Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.

ט TetThose slain by the sword are better off
than those slain by hunger,
who waste away, pierced with pain
because the fields lack produce.

They are wandering like blind men in the streets, they are made unclean with blood, so that their robes may not be touched by men.

The presence of the Lord scattered them [among the nations];
He will not continue to look after them.
They did not honor the priests;
They did not favor the elders.

{Pe} Wherefore yet our eyes fail us, while we look for vain help: seeing we be ever waiting upon a people that can do us no good.

Remember, O Jehovah, what hath befallen us, Look attentively, and see our reproach.

We have become orphans without a father;
Our mothers are like widows.

Our pursuers are at our necks;
We are worn out, there is no rest for us.

Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.

And I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the look of glowing brass, out of the midst of the fire.

And in the heart of it were the forms of four living beings. And this was what they were like; they had the form of a man.

And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.

Upon the right side of these four, their faces were like the face of a man, and the face of a Lion: But upon the left side, they had the face of an ox and the face of an eagle.

That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body.

As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

And the living beings moved rapidly back and forth like flashes of lightning.

And I saw the living creatures, and look! A wheel was on the earth beside {each of the living creatures that had four faces}.

The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

They were large, great and horrible to look upon. Their bodies were full of eyes round about them all four. When the beasts went, the wheels went also with them:

And over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of a firmament, like the terrible crystal to look upon, stretched forth over their heads above.

And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, it appeared like [it was made of] sapphire or lapis lazuli; and [seated] on that which looked like a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man.

And I saw as the look of glowing brass, as the appearance of fire, within it round about; from the appearance of his loins and upward, and from the appearance of his loins and downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory and brilliance of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell face downward and I heard a voice of One speaking.

“But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words, though briers and thorns are beside you and you live among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words or be discouraged by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house.

But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

And I look, and lo, a hand is sent forth unto me, and lo, in it a roll of a book,

and he said to me, "Son of man, you must give your stomach [this] to eat, and you must fill your belly [with] this scroll that I [am] giving to you." And I ate, and it became {like sweet honey} in my mouth.

[But] look, I have made your face hard {against} their faces and your forehead hard {against} their forehead.

I have made your forehead like emery (diamond), harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.”

And I arose, and went forth into the valley, and behold, the glory of Jehovah stood there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.

and you, son of man, look, they will place cords on you, and they will tie you up with them. Then you will not go out into the midst of them.

Now look! I [will] put on you cords, and you may not turn yourself from [one] side to your [other] side until you complete the days of your siege.

And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement."

Then said Yahweh, In like manner, shall the sons of Israel eat their bread defiled, - among the nations whither I will drive them.

And I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! Look! I have not been defiling myself, and a dead body and mangled carcass I have not eaten from my childhood until now, and {unclean meat} has not come into my mouth!"

He replied to me, “Look, I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you can make your bread over that.”

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,

so that they lack bread and water, and have been astonished one with another, and been consumed in their iniquity.

And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, using it like a haircutter's blade, and making it go over your head and the hair of your chin: and take scales for separating the hair by weight.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Look! I, {even I}, am against you, and I will execute judgment in the midst of you before the eyes of the nations,

And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

and you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys: "Look, I [am] bringing upon you [the] sword, and I will destroy your high places,

I will not look on you with pity or spare you,
but I will punish you for your ways
and for your detestable practices within you.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! Disaster after disaster [is] coming!

[The] end comes, comes the end! It has awakened against you! Look! [It] comes!

I will not look on you with pity or spare you.
I will punish you for your ways
and for your detestable practices within you.
Then you will know
that it is I, Yahweh, who strikes.

Look! The day is coming; doom goes out, the staff blossoms, pride sprouts.

But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.

All hands will be feeble and all knees without strength, like water.

They will fling their silver into the streets and their gold will be [discarded] like something unclean; their silver and their gold shall not be able to save them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. These [things] cannot satisfy their soul nor fill their stomachs, for they have become their stumbling block and source of sin.

And I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of fire; from the appearance of his loins and downward, fire; and from his loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the look of glowing brass.

And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

And behold, the glory and brilliance of the God of Israel [who had loved and chosen them] was there, like the vision which I saw in the plain.

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 bringeth me in unto an opening of the court, and I look, and lo, a hole in the wall;

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 he said unto me, "Go thy way in, and look what wicked abominations they do there."

