(Bet) The precious sons of Zion were worth their weight in gold -- Alas! -- but now they are treated like broken clay pots, made by a potter.

(Gimel) Even the jackals nurse their young at their breast, but my people are cruel, like ostriches in the desert.

(Dalet) The infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel.

(Mem) But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous.

(Samek) People cry to them, "Turn away! You are unclean! Turn away! Turn away! Don't touch us!" So they have fled and wander about; but the nations say, "They may not stay here any longer."

(Sin/Shin) Rejoice and be glad for now, O people of Edom, who reside in the land of Uz. But the cup of judgment will pass to you also; you will get drunk and take off your clothes.

(Tav) O people of Zion, your punishment will come to an end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O people of Edom, he will punish your sin and reveal your offenses!

Our forefathers sinned and are dead, but we suffer their punishment.

But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.

but each had four faces and four wings.

Their legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like calves' feet. They gleamed like polished bronze.

their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead.

But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words -- even though briers and thorns surround you and you live among scorpions -- do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, for they are a rebellious house!

For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel --

But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

When I say to the wicked, "You will certainly die," and you do not warn him -- you do not speak out to warn the wicked to turn from his wicked deed and wicked lifestyle so that he may live -- that wicked person will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

But as for you, if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wicked deed and from his wicked lifestyle, he will die for his iniquity but you will have saved your own life.

"When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I set an obstacle before him, he will die. If you have not warned him, he will die for his sin. The righteous deeds he performed will not be considered, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

But when I speak with you, I will loosen your tongue and you must say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says.' Those who listen will listen, but the indifferent will refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

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

But take a few strands of hair from those and tie them in the ends of your garment.

"'But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands.

"They have blown the trumpet and everyone is ready, but no one goes to battle, because my anger is against their whole crowd.

Terror is coming! They will seek peace, but find none.

He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing -- the great abominations that the people of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!"

Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women -- wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!" So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.

But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare them; I hereby repay them for what they have done."

Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: 'The corpses you have dumped in the midst of the city are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it.

But I will take you out of the city. And I will hand you over to foreigners. I will execute judgments on you.

But those whose hearts are devoted to detestable things and abominations, I hereby repay them for what they have done, says the sovereign Lord."

"Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, because they are a rebellious house.

But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans (but he will not see it), and there he will die.

But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

Therefore tell them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.' But say to them, 'The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled.

This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing!

I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.

"'But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty became his.

Then you multiplied your promiscuity to the land of merchants, Babylonia, but you were not satisfied there either.

All prostitutes receive payment, but instead you give gifts to every one of your lovers. You bribe them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors!

"'See here -- this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help the poor and needy.

Then you will remember your conduct, and be ashamed when you receive your older and younger sisters. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of my covenant with you.

Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper? Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it? Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?'"

so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand.

But this one from Israel's royal family rebelled against the king of Babylon by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape?

does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, does not commit robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked,

does not engage in usury or charge interest, but refrains from wrongdoing, promotes true justice between men,

"But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father's example.

"But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.

"But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die.

But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground. The east wind dried up its fruit; its strong branches broke off and withered -- a fire consumed them.

But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not follow my statutes and they rejected my regulations (the one who obeys them will live by them), and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I decided to pour out my rage on them in the wilderness and destroy them.

"'But I said to their children in the wilderness, "Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, nor defile yourselves with their idols.

"'But the children rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness.

But I refrained from doing so, and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

I brought them to the land which I swore to give them, but whenever they saw any high hill or leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there and presented the offerings that provoke me to anger. They offered their soothing aroma there and poured out their drink offerings.

I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

"'As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, if you will not listen to me. But my holy name will not be profaned again by your sacrifices and your idols.

But those in Jerusalem will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, but the king of Babylon will accuse them of violations in order to seize them.

"I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.

"Her sister Oholibah watched this, but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister.

But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red,

But upright men will punish them appropriately for their adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.

You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. I tried to cleanse you, but you are not clean. You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness until I have exhausted my anger on you.

"Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears.

Groan in silence for the dead, but do not perform mourning rites. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip and do not eat food brought by others."

Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot for your iniquities and groan among yourselves.

It will never again be Israel's source of confidence, but a reminder of how they sinned by turning to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.'"

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will fall limp. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I place my sword in the hand of the king of Babylon and he extends it against the land of Egypt.

"Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: "'You were like a lion among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your streams.

"But as for you, in the midst of the uncircumcised you will be broken, and you will lie with those killed by the sword.

but there is one who hears the sound of the trumpet yet does not heed the warning. Then the sword comes and sweeps him away. He will be responsible for his own death.

He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.

But suppose the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people. Then the sword comes and takes one of their lives. He is swept away for his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for that person's death.'

When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you must certainly die,' and you do not warn the wicked about his behavior, the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, and he refuses to change, he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.

Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil deeds! Why should you die, O house of Israel?'

Suppose I tell the righteous that he will certainly live, but he becomes confident in his righteousness and commits iniquity. None of his righteous deeds will be remembered; because of the iniquity he has committed he will die.

Suppose I say to the wicked, 'You must certainly die,' but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right.

Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak.

"Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.'

"But as for you, son of man, your people (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 'Come hear the word that comes from the Lord.'

They come to you in crowds, and they sit in front of you as my people. They hear your words, but do not obey them. For they talk lustfully, and their heart is set on their own advantage.

Realize that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. They hear your words, but they do not obey them.

You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep!

You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them.

As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep,

I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them -- with judgment!

"'But you, mountains of Israel, will grow your branches, and bear your fruit for my people Israel; for they will arrive soon.

But when they arrived in the nations where they went, they profaned my holy name. It was said of them, 'These are the people of the Lord, yet they have departed from his land.'

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation which you profaned among the nations where you went.

As I watched, I saw tendons on them, then muscles appeared, and skin covered over them from above, but there was no breath in them.

Then he brought me back by way of the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces east, but it was shut.

You have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have assigned foreigners to keep charge of my sanctuary for you.

"'But the Levites who went far from me, straying off from me after their idols when Israel went astray, will be responsible for their sin.

"'But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the sovereign Lord.

They must not marry a widow or a divorcee, but they may marry a virgin from the house of Israel or a widow who is a priest's widow.

of the land. This will be his property in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people, but the land will be allotted to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court that faces east will be closed six working days, but on the Sabbath day it will be opened and on the day of the new moon it will be opened.