And He saith unto Me, 'Son of man, I am sending thee unto the sons of Israel, unto nations who are rebels, who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, unto this self-same day.

And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, that which thou findest eat, eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel.'

And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, go, enter in unto the house of Israel, and thou hast spoken with My words unto them.

For, not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue art thou sent -- unto the house of Israel;

but the house of Israel are not willing to hearken unto thee, for they are not willing to hearken unto Me, for all the house of Israel are brazen-faced and strong-hearted.

that there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'Son of man, a watchman I have given thee to the house of Israel, and thou hast heard from My mouth a word, and hast warned them from Me.

And thou, take to thee an iron pan, and thou hast made it a wall of iron between thee and the city; and thou hast prepared thy face against it, and it hath been in a siege, yea, thou hast laid siege against it. A sign it is to the house of Israel.

'And thou, lie on thy left side, and thou hast placed the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; the number of the days that thou liest on it, thou bearest their iniquity.

And I -- I have laid on thee the years of their iniquity, the number of days, three hundred and ninety days; and thou hast borne the iniquity of the house of Israel.

And Jehovah saith, 'Thus do the sons of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations whither I drive them.'

and of them thou dost take again, and hast cast them unto the midst of the fire, and hast burned them in the fire -- out of it cometh forth a fire unto all the house of Israel.

'Son of man, set thy face unto mountains of Israel, and prophesy concerning 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 put the carcases of the sons of Israel before their idols, And scattered your bones round about your altars.

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: 'Smite with thy palm, and stamp with thy foot, And say: Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, Who by sword, by famine, and by pestilence do fall.

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 lo, there the honour of the God of Israel, as the appearance that I saw in the valley.

And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, art thou seeing what they are doing? the great abominations that the house of Israel are doing here, to keep far off from My sanctuary; and again thou dost turn, thou dost see great abominations.'

And I go in, and look, and lo, every form of creeping thing, and detestable beast -- and all the Idols of the house of Israel -- graved on the wall, all round about,

and seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel -- and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in their midst -- are standing before them, and each his censer in his hand, and the abundance of the cloud of perfume is going up.

And He saith unto me, 'Hast thou seen, son of man, that which elders of the house of Israel are doing in darkness, each in the inner chambers of his imagery, for they are saying, Jehovah is not seeing us, Jehovah hath forsaken the land?'

And the honour of the God of Israel hath gone up from off the cherub, on which it hath been, unto the threshold of the house.

And it cometh to pass, as they are smiting, and I -- I am left -- that I fall on my face, and cry, and say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, art Thou destroying all the remnant of Israel, in Thy pouring out Thy wrath on Jerusalem?'

And He saith unto me, 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very very great, and the land is full of blood, and the city hath been full of perverseness, for they have said: Jehovah hath forsaken the land, and Jehovah is not seeing.

and the cherubs lift up their wings, and are lifted up from the earth before mine eyes; in their going forth, the wheels also are over-against them, and he standeth at the opening of the east gate of the house of Jehovah, and the honour of the God of Israel is over them from above.

It is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I know that they are cherubs.

And fall upon me doth the Spirit of Jehovah, and He saith unto me, 'Say: Thus said Jehovah: Rightly ye have said, O house of Israel, And the steps of your spirit I have known.

By the sword ye do fall, On the border of Israel I do judge you, And ye have known that I am Jehovah.

It is not to you for a pot, Nor are ye in its midst for flesh, At the border of Israel I do judge you.

And it cometh to pass, at my prophesying, that Pelatiah son of Benaiah is dying, and I fall on my face, and cry -- a loud voice -- and say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, an end Thou art making of the remnant of Israel.'

Son of man, thy brethren, thy brethren, men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel -- all of it, are they to whom inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Keep far off from Jehovah;

Therefore say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: And I have assembled you from the peoples, And I have gathered you from the lands, Into which ye have been scattered, And I have given to you the ground of Israel.

And the cherubs lift up their wings, and the wheels are over-against them, and the honour of the God of Israel is over them above.

Before their eyes on the shoulder thou dost bear, in the darkness thou dost bring forth, thy face thou dost cover, and thou dost not see the earth, for a type I have given thee to the house of Israel.'

