And he said to me, "Son of man, look, I [am] going to break the {supply} of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight, {anxiously}, and {rationed water}, and they will drink with horror,

"And you, son of man, take for yourself a sword, sharp [as] {a barber's razor}. Take it for yourself, and you must cause [it] to pass over your head and over your beard, and you must take for yourself a set of scales for weighing, and you must divide them.

"Son of man, set your face to the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them,

"And you, son of man, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the land of Israel: '[The] end comes, the end on the four corners of the land.

{Soon} I will pour out my rage on you, and I will fully vent my anger on you, and I will judge you according to your ways, and I will bring on you all of your detestable things.

And he said to me, "Son of man, lift up now your eyes {toward the north}." And I lifted up my eyes {toward the north}, and, look, [there was] to the north of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy at the entrance.

And he said to me, "Son of man, "{Do you see} what they [are] doing--great detestable things that the house of Israel [is] committing here [so as] to drive [me] from my sanctuary, and yet {you will see again} greater detestable things."

And he said to me, "Son of man, dig now through the wall." And I dug through the wall, and look! There was a doorway.

And seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan, [was] standing in the midst of them, [and] [they were] standing {before them}. Each [one] [had] his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of the incense [was] going up.

And he said to me, "Have you seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel [are] doing in the dark, each in the inner rooms of his idol, for [they are] saying, 'Yahweh [is] not seeing us; Yahweh has abandoned the land.'"

And he said to me, "Have you seen, son of man? Still {you will see again} greater detestable things than these."

And he brought me to the inner courtyard of the house of Yahweh, and look, [at] the doorway of the temple of Yahweh, between the portico and the altar, [there were] about twenty-five men [with] their backs to the temple of Yahweh and their faces toward the east, and they [were] bowing down toward the east before the sun.

And he said to me, "Have you seen, son of man? {Was it too small a thing} for the house of Judah {to do} the detestable things that they did here? For they filled up the land [with] violence, and {they provoked me to anger again}, and look! They [are] putting the branch to their nose.

And [the] Spirit lifted me up, and it brought me to the eastern gate, the one facing east, of the temple of Yahweh. And look, there were twenty-five men in the doorway of the gate, and I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur in the midst of them, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, the commanders of the people.

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

Therefore prophesy against them! Prophesy, son of man!"

And it happened [that] {as I was prophesying}, Pelatiahu the son of Benaiahu died! And I fell on my face, and I cried [with] a loud voice, and I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, you [are] making complete destruction [of] the remnant of Israel!"

"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.'

And [the] Spirit lifted me up, and it brought me to Chaldea, to the exiles, in the vision by the spirit of God; and the vision that I had seen {left me}.

"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, son of man, prepare for yourself [the] baggage of an exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. And you must go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes; perhaps they will see that they [are] a house of rebellion.

Before their eyes, on your shoulder, you must lift up [the baggage] in the dusk, [and] your face you must cover, so that you may not see the land, for I make you [as] a sign to the house of Israel."

"Son of man, did not they, the house of Israel, the house of rebellion, say to you, 'What [are] you doing?'

Say, 'I am your sign, [and] {just as} I did, so will it be done to them in the exile; into captivity they will go.'

"Son of man, you must eat your food with trembling, and your water with shuddering, and with anxiety you must drink.

"Son of man, what [is] this proverb {you people have} about the land of Israel, {saying}, '{The days are prolonged}, and every vision has come to nothing.'

"Son of man, look! The house of Israel [is] saying, 'The vision that he [is] seeing [is] for many days [from now], and for distant times he [is] prophesying.'

"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!'

Have you not seen {a false vision} and spoken {lying divination}, and [you] said, 'Declaration of Yahweh!' but {I myself did not speak}.

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

"Son of man, these men took up their idols into their heart and {they placed before themselves} a stumbling block of their guilt. {Should I really let myself be consulted by them}?

And I will set my face against that person, and I will make him to [be] a sign and [make him] into [the subject of] proverbs; and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you will know I [am] Yahweh.

