And he said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the {Israelites}, to nations [who are] rebelling, who rebelled against me, they and their ancestors, they transgressed against me {until this very day}.

And I went to the exiles [at] Tel Abib, who [were] dwelling near the {Kebar River}, and I sat [where] they [were] dwelling. I sat there seven days in the midst of them, stunned.

And I will make you into a desolate place and into a disgrace among the nations that surround you before the eyes of {every one who passes by}.

The one who is far [away] will die by the plague, and the one who is near will fall by the sword, and the one who is being left behind and being spared will die by the famine, and I will complete my rage on them.

And my eye will not take pity, and I will not show compassion. According to your ways I will {deal with you}, and your detestable things will be in the midst of you, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh [who] strikes.

The sword {is outside}, and the plague and the famine {are inside}; [the one] who [is] in the field will die by the sword, and [the one] who [is] in the city, famine and plague will devour him.

And the glory of the God of Israel lifted itself up from upon the cherub that he was on [and went] to the threshold of the house, and he called to the man who [was] clothed in linen {with a scribal writing case at his side}.

And Yahweh said to him, "Go through in the midst of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and you must place a mark on the foreheads of the men {who are groaning and lamenting} about all of the detestable things {that are being done} in the midst of her."

You must kill {totally} old man, young man and young woman, and little children and women, but {concerning} every man {with the mark on him} you must not approach; and from my sanctuary you must begin." And they began with the old men who {were before} the house.

And he said to me, "Son of man, these [are] the men {who devise mischief}, and [who are] offering bad counsel in this city,

who [are] saying, "The building of houses [is] not near; [the city] is the pot, and we [are] the flesh.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Your slain ones whom you put in its midst, they [are] the flesh, and it is [the] pot, and I will bring you out from its midst.

"Son of man, your brothers, your brothers, the men of your redemption, and all of the house of Israel, all of it, {who said concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem}, 'They are far from Yahweh, [therefore] to us this land was given as a possession.'

"Son of man, you [are] dwelling in the midst of the house of rebellion {who has eyes to see and they do not see}; {they have ears to hear}, and they do not hear, for they [are] a house of rebellion.

And you must bring out your baggage like [the] baggage of an exile by day before their eyes, and you must go out in the evening before their eyes like {those who go into exile}.

Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "This oracle [is about] the prince in Jerusalem and {the entire} house of Israel {who are among them}." '

And the prince who [is] in the midst of them, on [his] shoulder he will carry [the baggage] in the dusk, and he will go out; {the wall will be dug through} to bring him through it; and he will cover his face so that he will not see the land with his eye.

And all who [are] around him, his help and all of his troops I will scatter {in every direction}, and I will draw [the] sword behind them.

And you must say to the people of the land, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the inhabitants of Jerusalem about the land of Israel: "They will eat their food with anxiety and their water they will drink with horror, because their land will be desolate from its fullness because of all the violence of {those who are dwelling in it}.

"Son of man, prophesy to the prophets of Israel {who are prophesying}, and you must say to [those who are] prophets out of their own {imagination}, 'Hear the word of Yahweh!'

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Alas, for the foolish prophets who [are] going after their [own] spirit, {and they did not see anything}!

"And it will be my hand against the prophets who [are] seeing falseness and who [are] practicing lying divination. They will not be in the council of my people, and they will not be written [down] in the record [book] of the house of Israel, and into the land of Israel they will not come, and [then] you will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh.

"And you, son of man, place your face toward the daughters of your people who prophesy from their {imagination}, and prophesy against them!

And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe to {those who sew} magic charm bands on all the wrists of the hands of my [people] and {those who make the veils} [that are] on the head of [people of] every height, to ensnare [people's] lives! Will you ensnare [the] lives of my people {and keep yourselves alive}?

And you defiled me among my people for a handful of barley and for morsels of bread to kill persons who should not die and to keep alive persons who should not live by [means of] your lies to my people [who are] listening to [your] lies." '

Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt and [yet] he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act with [respect to] the multitude of his idols,

so that [I may] take hold of the house of Israel by their heart, [those] who are estranged from me, all of them, through their idols.'

For {each person} from the house of Israel, and from the alien who dwells as an alien in Israel, who separates himself {from following me} and brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt, and [yet] he comes to the prophet to consult him concerning me, I Yahweh will answer him myself.

But look! A remnant will be left over in it, sons and daughters {who will be brought out}. Look! They are coming out to you, and you will see their way, and with their deeds you will be consoled with respect to the evil that I brought over Jerusalem, all of [it] that I brought over it.

'And you took your sons and your daughters whom you had borne for me, and you sacrificed them to them to be eaten, {as if your whorings were not enough}.

And you prostituted with the {Egyptians}, your neighbors {who were sexually aroused}, and you increased your fornication to provoke me.

And look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I reduced your portion, and I gave you into the desire of your haters, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed because of your lewd {conduct}.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because of the pouring out of your shame and [because] your nakedness was revealed in your whoring with your lovers, and on account of all of the idols of your detestable things, and according to the blood of your children whom you gave to them,

therefore, look! I [am] gathering all of your lovers {whom you were pleased about}, and all of whom you loved in addition to all of whom you hated, and I will gather them against you from {everywhere}, and I [will] uncover your nakedness to them, and they will see all of your nakedness.