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 he brought me to the doorway of the gate of the house of Yahweh that [is] toward the north, and look! There [were] the women sitting weeping for Tammuz.

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 look! Six men coming from the way of {the upper gate} that faced {northward}, and each [with] his weapon for shattering in his hand; and one man [was] in the midst of them, dressed in linen, and the writing case of the scribe [was] at his side. And they came and stood beside the bronze altar.

So as for me, I'm not going to show pity, and I won't look in their direction with mercy. I'm repaying them for what they have done."

And look! The man clothed in linen [and] {with a writing case at his side} [was] bringing back a word, {saying}, "I have done all that you commanded me."

And I look, and lo, on the expanse that is above the head of the cherubs, as a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne, He hath been seen over them.

And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard [even] as far as the outer courtyard, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.

And I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like unto a beryl stone.

In appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel.

Each one had four faces and each one had four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands.

Their faces looked like the same faces I had seen by the Chebar Canal. Each creature went straight ahead.

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.

But look, whose hearts are disposed to follow their abominations and wicked livings: those men's deeds will I bring upon their own heads, sayeth the LORD God.'"

And you must bring out your baggage like [the] baggage of an exile by day before their eyes, and you must go out in the evening before their eyes like {those who go into exile}.

And while they look on, lift the bags to your shoulder and take them out in the dark; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

And I did {just as} I was commanded; my baggage, like [the] baggage of an exile, I brought out by day, and in the evening I dug through for myself into the wall with my hand in the dusk; I brought [the baggage] on [my] shoulder; I carried [it] before their eyes.

Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.

As to the prince who is in their midst, on the shoulder he beareth in the darkness, and he goeth forth, through the wall they dig to bring forth by it, his face he covereth, that he may not look on the very surface of the land.

"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.'

Therefore say unto them, 'Thus sayeth the LORD: All my words shall no more be slack. Look what I speak, that same shall come to pass, sayeth the LORD.'"

O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because of your speaking falseness and [because] you envisioned a lie, therefore, look! I [am] against you!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Mine hands shall come upon the prophets that look out vain things and preach lies: they shall not be in the council of my people, nor written in the book of the house of Israel, neither shall they come in the land of Israel: that ye may know how that I am the LORD God.

Because, yes, because they led my people astray, {saying} 'Peace!' And [there is] not peace. And [when] anyone builds a flimsy wall, look, they coat it [with] whitewash.

And look! [When] the wall falls, will it not be said to you, 'Where [is] the whitewash [with] which you covered [it]?'

These are the prophets of Israel, which prophesy unto the city of Jerusalem, and look out visions of peace for them, whereas no peace is, sayeth the LORD God.'

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against your magic bands [and veils] by which you hunt [human] lives as birds and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the lives you hunt go free, even those lives whom you hunt as birds.

And they will bear their guilt, like the guilt of the inquirer so the guilt of the prophet will be,

But look! A remnant will be left over in it, sons and daughters {who will be brought out}. Look! They are coming out to you, and you will see their way, and with their deeds you will be consoled with respect to the evil that I brought over Jerusalem, all of [it] that I brought over it.

Look! It is given to the fire as fuel. The fire will consume two of its ends, and its middle will be charred. Is it useful for anything?

Look! {When it is in perfect condition}, it will not be used for anything, {how much less} {when the fire has consumed it} and it is charred; and [then] can it be used again for anything?

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Like the wood of the grapevine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the people of Jerusalem;

Grow up; I will make you like a plant of the field." And you grew up, and you became tall and {reached full womanhood}. [Your] breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, but you [were] naked and bare.

" 'And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, {your time of lovemaking had come}, and [so] I spread out my hem over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you, and I entered into a covenant with you,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, 'and {you became mine}.

“But you were confident in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by. Your beauty became his.

And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

And you took the fair jewels, my silver and gold which I had given to you, and made for yourself male images, acting like a loose woman with them;

And look! I stretched out my hand against you, and I reduced your portion, and I gave you into the desire of your haters, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed because of your lewd {conduct}.

And you went with the Assyrians, because of your desire which was without measure; you were acting like a loose woman with them, and still you had not enough.

When you built your shrine altar for prostitution at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, you were not like a prostitute because you refused payment.