I will turn My face from the wicked
as they profane My treasured place.
Violent men will enter it and profane it.

Disaster after disaster will come,
and there will be rumor after rumor.
Then they will seek a vision from a prophet,
but instruction will perish from the priests
and counsel from the elders.

I looked, and there was a form that had the appearance of a man. From what seemed to be His waist down was fire, and from His waist up was something that looked bright, like the gleam of amber.

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.”

Seventy elders from the house of Israel were standing before them, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a firepan in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising up.

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.

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.

Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherub to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory.

After the Lord commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from inside the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.

When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when they lifted their wings to rise from the earth, even then the wheels did not veer away from them.

Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim.

The cherubim lifted their wings and ascended from the earth right before my eyes; the wheels were beside them as they went. The glory of the God of Israel was above them, and it stood at the entrance to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: The slain you have put within it are the meat, and the city is the pot, but I will remove you from it.

“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.’

“Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

“When they arrive there, they will remove all its detestable things and practices from it.

And I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh,

The glory of the Lord rose up from within the city and stood on the mountain east of the city.

The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to Chaldea and to the exiles in a vision from the Spirit of God. After the vision I had seen left me,

“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.

But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine, and plague so they can tell about all their detestable practices among the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

“Son of man, notice that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees concerns many years from now; he prophesies about distant times.’

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am against your magic bands that you ensnare people with like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. I will free the people you have ensnared like birds.

I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, so that they will no longer be prey in your hands. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

Because you have disheartened the righteous person with lies, even though I have not caused him grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked person not to turn from his evil way to save his life,

therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will deliver My people from your hands. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”

“Therefore, speak to them and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: When anyone from the house of Israel sets up idols in his heart, puts a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I, Yahweh, will answer him appropriately. I will answer him according to his many idols,

so that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their hearts. They are all estranged from Me because of their idols.

“Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your detestable things.

For when anyone from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in Israel separates himself from Me, setting up idols in his heart and putting a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me, I, Yahweh, will answer him Myself.

I will turn against that one and make him a sign and a proverb; I will cut him off from among My people. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.

“But if the prophet is deceived and speaks a message, it was I, Yahweh, who deceived that prophet. I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from following Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Then they will be My people and I will be their God.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of bread, to send famine through it, and to wipe out both man and animal from it,

“Or if I bring a sword against that land and say: Let a sword pass through it, so that I wipe out both man and animal from it,

“Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out My wrath on it with bloodshed to wipe out both man and animal from it,

“For this is what the Lord God says: How much worse will it be when I send My four devastating judgments against Jerusalem—sword, famine, dangerous animals, and plague—in order to wipe out both man and animal from it!

Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on?

I will turn against them. They may have escaped from the fire, but it will still consume them. And you will know that I am Yahweh when I turn against them.

You also took your beautiful jewelry made from the gold and silver I had given you, and you made male images so that you could engage in prostitution with them.

Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around for your sexual favors.

I am therefore going to gather all the lovers you pleased—all those you loved as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakedness to them so they see you completely naked.

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.

So I will satisfy My wrath against you, and My jealousy will turn away from you. Then I will be silent and no longer angry.

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.

But there was another great eagle
with great wings and thick plumage.
And this vine bent its roots toward him!
It stretched out its branches to him
from its planting bed,
so that he might water it.

You are to say: This is what the Lord God says:

Will it flourish?
Will he not tear out its roots
and strip off its fruit
so that it shrivels?
All its fresh leaves will wither!
Great strength and many people
will not be needed to pull it from its roots.

This is what the Lord God says:

I will take a sprig
from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it.
I will pluck a tender sprig
from its topmost shoots,
and I will plant it
on a high towering mountain.

He doesn’t lend at interest or for profit but keeps his hand from wrongdoing and carries out true justice between men.

He keeps his hand from harming the poor, not taking interest or profit on a loan. He practices My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a person will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will certainly live.

