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.

And the children are impudent and stiffhearted: I do sent thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah.

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

And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious.

But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee.

And he said unto me, Son of man, eat that which thou findest; eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house 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.

For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel;

not to many peoples of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee.

so that thy forehead shall be harder than an Adamant or flint stone: that thou mayest fear them the less, and be less afraid of them, for they are a froward household."

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:

then go get thee unto them of the captivity, unto the cons of thy people, and thou shalt speak unto them and say unto them, Thus saith My Lord Yahweh, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear.

"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.

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand.

Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.

But thou, son of man, behold, they shall lay bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them:

and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover; for they are a rebellious house.

But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem:

Then shalt thou lay siege against it And bud up against it a siege-wall And cast up against it, a mound, - And set against it camps, And place against it battering-rams, round about.

And take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity.

For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.

And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it.

And, behold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to the other, till thou hast accomplished the days of thy siege.

Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof.

And thy food which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.

And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man.

Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon.

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.

And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword; as a barber's razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

A third part shalt thou burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite with the sword round about it; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.

And thou shalt take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.

And of these again shalt thou take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; therefrom shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.

Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee ; neither shall mine eye spare, and I also will have no pity.

so that when I punish thee in my wrath, in mine anger, and with the plague of my hot displeasure, thou shalt be a very abomination, shame, a gasping and wondering stock among the Heathen that lie about thee. Even I, the LORD, have spoken it: and it shall come to pass.

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

And thou hast said: Mountains of Israel, Hear ye a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah To the mountains, and to the hills, To the streams, and to the valleys, Lo, I, I am bringing in against you a sword, And I have destroyed your high places.

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'And thou, son of man, Thus said the Lord Jehovah to the ground of Israel:

And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel, An end: the end is come upon the four corners of the land.

The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.

Prepare thou a chain, For the land is full of the crime of bloodshed, And the city is full of violence.

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 unto me, Son of man, seest thou 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 thou shalt again see yet other great 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.

Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? for they say, Jehovah seeth us not; Jehovah hath forsaken the land.

He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do.

Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this , O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these.

Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this , O 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, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

Then said Yahweh unto him. Pass along through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, - and set thou a mark upon the foreheads of the men who are sighing and crying over all the abominations that are being done in her midst.

And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?

And behold, the man clothed in linen, who had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

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."

And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord Jehovah! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of 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.'

Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the rebellious house, that have eyes to see, and see not, that have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house.

Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.

And thou shalt bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing; and thou shalt go forth thyself at even in their sight, as when men go forth into exile.

Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.

In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulder, and carry it forth in the dark; thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the land: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.

Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest thou?

Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel among whom they are.

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

And unto the people of the land, speak thou on this manner: 'Thus sayeth the LORD God to them that dwell in Jerusalem, and to the land of Israel: Ye shall eat your bread with sorrow, and drink your water with heaviness. Yea, the land with the fullness thereof shall be laid waste, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

"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.'

Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own heart, Hear ye the word of Jehovah:

Say thou unto them who are coating with whitewash It shall fall,- There hath come an Overflowing rain And I will make ha-stones fall, And a tempestuous wind shall break it down.

And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,

And thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Woe to those sowing pillows for all joints of the arm, And to those making the kerchiefs For the head of every stature -- to hunt souls, The souls do ye hunt of My people? And the souls ye have do ye keep alive?

"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?

Therefore, speak with them, and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Every one of the house of Israel who causeth his idols to go up unto his heart, and the stumbling-block of his iniquity setteth over-against his face, and hath gone in unto the prophet -- I Jehovah have given an answer to him for this, for the abundance of his idols,

Therefore say thou unto the house of Israel Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh, Turn ye - and make good your return - from your manufactured gods; And from all your abominations:, make good the turning away of your faces.

"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.

Or, a sword, I should bring upon that land, and should say. O sword! thou shalt go through the land, and so I should cut off therefrom, man and beast,

"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,

Therefore shalt thou say - Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh To Jerusalem, Thine origin and thy birth, were of the land of the Calamity, - Thy father was the Amorite. And mother a Hittite,

And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, for that thy person was abhorred, in the day that thou wast born.

And when I passed by thee, and saw thee weltering in thy blood, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee, Though thou art in thy blood, live.

I caused thee to multiply as that which groweth in the field, and thou didst increase and wax great, and thou attainedst to excellent ornament; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.

Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine.

Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper unto royal estate.

Insomuch, that thy beauty was spoken of among the Heathen, for thou wast excellent in my beauty, which I put upon thee, sayeth the LORD God.

But thou didst trust in thy beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy whoredoms on every one that passed by; his it was.

And thou didst take of thy garments, and madest for thee high places decked with divers colors, and playedst the harlot upon them: the like things'shall not come, neither shall it be'so .

Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them;

and thou tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them, and didst set mine oil and mine incense before them.

My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savor; and thus it was, saith the Lord Jehovah.

Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Were thy whoredoms a small matter,

that thou hast slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through the fire unto them?

And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast weltering in thy blood.