Son of man, have they not said unto thee -- the house of Israel -- the rebellious house -- What art thou doing?

say unto them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: 'The prince is this burden in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel who are in their midst.

and thou hast said unto the people of the land, Thus said the Lord Jehovah concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem, concerning the land of Israel: Their bread with fear they do eat, and their water with astonishment drink, because its land is desolate, because of its fulness, because of the violence of all who are dwelling in it.

Son of man, what is this simile to you, concerning the land of Israel, saying, Prolonged are the days, and perished hath every vision?

therefore say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have caused this simile to cease, And they use it not as a simile again in Israel, But speak to them: Drawn near have the days, And spoken hath every vision.

For there is no more any vain vision, and flattering divination, In the midst of the house of Israel.

Son of man, lo, the house of Israel are saying, The vision that he is seeing is for many days, and of times far off he is prophesying,

'Son of man, prophesy concerning the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and thou hast said to those prophesying from their own heart: Hear ye a word of Jehovah:

As foxes in the wastes, Thy prophets, O Israel, have been.

Ye have not gone up into breaches, Nor do ye make a fence for the house of Israel, To stand in battle in a day of Jehovah.

And My hand hath been on the prophets, Who are seeing vanity, and who are divining a lie, In the assembly of My people they are not, And in the writing of the house of Israel they are not written, And unto the ground of Israel they come not, And ye have known that I am the Lord Jehovah.

The prophets of Israel who are prophesying concerning Jerusalem, And who are seeing for her a vision of peace, And there is no peace, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

And come in unto me do certain of the elders of Israel, and sit before 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,

in order to catch the house of Israel by their heart, in that they have become estranged from off me by their idols -- all of them.

'Therefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Turn ye back, yea, turn ye back from your idols, and from all your abominations turn back your faces,

for every one of the house of Israel, and of the sojourners who doth sojourn in Israel, who is separated from after Me, and doth cause his idols to go up unto his heart, and the stumbling-block of his iniquity setteth over-against his face, and hath come in unto the prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I, Jehovah, have answered him for Myself;

And the prophet, when he is enticed, and hath spoken a word -- I, Jehovah, I have enticed that prophet, and have stretched out My hand against him, and have destroyed him from the midst of My people Israel.

so that the house of Israel do not wander any more from after Me, nor are defiled any more with all their transgressions, and they have been to Me for a people, and I am to them for God -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

'Son of man, put forth a riddle, and use a simile unto the house of Israel,

In a mountain -- the high place of Israel, I plant it, And it hath borne boughs, and yielded fruit, And become a goodly cedar, And dwelt under it have all birds of every wing, In the shade of its thin shoots they dwell.

What -- to you, ye -- using this simile Concerning the ground of Israel, saying: Fathers do eat unripe fruit, And the sons' teeth are blunted?

I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Ye have no more the use of this simile in Israel.

On the mountains he hath not eaten, And his eyes he hath not lifted up Unto idols of the house of Israel, And the wife of his neighbour defiled not, And to a separated woman cometh not near,

On the mountains he hath not eaten, And his eyes he hath not lifted up Unto idols of the house of Israel, The wife of his neighbour he hath not defiled,

And ye have said, Not pondered is the way of the Lord. Hear, I pray you, O house of Israel, My way -- is it not pondered? Are not your ways unpondered?

And the house of Israel have said, Not pondered is the way of the Lord, My ways -- are they not pondered? O house of Israel -- are not your ways unpondered?

Therefore, each according to his ways I judge you, O house of Israel? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Turn ye back, yea, turn yourselves back, From all your transgressions, And iniquity is not to you for a stumbling-block,

Cast from off you all your transgressions, By which ye have transgressed, And make to you a new heart, and a new spirit, And why do ye die, O house of Israel?

And thou, lift up a lamentation unto princes of Israel,

And they put it in prison -- in chains, And they bring it unto the king of Babylon, They bring it in unto bulwarks, So that its voice is not heard any more On mountains of Israel.

And it cometh to pass, in the seventh year, in the fifth month, in the tenth of the month, come in have certain of the elders of Israel to seek Jehovah, and they sit before me;

Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: To seek Me are ye coming in? I live -- I am not sought by you -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the day of My fixing on Israel, I lift up My hand, To the seed of the house of Jacob, And am known to them in the land of Egypt, And I lift up My hand to them, Saying, I am Jehovah your God.

And -- rebel against me do the house of Israel in the wilderness, In My statutes they have not walked, And My judgments they have despised, Which the man who doth -- liveth by them. And My sabbaths they have greatly polluted, And I say to pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

Therefore, speak unto the house of Israel, son of man, and thou hast said unto them, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Still in this have your fathers reviled Me, In their committing against Me a trespass.

