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

As He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I listened to the One who was speaking to me.

He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebellious pagans who have rebelled against Me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against Me to this day.

He said to me: “Son of man, eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.

Next He said to me: “Son of man, listen carefully to all My words that I speak to you and take them to heart.

I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were living by the Chebar Canal, and I sat there among them stunned for seven days.

Then the hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and I will speak with you there.”

The Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.

“Now you, son of man, take a brick, set it in front of you, and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.

Take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign for the house of Israel.

“Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel on it. You will bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side.

When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

Be aware that I will put cords on you so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.

“Also take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. Put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the number of days you lie on your side, 390 days.

You will eat it as you would a barley cake and bake it over dried human excrement in their sight.”

The Lord said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their bread—ceremonially unclean—among the nations where I will banish them.”

But I said, “Oh, Lord God, I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. And impure meat has never entered my mouth.”

Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight and in dread drink water by measure.

“This is what the Lord God says: I have set this Jerusalem in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.

therefore, this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments within you in the sight of the nations.

“I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by.

The Lord said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” I looked to the north, and there was this offensive statue north of the altar gate, at the entrance.

He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing here, more detestable things that the house of Israel is committing, so that I must depart from My sanctuary? You will see even more detestable things.”

He said to me, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and there was a doorway.

He said to me, “Go in and see the terrible and detestable things they are committing here.”

Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has abandoned the land.’”

Again He said to me, “You will see even more detestable things, which they are committing.”

And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even more detestable things than these.”

And He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it not enough for the house of Judah to commit the detestable things they are practicing here, that they must also fill the land with violence and repeatedly provoke Me to anger, even putting the branch to their nose?

And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a war club in his hand. There was another man among them, clothed in linen, with writing equipment at his side. They came and stood beside the bronze altar.

Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherub where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. He called to the man clothed in linen with the writing equipment at his side.

“Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem,” the Lord said to him, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the detestable practices committed in it.”

He spoke as I listened to the others, “Pass through the city after him and start killing; do not show pity or spare them!

Then He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out killing people in the city.

Then the man clothed in linen with the writing equipment at his side reported back, “I have done as You commanded me.”

The Lord spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with hot coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” So he went in as I watched.

The Lord said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plan evil and give wicked advice in this city.

“Son of man, your own relatives, those who have the right to redeem you, and the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those that the residents of Jerusalem have said this to, ‘Stay away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’

“Son of man, get your bags ready for exile and go into exile in their sight during the day. You will go into exile from your place to another place while they watch; perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.

During the day, bring out your bags like an exile’s bags while they look on. Then in the evening go out in their sight like those going into exile.

So I did just as I was commanded. In the daytime I brought out my bags like an exile’s bags. In the evening I dug through the wall by hand; I took them out in the dark, carrying them on my shoulder in their sight.

Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.

“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and have put sinful stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I be consulted by them at all?

“I passed by you and saw you lying in your blood, and I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live! Yes, I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live!

Then you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set My oil and incense before them.

You also set before them as a pleasing aroma the food I gave you—the fine flour, oil, and honey that I fed you. That is what happened.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Then they will burn down your houses and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will stop you from being a prostitute, and you will never again pay fees for lovers.

before your wickedness was exposed? It was like the time you were scorned by the daughters of Aram and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—those who treated you with contempt from every side.

He plucked off its topmost shoot,
brought it to the land of merchants,
and set it in a city of traders.

Then he took some of the land’s seed
and put it in a fertile field;
he set it like a willow,
a plant by abundant waters.

“What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel:

The fathers eat sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge?

Then the nations from the surrounding provinces
set out against him.
They spread their net over him;
he was caught in their pit.

In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, some of Israel’s elders came to consult the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.

I also said to them: Each of you must throw away the detestable things that are before your eyes and not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made Myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

“Then I said to their children in the wilderness: Don’t follow the statutes of your fathers, defile yourselves with their idols, or keep their ordinances.

But I withheld My hand and acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I brought them out.

When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will demonstrate My holiness through you in the sight of the nations.

Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, they are saying of me, ‘Isn’t he just posing riddles?’”

The answer marked Jerusalem appears in his right hand, indicating that he should set up battering rams, give the order to slaughter, raise a battle cry, set battering rams against the gates, build a ramp, and construct a siege wall.

You will be profaned in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”

At the sight of them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

“Therefore Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to incite your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side:

They will come against you with an alliance of nations and with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will set themselves against you on every side with shields, bucklers, and helmets. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards.

Then the Lord said to me: “Son of man, will you pass judgment against Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare their detestable practices to them.

You sat on a luxurious couch with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and oil.

Then I said concerning this woman worn out by adultery: Will they now have illicit sex with her, even her?

Set the empty pot on its coals
so that it becomes hot and its copper glows.
Then its impurity will melt inside it;
its rust will be consumed.

Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God: This is what the Lord God says: Because you said, ‘Good!’ about My sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile,

therefore I am about to give you to the people of the east as a possession. They will set up their encampments and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

This is what the Lord God says: “Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’

“Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem, ‘Good! The gateway to the peoples is shattered. She has been turned over to me. I will be filled now that she lies in ruins,’

He will slaughter your villages on the mainland with the sword. He will set up siege works against you, and will build a ramp and raise a wall of shields against you.

All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble continually, and be appalled at you.

“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre: This is what the Lord God says:

Your heart is proud,
and you have said, ‘I am a god;
I sit in the seat of gods
in the heart of the sea.’
Yet you are a man and not a god,
though you have regarded your heart
as that of a god.

You profaned your sanctuaries
by the magnitude of your iniquities
in your dishonest trade.
So I made fire come from within you,
and it consumed you.
I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of everyone watching you.

I will send a plague against her
and bloodshed in her streets;
the slain will fall within her,
while the sword is against her on every side.
Then they will know that I am Yahweh.

“This is what the Lord God says: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are scattered and demonstrate My holiness through them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their own land, which I gave to My servant Jacob.

The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am Yahweh. Because you said, ‘The Nile is my own; I made it,’

They will know that I am Yahweh
when I set fire to Egypt
and all its allies are shattered.

I will make Pathros desolate,
set fire to Zoan,
and execute judgments on Thebes.

I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached,
and Memphis will face foes in broad daylight.

“Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,

This happened so that no trees planted beside water would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and so that no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the underworld, among the people who descend to the Pit.

Her graves are set in the deepest regions of the Pit,
and her company is all around her burial place.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—
those who once spread terror
in the land of the living.

“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have said this, ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy on us, and we are wasting away because of them! How then can we survive?’

So My people come to you in crowds, sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don’t obey them. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest profit.

“Because you said, ‘These two nations and two lands will be mine, and we will possess them’—though the Lord was there—

This is what the Lord God says: Because the enemy has said about you, ‘Good! The ancient heights have become our possession,’

therefore, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side, so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people’s gossip and slander,

Look! I am on your side; I will turn toward you, and you will be tilled and sown.

When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, yet they had to leave His land in exile.’

I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. The nations will know that I am Yahweh”—the declaration of the Lord God—“when I demonstrate My holiness through you in their sight.

The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.

The hand of the Lord was on me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I replied, “Lord God, only You know.”

He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!