And was not Sodom, your sister, a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride

And you will remember your ways, and you will be ashamed when you take your sisters, {both the older and the younger}, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant.

in order that you will remember, and you will be ashamed, and {you will not open your mouth again} {because of} your disgrace when I forgive you for all that you have done!'" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Will it prosper? Will he not tear out its roots, and will he not make its fruit scaly, and it will wither, and all of the freshness of its vegetation will dry up? And to lift it from its roots {will not require great strength or many people}.

And look! [Though] it is planted, will it prosper? {When the east wind strikes it}, will it not dry up completely? On the garden bed of its vegetation it will dry up!" '"

"Say now to the rebellious house of Israel, 'Do you not know what these [are]?' Say, 'Look! The king of Babylon will come [to] Jerusalem, and he will take its king and its officials, and he will bring them to himself, [to] Babylon.

so that [they would] be a humble kingdom and not lift itself up to keep his covenant {in order for it to stand}.

And not with a great army and with a great crowd will Pharaoh work with him in the war, at the pouring out of a siege ramp and the building of siege works to destroy many lives.

And he despised [the] oath to break covenant. And, look, he gave his hand [in pledge], and [yet] he did all of these [things]. He will not escape.'

And I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net, and I will bring him [to] Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there [about] his infidelity that he displayed against me.

{As I live}, {declares} the Lord Yahweh, it will surely not any longer be {appropriate for you} to quote this proverb in Israel!

and on the mountains he [does] not eat and he [does] not lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and the wife of his neighbor he [does] not defile and he [does] not approach a woman of menstruation,

[and] {he does not charge interest} and he takes no usury, [and] he holds back his hand from injustice [and] he executes judgment of fairness between {persons},

(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.

He oppresses [the] needy and [the] poor, [and] {he commits robbery}, [and] he [does] not return pledge for a loan, [and] he lifts his eyes to the idols [so] he does a detestable thing.

{He charges interest} and takes usury. Then, shall he live? He shall not live, [for] he did all of these detestable things. Surely he will die! His blood will be on him.

"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.

On the mountains he does not eat, and he does not lift [up] his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, [and] the wife of his neighbor he does not defile.

And he oppresses no one; he requires no pledge for a loan, and {he does not commit robbery}; he gives his bread to [the] hungry, and he covers the naked person [with] a garment.

He brings back his hand from iniquity; he does not take interest and usury; he does my regulations; he goes in my statutes. He will not die because of the guilt of his father; he will surely live!

Because his father {oppressed severely}; {he stole from his brother}; [that] which [is] not good he did in the midst of his people, and look! He will die through his guilt.

"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.

But if the wicked returns from all of his sins that he has done and he keeps all of my statutes and he does justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die!

All of his transgressions that he committed will not be remembered against him. Through his righteousness that he has done he shall live.

Have I delight by any means [in the] death of [the] wicked, {declares} the Lord Yahweh, [and] not at his turning from his way, {so that} he lives?

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.

"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' Listen, now, house of Israel, is my way not fair? [Is it] not your ways [that] are not fair?

And if he sees and he returns from all of his transgressions that he did, surely he will live; he will not die!

And [yet] they, the house of Israel, say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' [Are] not my ways fair, house of Israel? {Are not your ways unfair?}

"Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one according to his ways," {declares} the Lord Yahweh. "Repent and turn around from all of your transgression, and it will not be as a stumbling block of iniquity to you.

And nations set out against him {from the surrounding provinces}, and they spread their net over him, and he was caught in their pit.

And they put him in a collar with hooks, and they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into a prison, so that his voice [would] not be heard {any longer} on the mountains of Israel.

And [so] fire has gone out from the stem of its branches; its fruit it has consumed, and [there] was not in it {a strong branch}, a scepter for ruling.'" This [is] a lament, and {it will be used as a lament}.

"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.

Then I said to them, '[Let] each [one] throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I [am] Yahweh your God.'