You [are] a daughter of your mother [who] abhorred her husband and her children, and you [are] a sister of your sisters who abhorred their husbands and their children. Your mother [was] a Hittite, and your father [was] an Amorite.

And your elder sister, she [is] Samaria, and her daughters, [who are] dwelling on your north, and your younger sister [is] the one dwelling on your south; [she] [is] Sodom and her daughters.

{before} your evil was uncovered? [It was] like the time of the scorn of the daughters of Aram and all [those] around her, and of the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who [are] despising you.

'For thus says the Lord Yahweh: And I will do it to you {according to what you have done}, who despised [the] oath to break covenant.

{As I live},' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, '{surely} in the place of the king {who made} him king, who despised his oath and who broke his covenant with him--in the midst of Babylon he will die.

And all of his choice troops, among all of his troops, they will fall by the sword, and [those who] [are] remaining, they will be scattered to all [the directions of the] wind, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken.'

"And [now] he has a son, a violent one, {who sheds blood} {and does any of these things}

"But I acted for the sake of my name {to keep it from being profaned} before the eyes of the nations {among whom they lived}, where I made known to them before their eyes, to bring them out from the land of Egypt.

and I acted for the sake of my name, [that it] not be profaned before the eyes of the nations {before whom I brought them out}.

But I withheld my hand, and I acted for the sake of my name not to be profaned before the eyes of the nations [before] whom I [had] brought them out before their eyes.

A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it! Also this has not [ever] happened; [it will remain] until the coming of [the one] [to] whom the judgment belongs and I have given it [to him].'

And Oholah prostituted [herself] {while she was still mine}, and she lusted for her lovers, for Assyria [who was] nearby,

Therefore I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the {Assyrians} {after whom she lusted}.

"Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! I [am] stirring up your lovers against you [concerning] whom you turned away, and I will bring them against you from all around:

And I will direct my zeal against you, and they will deal with you in anger; your nose and your ears they will remove, and {those who are left}, they will fall by the sword, and they will take your sons and your daughters, and {your remnant} will be consumed by fire.

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! I [am] giving you into the hand of those you hated, into the hand of those from whom you turned away.

{What is worse}, they sent for men {who come} from a distant place, [to] whom a messenger [was] sent to them, and look! They came! [Men] for whom you bathed and painted your eyes, and you adorned yourself [with] an ornament.

"Say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [will be] profaning my sanctuary, the pride of your strength [and] the delight of your eyes and the object of your own affection; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword,

and its daughters who [are] in the field with the sword, they will be killed; and they will know that I [am] Yahweh.'"

And they will raise a lament over you, and they will say to you, 'How you have been lost [who was] inhabited from [the] seas; the city that was praised, that was strong. It [is] [located] on the sea, and its inhabitants imposed their terror {on all of its inhabitants}.

And I will bring you down with [those who are] going down to the grave, {an ancient people}, and I will cause you to dwell in the world of [the] depths, in the ruins from of old with [those who are] going down to [the] grave, so that you will not be inhabited and {have a place} in [the] land of [the] living.

And you must say to Tyre, the one who sits at [the] entrance of the sea [as] the merchant of the peoples to the many coastlands, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Tyre, {you yourself said} "I [am] perfect {in beauty}!"

Your wealth and your merchandise, your wares, your mariners, and your seamen, your shipwrights and the barterers of your wares and all of {your soldiers} who [are] in you, along with all of your crew who are in the midst of you, they will fall in [the] heart of [the] seas on the day of your downfall.

And they will raise over you with their wailing a lament, and they will chant a lament over you: 'Who is like Tyre, like [this] destruction in the midst of the sea?'

{Will you indeed still say} "I [am] a god!" before the face of your killers? And [in fact] you [are] a human and not a god in the hand of {those who pierce you}.

From the abundance of your iniquities in the dishonesty of your trading, I profaned your sanctuaries and I brought fire from your midst; it consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth {before the eyes of everyone who sees you}.

{All who know you} among the peoples are appalled over you; you have become [as] horrors, and {you shall cease to exist forever}." '"

And {there will not be any longer} painful thorn and a sharp thornbush for the house of Israel from {anywhere around them} [from those] {who are despising them}, and they will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh." '"

And they will live on it in safety, and they will build houses, and they will plant vineyards, and they will live in safety when I execute my judgments on all {those who despise them from all around them}, and [then] they will know that I [am] Yahweh their God."

Speak, and you must say, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great sea monster, the [one] lying down in the midst of his Nile streams, who says to me, "[It is] my Nile, and I made [it] [for] myself."

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples [among] whom they were scattered.

"Son of man, say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his crowd, 'To whom are you like in your greatness?

They also went down with it to Sheol to {those who died by the sword}, and its army [who] [had] lived in its shadow in the midst of nations.

