They hear that I was groaning; [there is] no comforter for me. All my enemies have heard my misery, they are pleased that you have done it. Bring [that] day that you have proclaimed, And let them be like me.

Let all their evil come before you; and deal with them just as you have dealt with me because of all my crimes; for my groaning is much and my heart [is] faint.

What can I say for you? What can I compare to you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you so that I can comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your destruction [is] as vast as the sea; who can heal you?

Your prophets had a vision for you, false and worthless; they have not exposed your sin, to restore your fortune; they have seen oracles for you, false and misleading.

They clap hands over you, all who pass along the way; they hiss and they shake their head, at the daughter of Jerusalem. Is this the city of which it is said, "A perfection of beauty, a joy for all the earth?"

They have opened their mouths against you, all your enemies. They hiss and gnash a tooth, and they say, "We have destroyed [her]! Surely this [is] the day we have hoped for; we have found [it], we have seen [it]!"

"Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches; pour out your heart like water, before the face of the Lord. Lift to him your hands, for the life of your children, who faint in starvation, at the head of all streets."

You have summoned my horror from all around, as if for a feast day; no one on the day of Yahweh's anger [is] a fugitive and a survivor; whoever I have cared for and reared, my enemy has destroyed.

Though I cry out for help, he shuts out my prayers.

He has bent his bow and set me as the target for the arrow.

I have become a laughingstock for all the people, their mocking song all day long.

[It is] good to wait in silence for the salvation of Yahweh.

[It is] good for a man who carries the yoke of his childhood.

For the Lord will not reject forever.

For even though he causes grief he has compassion according to the greatness of his royal love.

You have heard my cry, "Do not shut your ear to my cry for help, for my relief!"

O Lord, you have pleaded for {my cause}, you have redeemed my life.

The tongue of the nursling cleaves to its palate in thirst. Children beg [for] food, {no one lays it out before them}.

Happier were [the] victims of [the] sword than the victims of famine; they have pined away, very hungry for the crops of my field.

Still our eyes failed, [looking for] our help in vain; in our watchtower, we kept watch for a nation that could not save.

Our pursuers were swifter than [the] eagles of [the] heavens; they chased us on the mountains, they have set an ambush for us in the desert.

{We pay for water with money}, our wood comes [to us] at a price.

We are driven on our necks; we are weary, there is no rest for us.

{We risk our life for food} because of the sword of the desert.

The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned!

You, O Yahweh, will sit forever [on] your throne for generation to generation.

Why have you forgotten us forever? Why have you forsaken us {for so long}?

And from its midst [was] the likeness of four living creatures, and this [was] their appearance: {a human form},

And under their wings [were] {human hands} on their four sides. And their faces and their wings for the four of them [were as follows]:

The likeness of their faces [was the] face of a human [in front], and [the] face of a lion on the right {of each of them}, and the face of an ox on the left {of each of them}, and [the] face of an eagle {for each of them}.

As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. It [was] moving to and fro between the living creatures, and {the fire was very bright} and lightning [was] going out from the fire.

{Wherever} the spirit went they would go there, and the wheels rose, for the spirit of the living creatures [was] in the wheels.

At their going, they go, and at their standing, they stood, and at their being lifted up from on the earth, the wheels rose, for the spirit of the living creatures [was] in the wheels.

And they, whether they listen or whether they fail [to listen], for they [are] a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet was in their midst.

And you, son of man, you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because briers and thorns [are] with you, and you [are] sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their {looks}, for they [are] a rebellious house.

And you must speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they fail [to listen], for they [are] rebellious.

For you are sent to the house of Israel, not to a people {of obscure speech} and {of a difficult language},

[and] not to many nations {of obscure speech} and {a difficult language} {whose words} you do not understand, [for] if I had sent you to them they would have listened to you.

And the house of Israel, they are not willing to listen to you, for they [are] not willing to listen to me, for all of the house of Israel is hard of forehead, and they [are] hard of heart.

Like a diamond {harder than flint} I have made your forehead; you must not fear them, and you must not be dismayed {on account of them}, for they {are a rebellious house}.

"Son of man, I have appointed you [as] a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.

And {when the righteous turns from his righteousness} and does injustice, and I place a stumbling block {before him}, he will die, for you did not warn him. Because of his sin he will die, and his righteousness that he did will not be remembered, and his blood I shall seek from your hand.

And if you warn him, the righteous, not to sin, and [the] righteous does not sin, surely he will live, for he heeded a warning. And you will have saved your life."

And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silenced, and you will not be a reproving man for them, for they {are a rebellious house}.

And when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The [one] hearing him, let him hear, and the [one] failing [to hear], let him fail," ' for they {are a rebellious house}.