"Son of man, when a land sins against me by {acting very unfaithfully}, then I will stretch out my hand against it, and I will break for it [the] {supply of food}, and I will send against it famine, and I will cut it off, [both] human and animal.

and [if] Noah, Daniel, and Job [were] in the midst of her, {as surely as I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "surely not son, surely not daughter will they save by their righteousness; they would save {themselves}."

"Son of man, how will the wood of the vine be {better than} {any of the wood of} the branch which is among the trees of the forest?

"Son of man, make known to Jerusalem its detestable things,

And Samaria did not sin {according to even half of your sins}, and you caused your detestable things to increase more than they, and you made your sister righteous [in comparison] with all of your detestable things that you did.

"Son of man, tell a riddle and quote a proverb to the house of Israel,

Look! {All lives are mine}. {The lives of father and son alike are mine}. The person sinning will die.

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

(though he did not do all of these [things]), for [the son] also eats on the mountains and he defiles the wife of his neighbor.

"And look! He has a son, and he sees all of the sin of his father that he did, and he sees [it], but he does not [do] it.

"Yet you say, 'Why [does] the son not bear the guilt of the father?' And [since] the son does justice and righteousness and he keeps all of my statutes and does them, he shall surely live!

The person, the [one] sinning, will die. A son shall not bear the guilt of the father, and a father shall not bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him; the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

And {when the righteous turns} from his righteousness, so that he does injustice, and does all of the detestable things that the wicked do, then will he live [because of] all of his righteousness that he did? [Those things] will not be remembered because of his infidelity that he displayed, and because of his {sin that he committed}. Through them he shall die.

And {she produced branches of strength} to scepters of rulers; its height became tall between thick foliage, and it was seen because of its tallness among the abundance of its branches.

"Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "[Are] you coming to consult me? {As I live}, I will surely not allow myself to be consulted by you!" ' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Will you judge them? Will you judge [them], son of man? Make known to them the detestable things of their ancestors.

And also my Sabbaths I gave to them to be a sign between me and between them {so they would know} that I, Yahweh, [am] [the one] sanctifying them.

And treat my Sabbaths as holy, and they will be a sign between me and between you {that you may know} that I, Yahweh, [am] your God.'

"Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Again [in] this your ancestors blasphemed me {at their display of infidelity toward me}." '

"Son of man, set your face [toward] the way of [the] south, and preach to [the] south, and prophesy against the forest of the territory of the Negev.

"Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and preach to [the] sanctuaries, and prophesy to the land of Israel.

And you, son of man, groan {with shaking hips}, and you must groan with bitterness before their eyes.

"Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord,' say, 'A sword, a sword [is] sharpened and [is] also polished.

It is sharpened to slaughter a slaughter, {polished to flash like lightning}! Or will we rejoice? A rod, my son, [is] despising every tree.

Cry and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all of the princes of Israel. They are thrown to [the] sword with my people; therefore {strike your thigh}.

And you, son of man, prophesy {and clap your hands}. And the sword will {strike twice}; let it happen a third time. It [is] a sword of the dead, [the] sword of the great dead that [is] surrounding them,

"And you, son of man, mark [out] for yourself two roads for the coming of the sword of the king of Babylon; they must {both} go out from the same land. And hew [out] a {signpost}; hew [it] at [the] head of [the] road of [the] city.

And you, son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the {Ammonites} and concerning their disgrace,' and you must say, 'A sword, a sword [is] drawn for slaughtering; [it is] polished for holding, {for flashing like lightning},

"And you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the {bloody city}? Then you must make known [to] her all of her detestable things!

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become as silver dross to me; all of them [are as] bronze and tin and iron and lead in the midst of a furnace, [even] [as] silver dross, silver [dross] they became!

"Son of man, say to her, 'You [are] a land not cleansed; it is not rained upon [in] [the] day of indignation.'

"Son of man, there were two women, [the] daughters of one mother,

And Yahweh said to me, "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah and declare their abominable deeds to them

"Son of man, write for yourself the name of the day, {this very day}. The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on exactly this day!