{To whom could you be compared, whether in glory or in majesty} among the trees of Eden? And yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to [the] world below; in the midst of [the] uncircumcised you will lie with {those who died by the sword}. That is Pharaoh and {his entire} crowd!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

{You are more lovely than whom}? Go down and be laid in rest with [the] uncircumcised.

who will be given its graves in [the] remote areas of [the] pit, and its assembly will be all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, [those] who spread terror in [the] land of [the] living.

Elam [is] there and all of its hordes, all around its grave, all of them dead who fell by the sword, [those] who went down uncircumcised to [the] depths of [the] underworld, [those] who spread their terror to [the] land of [the] living, and [now] they bear their disgrace with [the people] going down [to the] grave.

And they do not lie with warriors fallen from long ago, who went down [to] Sheol with their weapons of war, and they placed their sword under their heads, and their shields were on their bones, for [the] terror of [the] warriors [was] in [the] land of the living.

There [is] Edom, its kings and all of its leaders who are laid [along] with their might with [those] killed by [the] sword; they will lie with [the] uncircumcised and with [the people] going down to the grave.

There are [also] the princes of [the] north, all of them, all of [the] Sidonians who have gone down, being ashamed [to lie] with [the] slain because of their terror [that they caused] from their might, and they lie uncircumcised with [those killed] by [the] sword, and they bear their disgrace [along with] [the people] going down to [the] grave.

and {anyone who listens} hears the sound of the horn and {he does not take warning} and [the] sword comes and it takes him, his blood will be on his [own] head.

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe [to] the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Must not the shepherds feed the flock?

And I will make the mountain of Seir into desolation and ruin, and I will cut off from it [both] [he who is] crossing over and [he who is] returning.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{Certainly} in the fire of my passion I spoke against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who made my land as possession, because of its pastureland for plunder, for themselves in all of [the] joy of their whole heart [and] in [their] inner disdain."

" 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh, because [they are] saying to you, "You [are] [an] eater of humans, and you are {one who makes childless} your people."

And the nations who are left all around, you will know that I, Yahweh, I built {that which was destroyed}; I planted the desolate [land]; I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act.'

to loot loot, and to plunder plunder, {to assail} inhabited ruins and people gathered together from [various] peoples [and who are] acquiring livestock and goods [and] dwelling at the center of the world.

"Thus says the Lord Yahweh, '[Are] you he of whom I spoke in former days by the hand of my servants the prophets of Israel [who] were prophesying in those days for years [that I would] bring you against them?

And the fish of the sea and the birds of the heaven and the animals of the field and all of the creeping things that creep on the earth and all of the humans who [are] on the surface of the earth will shake {at my presence}; and the mountains will be demolished, and the steep mountain sides will fall, and every wall on the earth will fall.

And I will execute justice with him with a plague and with blood and {torrents of rain}, and hailstones; fire and sulfur I will cause to fall on him and on his troops and on many peoples who [are] with him.

On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all of your troops, and [the] peoples who [are] with you, to birds of prey, birds of every wing, and animals of the field I will give you as food.

And he said to me, "This chamber {with its face toward the south} [is] for the priests [who are] taking care of the responsibility of the temple.

And the chamber {with its face to the north} [is] for the priests [who are] taking care of the responsibility of the altar. They [are] the descendants of Zadok, the [ones who] approach [from among] the descendants of Levi to Yahweh to serve him."

And he said to me, "The chambers of the north [and] the chambers of the south which [are] {before} the courtyard, they {are the holy chambers} in which the priests, who [are] near to Yahweh, will eat the {most holy objects}. There they shall put the {most holy objects}, and the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering, for the place [is] holy.

And you must give to the Levitical priests who [are] from the offspring of Zadok, the [ones] [coming] near me," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "to serve me, a bull, {a calf} as sin offering.

At your bringing {foreigners} [who are] uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh to be in my sanctuary to profane it, my temple, {as you offered my food, fat, and blood}, so you broke my covenant by all of your detestable things.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every {foreigner} uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh shall not come into my sanctuary--[not] any of [the] {foreigners} who [are] in the midst of the {Israelites}.

{But} the Levites who removed themselves from me {at the going astray of Israel}, who went astray from me [and went] after their idols, as a result they will bear their guilt.

But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok, who cared for the responsibility of my sanctuary {when the Israelites went astray} from me, they will approach me to serve me, and they will stand {before me} to offer to me fat and blood," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

And a widow or divorced [woman] they shall not take for themselves as wives, {but only} a virgin from the offspring of the house of Israel, or the widow who is a widow for a priest they may take.

And {near a dead person} he shall not come to be defiled, {but only} for a father and for a mother and for a son and for a daughter, for a brother and for a sister {who was not married} may they defile themselves.

It [is] a holy portion from the land; it will be for the priests, the servants of the sanctuary {who approach} to serve Yahweh, and it will be for them a place for houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.

And then you shall allocate it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens dwelling as aliens in the midst of you who have children in the midst of you, and [so] they shall be to you [just] like full citizens among the {Israelites}. With you they shall be allotted with an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel.

And then in the tribe [in] which an alien who is with you dwells, there you shall give his inheritance," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

To the priests, the [ones] being consecrated from the descendants of Zadok, who took care of my service [and] who {did not go astray} {when the Israelites went astray}, {just as} the Levites went astray.