But they rebelled against me, and they were not willing to listen to me; each [one] {did not throw away} the detestable things of their eyes; and {they did not abandon} the idols of Egypt, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

"But in the desert the house of Israel rebelled against me; {they did not walk in my statutes}, and they rejected my regulations, which, if a person does them, he will live by them, and they greatly profaned my Sabbaths, and I decided to pour out my rage on them in the desert to destroy them,

and I acted for the sake of my name, [that it] not be profaned before the eyes of the nations {before whom I brought them out}.

And also {I myself swore} to them in the desert not to bring them into the land that I had given [to them], flowing with milk and honey--it [is the most] beautiful of all of the lands--

because they despised my judgments, and {they did not walk in my statutes}, and my Sabbaths they profaned, for their heart was going after their idols.

But my eye took pity on them by not destroying them, and {I did not completely destroy them} in the desert.

"And I said to their children in the desert, 'You must not go in the statutes of your parents; you must not keep their regulations, and you must not make yourself unclean with their idols.

But the children rebelled against me; {they did not walk in my statutes}, and {they did not observe my regulations}, which [if] a person does them, then he will live by them. My Sabbaths they desecrated, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to finish my anger against them in the desert.

But I withheld my hand, and I acted for the sake of my name not to be profaned before the eyes of the nations [before] whom I [had] brought them out before their eyes.

because they did not [do] my regulations, and my statutes they despised, and my Sabbaths they profaned, and their eyes were after the idols of their ancestors.

And in turn I gave to them rules [that were] not good and regulations {by which they will not live}.

And {when you lift up your gifts, sacrificing your children} through the fire, you are defiling yourself through all of your idols until {today}, and will I let myself be consulted by you, house of Israel?" ' {As I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "I will not let myself be consulted by you!

And {what you are planning}, surely it will not be--that you are saying, 'Let us be like the nations, like the clans of the lands, {serving wood and stone}!'

And I will purge the rebels from [among] you and the [ones] transgressing against me; I will bring them out from the land {where they are living as aliens}, but into the land of Israel they will not come, and [then] you will know that I [am] Yahweh.

And you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "[Let] each one go serve his idols [now] and after, if you [are] not listening to me, but {my holy name} you will not profane [any] longer with your gifts and with your idols.

And you will know that I [am] Yahweh {when I deal with you} for the sake of my name and {not according to your evil ways} or {according to} your corrupted deeds, house of Israel," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

And you must say to the forest of the Negev, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am kindling against you a fire, and it will devour in you every fresh tree and every dry tree; [the] blaze of [the] flame will not be quenched, and all the surfaces from [the] south [to] [the] north will be scorched by it.

And all creatures will see that I, Yahweh, I kindled it--it will not be quenched!" '"

Then I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, they are saying about me, '[Is] he not posing a parable?'"

And they will know, all creatures, that I, Yahweh, I will bring out my sword from its sheath; it will not return again!" '

For {examine}! And what if also [the] rod will not be despising?' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it! Also this has not [ever] happened; [it will remain] until the coming of [the one] [to] whom the judgment belongs and I have given it [to him].'

You will be as fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the earth. You will not be remembered, for I, Yahweh, I have spoken.'"

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

Its priests treat my law violently, and they profane my holy objects; they do not distinguish between holy object and what is unholy, or between the clean and the unclean. They do not teach the difference, and they hide their eyes from my Sabbaths, and [so] I am profaned in the midst of them.

And for them its prophets plaster whitewash; [they are] seeing falseness and [are] practicing divination for them [by] lying, saying, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh,' and Yahweh has not spoken.

And [so] I sought for them somebody, one repairing [the] wall and standing in the breach {before me} on behalf of the land not to destroy it, but I did not find [anyone],

And her whorings from [the time of] Egypt she [did] not abandon, for they slept with her in her childhood, and they caressed the bosoms of her virginity, and they poured out their fornication on her.

And I will put an end to your obscene conduct [coming] from you and your fornication from the land of Egypt, and you will not lift your eyes to them; and you will not remember Egypt again.'

