it is gone forth to make a trial.

Prophesy, thou son of man, and smite thine hands together: make the sword two edged, yea make it three edged, that manslayer's sword, that sword of the great slaughter, which shall smite them even in their privy chambers:

"Thou son of man, make thee two streets, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. Both these streets shall go out of one land. He shall set him up a place; at the head of the street shall he choose him out a corner.

"And thou, O son of man, prophesy and speak, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God to the children of Ammon, and to their blasphemy,' speak thou, 'The sword, the sword is drawn forth already to the slaughter, and scoured that it glistereth

"Thou son of man, wilt thou not reprove this bloodthirsty city? Show them their abominations,

"Thou son of man, the house of Israel is turned to dross. All they that should be brass, tin, iron and lead, are in the fire become dross.

"Thou son of man, tell her, 'Thou art an unclean land, which is not rained upon in the day of the cruel wrath:

"Thou son of man, there were two women, that had one mother.

immediately, as soon as she saw them, she burnt in love upon them, and sent messengers for them into the land of the Chaldeans.

her whoredom and shame was discovered and seen: then my heart forsook her, like as my heart was gone from her sister also.

The LORD said moreover unto me, "Thou son of man, wilt thou not reprove Oholah and Oholibah? Show them their abominations:

"O thou son of man, write up the name of this day; yea, even the hour of this present day when the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem.

"Thou son of man, behold, I take away the pleasure of thine eyes with a plague: yet shalt thou neither mourn, nor weep, nor water thy cheeks therefore.

"But behold, O thou son of man: In the day when I take from them their power, their joy and honour, the lust of their eyes, the burden of their bodies - namely, their sons and daughters -

"Thou son of man, set thy face against the Ammonites, prophesy upon them,

"Thou son of man, because that Tyre hath spoken upon Jerusalem, 'Aha, now I trow the ports of the people be broken, and she turned unto me, for I have destroyed my belly full.'

"O thou son of man, make a lamentable complaint upon Tyre,

"Thou son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Because thou hast a proud heart and hast said, 'I am a God, I have my seat in the midst of the sea like a God,' whereas thou art but a man, and not God, and yet standest in thine own conceit, that thou art God:

"Thou son of man, make a lamentable complaint over the king of Tyre, and tell him, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Thou art a seal of a likeness, full of wisdom and excellent beauty.

"Thou son of man, set thy face against Sidon. Prophesy upon it,

"O thou son of man, set now face against Pharaoh the king of Egypt: Prophesy against him and against the whole land of Egypt.

"O thou son of man, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath made his host, with great travail and labour to come before Tyre: that every head may be bald, and every shoulder bare. Yet hath Tyre given neither him nor his host any reward, for the great travail that he hath taken there.

"Thou son of man, prophesy and speak, 'Thus sayeth the LORD God: Mourn, woe worth this day,

As for Pathros, I will make it desolate, and kindle a fire in Zoan.

Alexandria will I punish and pour my wrathful indignation upon Sin which is the strength of Egypt. All the substance of Alexandria will I destroy,

and kindle a fire in Egypt. Sin shall be in great heaviness, Alexandria shall be rooted out, and Noph shall have daily sorrow.

"Behold, thou son of man, I will brake the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt: and lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, neither shall any plaster be laid upon it, for to ease it, or to make it so strong as to hold a sword.

"Thou son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to all his people, 'Whom art thou like in thy greatness?

"Thou son of man, take up a lamentation upon Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and say unto him, 'Thou art reputed as a Lion of the Heathen, and as a whalefish in the sea. Thou castest thy waters about thee, thou troublest the waters with thy feet, and stampest in their floods.