“Now if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will certainly live; he will not die.

Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives?

But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.

When a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will die for this. He will die because of the iniquity he has practiced.

But if a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life.

He will certainly live because he thought it over and turned from all the transgressions he had committed; he will not die.

“Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so they will not be a stumbling block that causes your punishment.

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

Fire has gone out from its main branch
and has devoured its fruit,
so that it no longer has a strong branch,
a scepter for ruling.

This is a lament and should be used as a lament.”

But I spared them from destruction and did not bring them to an end in the wilderness.

I will bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you were scattered, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath.

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.

and say to the forest there: Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says: I am about to ignite a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The blazing flame will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be scorched by it.

and say to it: This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off both the righteous and the wicked from you.

Since I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will therefore come out of its sheath against everyone from the south to the north.

So all the people will know that I, Yahweh, have taken My sword from its sheath—it will not be sheathed again.

“Now you, son of man, mark out two roads that the sword of Babylon’s king can take. Both of them should originate from the same land. And make a signpost at the fork in the road to each city.

You are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled from the idols you have made. You have brought your judgment days near and have come to your years of punishment. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.

Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of turmoil.

Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and defiled her with their lust. But after she was defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.

When she flaunted her promiscuity and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust just as I turned away from her sister.

“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:

“For this is what the Lord God says: I am going to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.

“In addition, they sent for men who came from far away when a messenger was dispatched to them. And look how they came! You bathed, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry for them.

The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women’s hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

Because of the indecency of your uncleanness—
since I tried to purify you,
but you would not be purified from your uncleanness—
you will not be pure again
until I have satisfied My wrath on you.

“Son of man, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a fatal blow. But you must not lament or weep or let your tears flow.

“‘Son of man, know that on the day I take their stronghold from them, their pride and joy, the delight of their eyes and the longing of their hearts, as well as their sons and daughters,

therefore I am about to stretch out My hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and eliminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am Yahweh.”

therefore this is what the Lord God says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off both man and animal from it. I will make it a wasteland; they will fall by the sword from Teman to Dedan.

They will destroy the walls of Tyre and demolish her towers. I will scrape the soil from her and turn her into a bare rock.

For this is what the Lord God says: “See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast company of troops.

His horses will be so numerous that their dust will cover you. When he enters your gates as an army entering a breached city, your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots.

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.

Then they will lament for you and say of you:

How you have perished, city of renown,
you who were populated from the seas!
She who was powerful on the sea,
she and all of her inhabitants
inflicted their terror.

They constructed all your planking
with pine trees from Senir.
They took a cedar from Lebanon
to make a mast for you.

They made your oars of oaks from Bashan.
They made your deck of cypress wood
from the coasts of Cyprus,
inlaid with ivory.

Your sail was made of
fine embroidered linen from Egypt,
and served as your banner.
Your awning was of blue and purple fabric
from the coasts of Elishah.

Those from Beth-togarmah exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your merchandise.

Judah and the land of Israel were your merchants. They exchanged wheat from Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm, for your goods.

Damascus was also your trading partner because of your numerous products and your great wealth of every kind, trading in wine from Helbon and white wool.

Vedan and Javan from Uzal dealt in your merchandise; wrought iron, cassia, and aromatic cane were exchanged for your goods.

All those who handle an oar
disembark from their ships.
The sailors and all the captains of the sea
stand on the shore.

When your merchandise was unloaded from the seas,
you satisfied many peoples.
You enriched the kings of the earth
with your abundant wealth and goods.

Yes, you are wiser than Daniel;
no secret is hidden from you!

I am about to bring strangers against you,
ruthless men from the nations.
They will draw their swords
against your magnificent wisdom
and will defile your splendor.

From the day you were created
you were blameless in your ways
until wickedness was found in you.

Through the abundance of your trade,
you were filled with violence, and you sinned.
So I expelled you in disgrace
from the mountain of God,
and banished you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.

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.