And {I will cause obscene conduct to cease from the land}, and all of the women will be warned, and they will not do according to your wickedness.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe [to] the city of bloodguilt! A pot that [has] its rust in it; {its rust did not go out from it}. Bring it out {piece by piece}; {one is as good as another}.

For her blood was in the midst of her; {she put it on a bare rock}; she [did] not pour it on the ground to cover it [with] dust.

To stir up rage, to avenge myself [through] vengeance, I placed its blood on [the] barrenness of a rock, {so that it may not be covered}."

[Through] effort she has caused weariness; {its thick rust} went not [out of] it. Its rust! Into [the] fire [with] its rust!

In your uncleanness [is] obscene conduct, because I cleansed you, but you were not clean from your uncleanness; you will not be clean again until {I fully vent my rage} on you.

I, Yahweh, I have spoken. [It is] coming, and I did [it]; I will not disregard, and I will not take pity, and I will not reconsider. According to your ways and according to your deeds they will judge you!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"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.

Sigh in silence [for the] dead; you shall not make a mourning ceremony. Bind your turban on you, and you must put your sandals on your feet. You must not cover your [upper] lip, and the bread of {mourners} you shall not eat."

And the people said to me, "Will you not make known to us what these [things] that you are doing [mean] for us?"

and you shall do {just as} I did: You shall not cover your [upper] lip, and you shall not eat [the] bread of {mourners}.

And your turban [must be] on your heads, and your sandals [must be] on your feet. You shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, but you shall waste away because of your iniquities, and you shall groan {to one another}.

"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."

I will give it to the people of the East in addition to the {Ammonites} as a possession, so that the {Ammonites} will not be remembered among the nations.

And, I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will not be heard any longer.

And I will make you into {a bare rock}, a place for [the] spreading out of dragnets. You will not be built again, for I, Yahweh, I have spoken," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Tyre, "Will not the coastlands shake from the sound of your downfall, at [the] groaning of the wounded, {at people being killed} in the midst of you?

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "When I make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited, when bringing up over you the deep, the {great surging waters} will cover you.

And I will bring you down with [those who are] going down to the grave, {an ancient people}, and I will cause you to dwell in the world of [the] depths, in the ruins from of old with [those who are] going down to [the] grave, so that you will not be inhabited and {have a place} in [the] land of [the] living.

Sudden terrors I will bring [on] you, and you shall no [longer exist]; and you will be sought, and you will not be found again {forever}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"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.

{Will you indeed still say} "I [am] a god!" before the face of your killers? And [in fact] you [are] a human and not a god in the hand of {those who pierce you}.

And {there will not be any longer} painful thorn and a sharp thornbush for the house of Israel from {anywhere around them} [from those] {who are despising them}, and they will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh." '"

And I will fling you [to] the desert, you and all the fish of your Nile streams. On the surface of the field you will fall; you will not be gathered, and you will not be assembled. To the animals of the field and to the birds of the heavens I will give you as food.

A foot of a human will not pass over it, and a foot of an animal will not pass over it, and so it will not be inhabited [for] forty years.

Of [all] the kingdoms it will be [the most] lowly, and it will not exalt itself again over the nations, and I will make them small [so as] not to rule over the nations.

And it will not be again for the house of Israel an object of trust, bringing to remembrance [their] guilt {when they turned back to them}, and they will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh."

"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, 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."

Cedars in the garden of God could not [be] equal to it; fir trees could not resemble its branches, and plane trees were not [even] like its branches; any tree [even] in the garden of God could not resemble it in its beauty.

[This occurred] so that all of [the] trees [with abundant] water will not become tall, and they will not set their treetop between [their] thick foliage, and [so that]{all of the trees that are abundantly watered} {will not stand up to them} in their tallness, for all of them, they have been given [over] to death, to [the] world below in the midst of {mortals}, to [the people] going down to the grave."

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Now I will spread my net over you in [the] assembly of many peoples, and I will bring you up in my dragnet.

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.

"And I will disturb [the] hearts of many peoples at my bringing [about] your captivity among the nations, to countries that you do not know.