Therefore, say unto the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In the way of your fathers are ye defiled? And after their detestable things go a-whoring?

And in the offering of your gifts, In causing your sons to pass through fire, Ye are defiled by all your idols to this day, And I am sought by you, O house of Israel! I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I am not sought by you.

And cleared out from you the rebels, And them transgressing against Me, From the land of their sojournings I bring them out, And unto the land of Israel they come not, And ye have known that I am Jehovah.

And ye, O house of Israel, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Each his idols -- go -- serve ye, And, afterwards, if ye are not hearkening to me, And My holy name ye do not pollute any more by your gifts, and by your idols.

For, in My holy mountain, In the mountain of the height of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, There serve Me do all the house of Israel, All of it, in the land -- there I accept them, And there I do seek your heave-offerings, And with the first-fruit of your gifts, With all your holy things.

And ye have known that I am Jehovah, In My bringing you to the ground of Israel, Unto the land that I did lift up My hand To give it to your fathers,

And ye have known that I am Jehovah, In My dealing with you for My name's sake, Not according to your evil ways, And according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

'Son of man, set thy face unto Jerusalem, and prophesy unto the holy places, and prophesy unto the ground of Israel;

and thou hast said unto the ground of Israel: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am against thee, And have brought out My sword from its scabbard, And have cut off from thee righteous and wicked.

Cry and howl, son of man, For it hath been among My people, It is among all the princes of Israel, Cast unto the sword have been My people. Therefore strike on thy thigh,

And thou, wounded, wicked one, Prince of Israel, whose day hath come, In the time of the iniquity of the end!

Lo, princes of Israel -- each according to his arm Have been in thee to shed blood.

The house of Israel hath been to Me for dross, All of them are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, In the midst of a furnace -- dross hath silver been,

Say to the house of Israel: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am polluting My sanctuary, The excellency of your strength, The desire of your eyes, and the pitied of your soul, And your sons and your daughters whom ye have left, by sword they do fall.

and thou hast said to the sons of Ammon: Hear ye a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy saying, Aha, to My sanctuary, Because it hath been polluted, And unto the ground of Israel, Because it hath been desolate, And unto the house of Judah, Because they have gone into a removal:

For thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy clapping the hand, And of thy stamping with the foot, And thou rejoicest with all thy despite in soul Against the ground of Israel,

And I have given My vengeance on Edom, By the hand of My people Israel, And they have done in Edom, According to My anger, and according to My fury, And they have known My vengeance, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

Judah and the land of Israel -- they are thy merchants, For wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, And honey, and oil, and balm, They have given out thy merchandise.

And there is no more to the house of Israel A pricking brier, and paining thorn, Of all round about them -- despising them, And they have known that I am the Lord Jehovah.

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: In My gathering the house of Israel, Out of the peoples among whom they were scattered, I have been sanctified in them, Before the eyes of the nations, And they have dwelt on their ground, That I gave to My servant, to Jacob,

And known have all inhabitants of Egypt That I am Jehovah, Because of their being a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

And it is no more to the house of Israel for a confidence, Bringing iniquity to remembrance, By their turning after them, And they have known that I am the Lord Jehovah.'

In that day I cause to shoot up a horn to the house of Israel, And to thee I give an opening of the mouth in their midst, And they have known that I am Jehovah!'

And thou, son of man, A watchman I gave thee to the house of Israel, And thou hast heard from My mouth a word, And thou hast warned them from Me.

And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Rightly ye have spoken, saying: Surely our transgressions and our sins are on us, And in them we are wasting away, How, then, do we live?

Say unto them, I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I delight not in the death of the wicked, But -- in the turning of the wicked from his way, And he hath lived, Turn back, turn back, from your evil ways, Yea, why do ye die, O house of Israel?

And ye have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, Each according to his ways do I judge you, O house of Israel.'

Son of man, the inhabitants of these wastes on the ground of Israel are speaking, saying: Alone hath been Abraham -- and he possesseth the land, and we are many -- to us hath the land been given for a possession.

And I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, And ceased hath the excellency of its strength, And desolated have been mountains of Israel, Without any one passing through.

Son of man, prophesy concerning shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and thou hast said unto them: To the shepherds, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, Who have been feeding themselves! The flock do not the shepherds feed?