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.

“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.

They put a wooden yoke on him with hooks
and led him away to the king of Babylon.
They brought him into the fortresses
so his roar could no longer be heard
on the mountains of Israel.

Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,
planted by the water;
it was fruitful and full of branches
because of plentiful waters.

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.”

“Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: Are you coming to consult Me? As I live, I will not be consulted by you.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made Myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.

Then I gave them My statutes and explained My ordinances to them—the person who does them will live by them.

“But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not follow My statutes and they rejected My ordinances—the person who does them will live by them. They also completely profaned My Sabbaths. So I considered pouring out My wrath on them in the wilderness to put an end to them.

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

Keep My Sabbaths holy, and they will be a sign between Me and you, so you may know that I am Yahweh your God.

“But the children rebelled against Me. They did not follow My statutes or carefully keep My ordinances—the person who does them will live by them. They also profaned My Sabbaths. So I considered pouring out My wrath on them and exhausting My anger against them in the wilderness.

But I withheld My hand and acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I brought them out.

“Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: In this way also your fathers blasphemed Me by committing treachery against Me:

When you offer your gifts, making your children pass through the fire, you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. So should I be consulted by you, house of Israel? As I live”—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“I will not be consulted by you!

“When you say, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the peoples of other countries, worshiping wood and stone,’ what you have in mind will never happen.

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.

Then all people will see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it. It will not be extinguished.”

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

And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ then say: Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will become weak. Every spirit will be discouraged, and every knee will turn to water. Yes, it is coming and it will happen.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

The sword is given to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand.
It is sharpened, and it is polished,
to be put in the hand of the slayer.

Surely it will be a trial!
And what if the sword despises even the scepter?
The scepter will not continue.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.

It will seem like false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn an oath to the Babylonians, but it will draw attention to their guilt so that they will be captured.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your actions, since you have done this, you will be captured by them.

You will be fuel for the fire.
Your blood will be spilled in the land.
You will not be remembered,
for I, Yahweh, have spoken.”

Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the days when I deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken, and I will act.

You will be profaned in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”

Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My fury, and you will be melted within the city.

As silver is melted inside a furnace, so you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out My wrath on you.”

Her prophets plaster with whitewash for them by seeing false visions and lying divinations, and they say, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

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.

They will come against you with an alliance of nations and with weapons, chariots, and wagons. They will set themselves against you on every side with shields, bucklers, and helmets. I will delegate judgment to them, and they will judge you by their own standards.

When I vent My jealous rage on you, they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and ears, and your descendants will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and daughters, and your descendants will be consumed by fire.

They will treat you with hatred, take all you have worked for, and leave you stark naked, so that the shame of your debauchery will be exposed, both your indecency and promiscuity.

These things will be done to you because you acted like a prostitute with the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.

This is what the Lord God says:

You will drink your sister’s cup,
which is deep and wide.
You will be an object of ridicule and scorn,
for it holds so much.

You will be filled with drunkenness and grief,
with a cup of devastation and desolation,
the cup of your sister Samaria.

Then I said concerning this woman worn out by adultery: Will they now have illicit sex with her, even her?

So I will put an end to indecency in the land, and all the women will be admonished not to imitate your indecent behavior.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

Woe to the city of bloodshed,
the pot that has rust inside it,
and whose rust will not come off!
Empty it piece by piece;
lots should not be cast for its contents.

In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance,
I have put her blood on the bare rock,
so that it would not be covered.

Pile on the logs and kindle the fire!
Cook the meat well
and mix in the spices!
Let the bones be burned!

Set the empty pot on its coals
so that it becomes hot and its copper glows.
Then its impurity will melt inside it;
its rust will be consumed.

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.

‘Say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.

Now Ezekiel will be a sign for you. You will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

On that day your mouth will be opened to talk with him; you will speak and no longer be mute. So you will be a sign for them, and they will know that I am Yahweh.’”

I will give it along with Ammon to the people of the east as a possession, so that Ammon will not be remembered among the nations.

This is what the Lord God says: “Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah and incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,

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.

“Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem, ‘Good! The gateway to the peoples is shattered. She has been turned over to me. I will be filled now that she lies in ruins,’

and her villages on the mainland will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

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.

I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will no longer be heard.

I will turn you into a bare rock, and you will be a place to spread nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, Yahweh, have spoken.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

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.

Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your downfall;
the islands in the sea
are alarmed by your demise.”

then I will bring you down to be with those who descend to the Pit, to the people of antiquity. I will make you dwell in the underworld like the ancient ruins, with those who descend to the Pit, so that you will no longer be inhabited or display your splendor in the land of the living.