"Son of man, look! I [am] taking from you what is pleasing to your eyes with a plague, but you shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not run down.

And Ezekiel will be to you as a sign; {everything that he did} you shall do; and when it comes you will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh.

"And you, son of man, [will it] not [be that] on the day {when I take from them} their stronghold, the joy of their glory, the delight of their eyes, and the longing of their inner self, their sons and daughters--

On that day your mouth shall be opened {at the arrival of the fugitive}, and you shall speak, and you shall not be silent [any] longer, and you shall be to them as a sign, and they will know that I am Yahweh."

"Son of man, set your face toward the {Ammonites} and prophesy against them,

"Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, 'Ah! The gates of the peoples are broken; it has swung [open] to me; I shall be filled, [for] it lies in ruins!'

"And you, son of man, raise a lament against Tyre.

"Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because your heart was haughty, and you said, 'I [am] a god; I sit [in the] seat of [the] gods, I sit in [the] heart of [the] seas!' But you are a human, not a god, and you gave your heart to be like [the] heart of a god.

"Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and you must say to him, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "You were a perfect model of an example, full of wisdom and perfect of beauty.

"Son of man, set your face toward Sidon and prophesy against it,

"Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against Egypt, all of it.

"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, he made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bare, and every shoulder [was] rubbed raw, but a wage was not [paid] for him and for his army from Tyre for the labor that he did against it."

"Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Wail, alas! For the day!

And I will lay waste Pathros, and I will set fire in Zoan, and I will execute judgments in No.

I will pour out my rage over Sin, the stronghold of Egypt, and I will cut off the crowd of No.

And I will set fire in Egypt, certainly Sin will writhe, and No will be breached, and Memphis [will] face enemies {daily}.

"Son of man, the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, I have broken. And look, it has not been bound up for giving of a remedy, or for [the] placing of a splint to bind it [up] to make it strong to take hold of the sword."

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

"Son of man, raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you must say to him, '[With] a fierce, strong lion among nations you compared yourself, and you [are] like the sea monster in the seas, and you thrash about in your rivers, and you make water turbid with your feet, and you make your rivers muddy.

And I will cover [you] at extinguishing your heavens, and I will make dark their stars, and I will cover [the] sun with the cloud, and [the] moon will not give its light.

"Son of man, mourn over the hordes of Egypt, and make her go down, [and] with her [the] daughters of mighty nations, {down to the deep underworld} with [the people] going down to [the] grave.

"Son of man, speak to {your people}, and you must say to them, 'A land, if I bring over it a sword and the people of the land take a man, one from their number, and they appoint him for them as a watchman,

"And you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; if you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.

"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, {saying}, 'So you said, {saying}, "Indeed, our transgressions and our sins [are] on us, and because of them we [are] rotting, and how can we live?" '

"So you, son of man, say to {your people} [that] the righteousness of the righteous shall not save him in the day of his transgression, and the wickedness of the wicked {will not cause him to stumble} on the day of his returning from his wickedness; and [the] righteous will not be able to live by it on the day when he returns to his sin.

And when I say to the wicked, 'Certainly you will die,' but he returns from his sin and he does justice and righteousness--

"Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins on the soil of Israel [are] saying, 'Abraham was one [man], and he took possession of the land, and we [are] many; the land has been given for us as possession.'

"And you, son of man, {your people}, the ones talking together concerning you beside the walls and in the doorways of the houses, each one with his brother {saying}, 'Please come and hear what [is] the word {that is going out from Yahweh}.'

"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?

"Son of man, set your face against the mountain of Seir and prophesy against it,

"And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel; and [so] you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh;

" '"But you, mountains of Israel, your branch you will shoot, and your fruit you will carry for my people Israel, for they [are] soon to come.

"Son of man, the house of Israel, [they] were dwelling on their soil, and they defiled it with their way and with their deeds; like the uncleanness of menstruation was their way {before me}.

And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I said, "Lord Yahweh, you know."