the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there on him.

He said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you."

He said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day.

You, son of man, do not be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions: do not be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

But you, son of man, hear what I tell you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house: open your mouth, and eat that which I give you."

He said to me, "Son of man, eat that which you find. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel."

He said to me, "Son of man, cause your belly to eat, and fill your belly with this scroll that I give you." Then I ate it; and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

He said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

Moreover he said to me, "Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel: therefore hear the word from my mouth, and give them warning from me.

"Again, when a righteous man does turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: because you have not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at your hand.

Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man, that the righteous not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and you have delivered your soul."

But you, son of man, behold, they shall lay bands on you, and shall bind you with them, and you shall not go out among them:

"You also, son of man, take a tile, and lay it before yourself, and portray on it a city, even Jerusalem:

Take for yourself an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city: and set your face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

Moreover he said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay:

"You, son of man, take a sharp sword; You shall take it as a barber's razor to you, and shall cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

"Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy to them,

"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.

Then he said to me, "Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north." So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and see, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But you shall again see yet other great abominations."

Then he said to me, "Son of man, dig now in the wall": and when I had dug in the wall, behold, a door.

There stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand; and the odor of the cloud of incense went up.

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, "Have you seen this, son of man? You shall again see yet greater abominations than these."

He brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house; and see, at the door of the LORD's temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the LORD's temple, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.

Then he said to me, "Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and behold, they put the branch to their nose.

Moreover the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me to the east gate of the LORD's house, which looks eastward: and see, at the door of the gate twenty-five men; and I saw in their midst Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, officials of the people.

He said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity, and who give wicked counsel in this city;

Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, son of man."

It happened, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down on my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, "Ah Lord GOD. Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?"

"Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, the men of your relatives, and all the house of Israel, all of them, to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Go far away from the LORD. This land has been given to us for a possession.'

The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.

"Son of man, you dwell in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see, and do not see, who have ears to hear, and do not hear; for they are a rebellious house.

Therefore, you son of man, prepare your stuff for moving, and move by day in their sight; and you shall move from your place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.

In their sight you shall bear it on your shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; you shall cover your face, so that you do not see the land: for I have set you for a sign to the house of Israel."

"Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, 'What are you doing?'

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

"Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with fearfulness;

"Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, 'The days are prolonged, and every vision fails?'

"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.'

"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.

"You, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy against them,

"Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?

and I will set my face against that man, and will make him an astonishment, for a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and you shall know that I am the LORD.

"Son of man, when a land sins against me by committing a trespass, and I stretch out my hand on it, and break the staff of its bread, and send famine on it, and cut off from it man and animal;

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.

"Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, the vine-branch which is among the trees of the forest?

"Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;

"Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins, he shall die.

"If he fathers a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood, and who does any one of these things,

"Now, behold, if he fathers a son, who sees all his father's sins, which he has done, and fears, and does not such like;

"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.

The soul who sins, he shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.

It had strong rods for the scepters of those who bore rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches.

"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."'

Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;

Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

and make my Sabbaths holy; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that 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.

"Son of man, set your face toward the south, and drop your word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South;

"Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and drop your word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;

"Sigh therefore, you son of man; with the breaking of your thighs and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes.

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

it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? The rod of my son, it condemns every tree.

Cry and wail, son of man; for it is on my people, it is on all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; strike therefore on your thigh.

"You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one who is deadly wounded, which enters into their rooms.

"Also, you son of man, appoint two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they both shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.

"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, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me: all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.

"Son of man, tell her, 'You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained on in the day of indignation.'

"Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

As soon as she saw them she doted on them, and sent messengers to them into Chaldea.

The LORD said moreover to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.

"Son of man, write the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day.

"Son of man, behold, I will take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.

Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; according to all that he has done, you will do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD."'"

"You, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their heart, their sons and their daughters,

In that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped, and you shall speak, and be no more mute: so you will be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am the LORD."

"Son of man, set your face toward the children of Ammon, and prophesy against them:

"Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, 'Aha, she is broken: the gate of the peoples; she is turned to me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste':

"You, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre;

"Son of man, tell the prince of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is lifted up, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas'; yet you are man, and not God, though you set your heart as the heart of God?

"Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and tell him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

"Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,

"Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyre: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was worn; yet had he no wages, nor his army, from Tyre, for the service that he had served against it.

"Son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Wail, 'Alas for the day.'

I will make Pathros desolate, and will set a fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments on No.

I will pour my wrath on Sin, the stronghold of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No.

I will set a fire in Egypt: Sin shall be in great anguish, and No shall be broken up; and Memphis shall have adversaries in the daytime.

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and behold, it has not been bound up, to apply healing medicines, to put a bandage to bind it, that it be strong to hold the sword.

"Son of man, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: 'Whom are you like in your greatness?