Because, even because they have been guiding my people into error, saying, Peace; when there is no peace; and in the building of a division wall they put whitewash on it:

Say to those daubing with chalk -- It falleth, There hath been an overflowing shower, And ye, O hailstones, do fall, And a tempestuous wind doth rend,

And I have broken down the wall that ye daubed with chalk, And have caused it to come unto the earth, And revealed hath been its foundation, And it hath fallen, And ye have been consumed in its midst, And ye have known that I am Jehovah.

Because [you] disheartened [the] heart of [the] righteous [by] deception, and I have not caused him pain, and strengthened [the] hands of [the] wicked [so that he did] not turn from his wicked way to save his life.

“But if the prophet [who speaks without My authority] is enticed to speak a word [of his own], it is I the Lord who have caused that prophet [to speak falsely to please the inquirer, thus allowing himself to be a party to the inquirer’s sin], and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

so that the house of Israel do not wander any more from after Me, nor are defiled any more with all their transgressions, and they have been to Me for a people, and I am to them for God -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

and these three men have been in its midst, Noah, Daniel, and Job -- they by their righteousness deliver their own soul -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

If an evil beast I cause to pass through the land, and it hath bereaved, and it hath been a desolation, without any passing through because of the beast --

yet, lo, there hath been left in it an escape, who are brought forth, sons and daughters, lo, they are coming forth unto you, and ye have seen their way, and their doings, and have been comforted concerning the evil that I have brought in against Jerusalem, all that which I have brought in against it.

'Son of man, What is the vine-tree more than any tree? The vine-branch that hath been, Among trees of the forest?

Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?

Lo, to the fire it hath been given for fuel, Its two ends hath the fire eaten, And its midst hath been scorched! Is it profitable for work?

Lo, in its being perfect it is not used for work, How much less, when fire hath eaten of it, And it is scorched, Hath it been used yet for work?

As to thy nativity, in the day thou wast born, Thou -- thy navel hath not been cut, And in water thou wast not washed for ease, And thou hast not been salted at all, And thou hast not been swaddled at all.

No eye hath had pity on thee, to do to thee any of these, To have compassion on thee, And thou art cast on the face of the field, With loathing of thy person. In the day thou hast been born -- thou!

A myriad -- as the shoot of the field I have made thee, And thou art multiplied, and art great, And comest in with an excellent adornment, Breasts have been formed, and thy hair hath grown -- And thou, naked and bare!

You took some of your garments and made colorful high places for yourself, and you engaged in prostitution on them. These places should not have been built, and this should never have happened!

And thou goest a-whoring unto sons of Asshur, Without thy being satisfied, And thou dost go a-whoring with them, And also -- thou hast not been satisfied.

And thou dost multiply thy whoredoms On the land of Canaan -- toward Chaldea, And even with this thou hast not been satisfied.

In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;

And the contrary is in thee from women in thy whoredoms, That after thee none doth go a-whoring; And in thy giving a gift, And a gift hath not been given to thee; And thou art become contrary.

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because thy money hath been poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy fornications with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thine abominations, and because of the blood of thy children which thou didst give unto them;

Therefore, lo, I am assembling all thy lovers, To whom thou hast been sweet, And all whom thou hast loved, Besides all whom thou hast hated; And I have assembled them by thee round about, And have revealed thy nakedness to them, And they have seen all thy nakedness.

And you will be judged by me as women are judged who have been untrue to their husbands and have taken life; and I will let loose against you passion and bitter feeling.

And I have caused My fury against thee to rest, And My jealousy hath turned aside from thee, And I have been quiet, and I am not angry any more.

Because you have not kept in mind the days when you were young, but have been troubling me with all these things; for this reason I will make the punishment of your ways come on your head, says the Lord, because you have done this evil thing in addition to all your disgusting acts.

And thou hast not walked in their ways, nor done according to their abominations; but as though that were a very little, thou hast been more corrupt than they in all thy ways.

Lo, this hath been the iniquity of Sodom thy sister, Arrogancy, fulness of bread, and quiet ease, Have been to her and to her daughters, And the hand of the afflicted and needy She hath not strengthened.

You must also bear your disgrace, since you have been an advocate for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you because of your sins, which you committed more abhorrently than they did. So you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.

So that thou dost bear thy shame, And hast been ashamed of all that thou hast done, In thy comforting them.