I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist. You will be sought but will never be found again.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Now you are shattered by the sea
in the depths of the waters;
your goods and the people within you
have gone down.

By your wisdom and understanding
you have acquired wealth for yourself.
You have acquired gold and silver
for your treasuries.

By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
but your heart has become proud
because of your wealth.”

Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’
in the presence of those who kill you?
Yet you will be only a man, not a god,
in the hands of those who kill you.

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.

“The house of Israel will no longer be hurt by prickly briers or painful thorns from all their neighbors who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

I will leave you in the desert,
you and all the fish of your streams.
You will fall on the open ground
and will not be taken away
or gathered for burial.
I have given you
to the beasts of the earth
and the birds of the sky as food.

When Israel grasped you by the hand,
you splintered, tearing all their shoulders;
when they leaned on you,
you shattered and made all their hips unsteady.

The land of Egypt will be a desolate ruin. Then they will know that I am Yahweh. Because you said, ‘The Nile is my own; I made it,’

No human foot will pass through it, and no animal foot will pass through it. It will be uninhabited for 40 years.

I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolate lands, and its cities will be a desolation among ruined cities for 40 years. I will disperse the Egyptians among the nations and scatter them across the countries.

I will restore the fortunes of Egypt and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.

Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself over the nations. I will make them so small they cannot rule over the nations.

It will never again be an object of trust for the house of Israel, drawing attention to their sin of turning to the Egyptians. Then they will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.”

Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seizing its spoil and taking its plunder. This will be his army’s compensation.

I have given him the land of Egypt as the pay he labored for, since they worked for Me.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

For a day is near;
a day belonging to the Lord is near.
It will be a day of clouds,
a time of doom for the nations.

A sword will come against Egypt,
and there will be anguish in Cush
when the slain fall in Egypt,
and its wealth is taken away,
and its foundations are torn down.

Cush, Put, and Lud,
and all the various foreign troops,
plus Libya and the men of the covenant land
will fall by the sword along with them.

This is what the Lord says:
Those who support Egypt will fall,
and its proud strength will collapse.
From Migdol to Syene
they will fall within it by the sword.
This is the declaration of the Lord God.

They will be desolate
among desolate lands,
and their cities will lie
among ruined cities.

This is what the Lord God says:

I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt
by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

He along with his people,
ruthless men from the nations,
will be brought in to destroy the land.
They will draw their swords against Egypt
and fill the land with the slain.

I will make the streams dry
and sell the land into the hands of evil men.
I will bring desolation
on the land and everything in it
by the hands of foreigners.
I, Yahweh, have spoken.

This is what the Lord God says:

I will destroy the idols and put an end
to the false gods in Memphis.
There will no longer be
a prince from the land of Egypt.
So I will instill fear in that land.

I will set fire to Egypt;
Pelusium will writhe in anguish,
Thebes will be breached,
and Memphis will face foes in broad daylight.

The young men of On and Pi-beseth
will fall by the sword,
and those cities will go into captivity.

The day will be dark in Tehaphnehes,
when I break the yoke of Egypt there
and its proud strength
comes to an end in the city.
A cloud will cover Tehaphnehes,
and its villages will go into captivity.

I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I threw it down to Sheol to be with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, all the well-watered trees, the choice and best of Lebanon, were comforted in the underworld.

They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

“Who then are you like in glory and greatness among Eden’s trees? You also will be brought down to the underworld to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his hordes”—the declaration of the Lord God.

I will drench the land
with the flow of your blood,
even to the mountains;
the ravines will be filled with your gore.

I will cause many nations to be appalled at you,
and their kings will shudder with fear because of you
when I brandish My sword in front of them.
On the day of your downfall
each of them will tremble
every moment for his life.

I will make your hordes fall
by the swords of warriors,
all of them ruthless men from the nations.
They will ravage Egypt’s pride,
and all its hordes will be destroyed.

“This is a lament that will be chanted; the women of the nations will chant it. They will chant it over Egypt and all its hordes.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“Son of man, wail over the hordes of Egypt and bring Egypt and the daughters of mighty nations down to the underworld, to be with those who descend to the Pit:

Who do you surpass in loveliness?
Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!

They will fall among those slain by the sword.
A sword is appointed!
They drag her and all her hordes away.

Warrior leaders will speak
from the middle of Sheol
about him and his allies:
They have come down;
the uncircumcised lie
slain by the sword.

Assyria is there with all her company;
her graves are all around her.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.

Her graves are set in the deepest regions of the Pit,
and her company is all around her burial place.
All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—
those who once spread terror
in the land of the living.