"As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; they are the worthless slag of silver.

"Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that receives no rain or showers in the day of my anger.'

"Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother.

The Lord said to me: "Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds!

"Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

"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.

"And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take from them their stronghold -- their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, as well as their sons and daughters:

"Son of man, turn toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

"Son of man, because Tyre has said about Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich, now that she has been destroyed,'

"You, son of man, sing a lament for Tyre.

"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Your heart is proud and you said, "I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas" -- yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.

"Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'You were the sealer of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created, until sin was discovered in you.

"Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against it.

"Son of man, turn toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

"Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.

"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Wail, "Alas, the day is here!"

I will desolate Pathros, I will ignite a fire in Zoan, and I will execute judgments on Thebes.

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword.

"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his hordes: "'Who are you like in your greatness?

"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.

When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky; I will darken its stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not shine.

"Son of man, wail over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; bring her and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

"Son of man, speak to your people, and say to them, 'Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.

"As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.

"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you have said: "Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"'

"And you, son of man, say to your people, 'The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness if he sins.'

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

When the wicked turns from his sin and does what is just and right, he will live because of it.

"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.'

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them -- to the shepherds: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?

"Son of man, turn toward Mount Seir, and prophesy against it.

"As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord!

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

"Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period.

He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said to him, "Sovereign Lord, you know."

He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, -- prophesy, son of man -- and say to the breath: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.'"

Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, 'Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.'

"As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, 'For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another branch and write on it, 'For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.'

"Son of man, turn toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him

"Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice

"As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal!

When the scouts survey the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it in the valley of Hamon-Gog.

"As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: 'Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood.

The man said to me, "Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. Tell the house of Israel everything you see."

In the porch of the gate were two tables on either side on which to slaughter the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering.

Then he said to me, "The north chambers and the south chambers which face the courtyard are holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings -- the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, because the place is holy.

He said to me: "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will live among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their spiritual prostitution or by the pillars of their kings set up when they die.

"As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern.

Then he said to me: "Son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: These are the statutes of the altar: On the day it is built to offer up burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it,

you will give a young bull for a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are descended from Zadok, who approach me to minister to me, declares the sovereign Lord.

You will also take the bull for the sin offering, and it will be burned in the appointed place in the temple, outside the sanctuary.

"On the second day, you will offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering. They will purify the altar just as they purified it with the bull.

"For seven days you will provide every day a goat for a sin offering; a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish, will be provided.

The Lord said to me: "Son of man, pay attention, watch closely and listen carefully to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord's house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary.

"'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.

Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible for their sin.

"'They must not come near a dead person or they will be defiled; however, for father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister, they may defile themselves.

On the day he enters the sanctuary, into the inner court to serve in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering, declares the sovereign Lord.

They may eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel will be theirs.

It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offering, and the drink offering at festivals, on the new moons and Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he will provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.

The priest will take some of the blood of the sin offering and place it on the doorpost of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the doorpost of the gate of the inner court.

On that day the prince will provide for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

And during the seven days of the feast he will provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams, all without blemish, on each of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering.

In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the feast, he will make the same provisions for the sin offering, burnt offering, and grain offering, and for the olive oil, for the seven days.

He said to me, "This is the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they will bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out to the outer court to transmit holiness to the people."

He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river.

The tree grew large and strong. Its top reached far into the sky; it could be seen from the borders of all the land.

The tree that you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached to the sky, and which could be seen in all the land,

"But you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, although you knew all this.

In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions' den.

"While I was watching, thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His attire was white like snow; the hair of his head was like lamb's wool. His throne was ablaze with fire and its wheels were all aflame.

I was watching in the night visions, "And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.

It came to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed against it with raging strength.

So he approached the place where I was standing. As he came, I felt terrified and fell flat on the ground. Then he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision pertains to the time of the end."

In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, who was of Median descent and who had been appointed king over the Babylonian empire --

Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom from your reliable moral standards.

While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my request before the LORD my God concerning his holy mountain --

yes, while I was still praying, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness, around the time of the evening offering.

"Seventy weeks have been determined concerning your people and your holy city to put an end to rebellion, to bring sin to completion, to atone for iniquity, to bring in perpetual righteousness, to seal up the prophetic vision, and to anoint a most holy place.

"Then there will arise in his place a despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred. He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit.

This is the word of the Lord which was revealed to Hosea son of Beeri during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah ruled Judah, and during the time when Jeroboam son of Joash ruled Israel.

So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son for him.

When she had weaned 'No Pity' (Lo-Ruhamah) she conceived again and gave birth to another son.

Therefore, I will soon fence her in with thorns; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.

Soon I will expose her lewd nakedness in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to rescue her from me!

They feed on the sin offerings of my people; their appetites long for their iniquity!

Israel has rebelled like a stubborn heifer! Soon the Lord will put them out to pasture like a lamb in a broad field!

They have committed treason against the Lord, because they bore illegitimate children. Soon the new moon festival will devour them and their fields.

I have seen a disgusting thing in the temple of Israel: there Ephraim practices temple prostitution and Judah defiles itself.

whenever I want to heal Israel, the sin of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed. For they do what is wrong; thieves break into houses, and gangs rob people out in the streets.

Even though they have hired lovers among the nations, I will soon gather them together for judgment. Then they will begin to waste away under the oppression of a mighty king.

Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning!

They offer up sacrificial gifts to me, and eat the meat, but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices. Soon he will remember their wrongdoing, he will punish their sins, and they will return to Egypt.

Their heart is slipping; soon they will be punished for their guilt. The Lord will break their altars; he will completely destroy their fertility pillars.

Very soon they will say, "We have no king since we did not fear the Lord. But what can a king do for us anyway?"

When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt.

Even now they persist in sin! They make metal images for themselves, idols that they skillfully fashion from their own silver; all of them are nothing but the work of craftsmen! There is a saying about them: "Those who sacrifice to the calf idol are calf kissers!"