And thy sister Sodom hath not been for a report in thy mouth, In the day of thine arrogancy,

And thou hast remembered thy ways, And thou hast been ashamed, In thy receiving thy sisters -- Thine elder with thy younger, And I have given them to thee for daughters, And not by thy covenant.

So that thou dost remember, And thou hast been ashamed, And there is not to thee any more an opening of the mouth because of thy shame, In My receiving atonement for thee, For all that thou hast done, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'

It had been planted
in a good field by abundant waters
in order to produce branches,
bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.

And so the Lord has said, By my life, truly, for my oath which he put on one side, and my agreement which has been broken, I will send punishment on his head.

And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare; and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his unfaithfulness in which he hath been unfaithful against me.

Why do you make use of this saying about the land of Israel, The fathers have been tasting bitter grapes and the children's teeth are on edge?

if he doesn't eat at mountain shrines, and doesn't look to the idols that have been erected in Israel's house, if he doesn't defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her time of menstrual separation,

And has been guided by my rules and has kept my laws and done them: he is upright, life will certainly be his, says the Lord.

does not oppress anyone or keep what has been given in pledge, does not commit robbery, gives his food to the hungry, and clothes the naked,

Who has kept his hand from evil-doing and has not taken interest or great profits, who has done my orders and been guided by my rules: he will certainly not be put to death for the evil-doing of his father; life will certainly be his.

But when a righteous man I shall turn away I from his righteousness and do that which is perverse, Shall do according to all the abominations which the lawless man hath done Shall he live? None of his righteous acts which he hath done shall be remembered, In his treachery wherein he hath been treacherous, And in his sin wherein he hath sinned In them, shall he die.

Because he reconsidered his transgression and turned away from everything that he had been doing, he'll certainly live and not die.

And she bringeth up one of her whelps, A young lion it hath been, And it learneth to tear prey, man it hath devoured.

And hear of it do nations, In their pit it hath been caught, And they bring it in with chains unto the land of Egypt.

When she learned that her plans had been frustrated and that her hopes were dashed, she took another of her cubs and turned him into a fierce lion.

And it goeth up and down in the midst of lions, A young lion it hath been, And it learneth to tear prey, man it hath devoured.

And set against it do nations Round about from the provinces. And they spread out for it their net, In their pit it hath been caught.

Thy mother is as a vine in thy blood by waters planted, Fruitful and full of boughs it hath been, Because of many waters.

And it is plucked up in fury, To the earth it hath been cast, And the east wind hath dried up its fruit, Broken and withered hath been the rod of its strength, Fire hath consumed it.

And there hath gone forth a fire out of her staves of rods. Her fruit, hath it devoured, And there is in her no staff of power. As a sceptre to bear rule. A dirge, it is, and hath been made a dirge.

In that day I gave my oath to take them out of the land of Egypt into a land which I had been searching out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands:

And -- they rebel against Me, And have not been willing to hearken to Me, Each, the detestable things of their eyes, They have not cast away, And the idols of Egypt have not forsaken, And I say -- to pour out My fury on them, To complete Mine anger against them, In the midst of the land of Egypt.

Because my regulations, they had rejected. And as for my statutes, they had not walked therein, My sabbaths also, had they profaned; or after their manufactured gods, their heart had been going.

And My sabbaths sanctify, And they have been for a sign between Me and you, To know that I, Jehovah, am your God.

Because My judgments they have not done, And My statutes they have despised, And My sabbaths they have polluted, And after idols of their fathers have their eyes been.

Therefore said I unto them, What! a high-place, whereinto ye are entering, And so the name thereof hath been called High-place, unto this day.

And I have brought you forth from the peoples, And assembled you from the lands In which ye have been scattered, With a strong hand and with a stretched-out arm, And with fury poured out.

And I have brought you in unto the wilderness of the peoples, And have been judged with you there face to face.

I will eliminate from among you the rebels and those who revolt against me. I will bring them out from the land where they have been residing, but they will not come to the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.

And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

and thou hast said to the forest of the south: Hear a word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am kindling in thee a fire, And it hath devoured in thee every moist tree, and every dry tree, Not quenched is the glowing flames, And burnt by it have been all faces from south to north.

Thou, therefore O son of man sigh, - In the sharp pain of thy loins and in bitterness, shalt thou sigh before their eyes.

and it hath come to pass, when they say unto thee, For what art thou sighing? that thou hast said: Because of the report, for it is coming, And melted hath every heart, And feeble hath been all hands, And weak is every spirit, And all knees go -- waters, Lo, it is coming, yea, it hath been, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

Son of man, say as a prophet, These are the words of the Lord: Say, A sword, a sword which has been made sharp and polished:

It has been made sharp to give death; it is polished so that it may be like a thunder-flame: ...

It hath. however been given to be furbished that it may be grasped by the hand:The same is a sword sharpened. Yea the same, is furbished, Ready to be given into the hand of the slayer.

Cry and howl, son of man, For it hath been among My people, It is among all the princes of Israel, Cast unto the sword have been My people. Therefore strike on thy thigh,

For this sword has been tested [on others]; and what if it views with contempt the scepter [of Judah]? The scepter shall be no more [but shall be swept away],” says the Lord God.

That the heart may melt And the overthrow be multiplied at all their gates, I have recompensed a slaying by the sword: Surety it hath been made ready to flash like lightning, keen for slaughter.

At his right hath been the divination -- Jerusalem, To place battering-rams, To open the mouth with slaughter, To lift up a voice with shouting, To place battering-rams against the gates, To pour out a mount, to build a fortification.

And it hath been to them as a false divination in their eyes, Who have sworn oaths to them, And he is causing iniquity to be remembered to be caught.

So the Lord Jehovah says this: Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, in that your sins are revealed in all your deeds; because you have been remembered, you shall be taken with the hand.

thus says the Lord God, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; things shall not remain as they have been. Exalt that which is low and abase the high.

An overturn, overturn, overturn, I make it, Also this hath not been till the coming of Him, Whose is the judgment, and I have given it.

Thou shalt say then Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh, A city shedding blood in her own midst That her time might come, Therefore hath she been making manufactured gods for herself, to be defiled.

By thy blood that thou hast shed thou hast been guilty, And by thine idols that thou hast made thou hast been defiled, And thou causest thy days to draw near, And art come in unto thine years, Therefore I have given thee a reproach to nations, And a derision to all the lands.

Behold, the princes of Israel, every one according to his power, have been in thee to shed blood.

In you they have had no respect for father and mother; in you they have been cruel to the man from a strange land; in you they have done wrong to the child without a father and to the widow.

Slanderous men have been in thee to shed blood; and in thee they have eaten upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they have committed lewdness.

A father's shame hath been uncovered in thee, Her that was unclean in her removal, have they humbled in thee;

Yea, gifts have been received in thee to shed blood. Thou hast taken usury and increase, thou hast oppressed thy neighbours by extortion, and forgotten me, sayeth the LORD God.

Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.

And thou hast been polluted in thyself Before the eyes of nations, And thou hast known that I am Jehovah.'

The house of Israel hath been to Me for dross, All of them are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, In the midst of a furnace -- dross hath silver been,

And I have heaped you up, And blown on you in the fire of My wrath, And ye have been melted in its midst.

like melting silver at the center of a furnace. When you've been melted from the center out, then you'll know that I am the LORD. I'll pour out my anger on you.'"

“Son of man, say to her: You are a land that has not been cleansed, that has not received rain in the day of indignation.

Because her princes in her midst are like a roaring lion rending prey, - Life, have they devoured Wealth and precious things, have they been wont to take, Her widows, have they multiplied in her midst.

Her priests have been acting violently against my law; they have made my holy things unclean: they have made no division between what is holy and what is common, and they have not made it clear that the unclean is different from the clean, and their eyes have been shut to my Sabbaths, and I am not honoured among them.

Her rulers within her have been like wolves, rending prey,- In shedding blood In destroying lives, For the sake of getting dishonest gain.

And her prophets have been using whitewash, seeing foolish visions and making false use of secret arts, saying, This is what the Lord has said, when the Lord has said nothing.

The people of the land have been acting cruelly, taking men's goods by force; they have been hard on the poor and those in need, and have done wrong to the man from a strange land.

And she giveth her whoredoms on them, The choice of the sons of Asshur, All of them -- even all on whom she doted, By all their idols she hath been defiled.

"Her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was more corrupt in her lust and sexual immorality than her sister had been in her own sexual immorality.

And I see that she hath been defiled, One way is to them both.

"She became even more sexually immoral when she saw the images of the Chaldean men who had been carved in red on their walls.

Girded with waistbands around their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looked like chariot officers, similar to the Babylonians from Chaldea, where they had been born.

The Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and defiled her with their harlotry. And when she had been defiled by them, she became disgusted with them.