"Now, son of man, take for yourself a brick, and you must put it {before you}, and you must portray on it a city, Jerusalem.

And take for yourself a plate of iron, and you must place it [as] a wall of iron between you and the city, and you must set your face against it, and it must be {under siege}, and you must lay the siege against it; it is a sign for the house of Israel.

When you have completed these, then you must lie a second [time] on your right side; and you must bear the guilt of the house of Judah forty days, a day for each year, a day for each year I give it to you.

"And you, take for yourself wheat and barley and beans and lentils and millet and spelt, and you must put them in one vessel, and you must make them for yourself into a food [during] the number of days that you [are] lying on your side; three hundred and ninety days you shall eat it.

And your food that you will eat [will be] according to weight; twenty shekels for each day {at fixed times} you shall eat it.

"And you, son of man, take for yourself a sword, sharp [as] {a barber's razor}. Take it for yourself, and you must cause [it] to pass over your head and over your beard, and you must take for yourself a set of scales for weighing, and you must divide them.

But she has rebelled against my regulations to the point of wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that [are] around her; for they rejected my regulations, and [as for] my statutes, they did not walk in them.

When I send my arrows of deadly famine against them, which will be as destruction that I will send [in order] to destroy you, I will increase famine against you, and I will break {the supply of food} for you.

But I will spare [some], {so there will be} for you fugitives from [the] sword among the nations {when you are scattered} in the countries.

And your fugitives will remember me among the nations [to] which they were taken captive, that I was shattered by {their adulterous heart} which departed from me, and by {their adulterous eyes} which [went] after their idols, and they will feel loathing {for themselves}, for the evil that they did, for all of their detestable things.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Clap your hand and stamp with your foot, and say, "Alas, for all of the detestable things of the evil of the house of Israel, {because of which} they will fall with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague.

And you will know that I [am] Yahweh {when their slain ones are in the midst of their idols} around their altars at every high hill, on the tops of all the mountains and under every green tree and under every leafy oak--the place [at] which they gave pleasing scent for all of their idols.

And my eye will not take pity on you, and I will not show compassion for your ways; on you I will bring your detestable things; they will be in the midst of you, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh.'

The time has come, the day has arrived; let not the buyer rejoice, and let the seller not mourn, for anger [is] on all their multitude.

For the seller will not return to the merchandise {while they are still alive}, for the vision [is] about all of its multitude; it will not change, and a man because of his guilt will not be able to hold onto his life.

They shall blow on the trumpet and prepare {everything}, but [there is] no [one] going to the battle, for my anger [is] on all of their multitude.

Their silver they will discard on the streets, and filth will be their gold; their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them on the day of the wrath of Yahweh. They will not satisfy their {hunger} and their stomachs they will not fill, for their guilt will be their stumbling block.

" 'And the beauty of its ornament {he made into a prideful thing} and made with it their detestable things and their vile idols; therefore I will make it into an impure thing for them.

Make a chain for the land; it is full of {bloody crimes} and the city is full of violence.

And he sent out [the] form of a hand, and he took me by a lock of hair of my head, and [the] Spirit lifted me between earth and heaven, and it brought me to Jerusalem in visions of God to the doorway of [the] inner gate {that faced north}, [at] which there [was] the seat of the image of jealousy, which was making jealous.

And he said to me, "Have you seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel [are] doing in the dark, each in the inner rooms of his idol, for [they are] saying, 'Yahweh [is] not seeing us; Yahweh has abandoned the land.'"

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 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.

And he said to me, "The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah [is] {exceedingly} great, and the land is filled with bloodguilt, and the city is full of injustice. For they say Yahweh abandoned the land, and {Yahweh does not see}.

And [there] appeared for the cherubim [the] form of {a human hand} under their wings.

Their appearance {was the same for each of the four of them}, as if the wheel was in the midst of a wheel.

{When they went} to the four of their directions [that] they went, they did not change direction {when they went}, for the place [to] which the head turned, they went behind him; they did not change direction at their going.

And {their whole body}, and their rims, and their spokes, and their wings, and the wheels [were] full of eyes [all] around--{the wheels for the four of them}.

{When they stood}, they stood, and at their rising, they rose with them, for the spirit of the living creatures [was] in them.

{Each one had four faces}, and [there were] four wings for each, and [the] likeness of {human hands} [was] under their wings.

It will not be as a pot to you, and [so] you would be in the midst of it as flesh, [for] at the border of Israel I will judge you.

Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Though I have removed them [far away] among the nations and though I have scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary to them [for a] little while in the countries {to which they have gone}.'"

"Son of man, you [are] dwelling in the midst of the house of rebellion {who has eyes to see and they do not see}; {they have ears to hear}, and they do not hear, for they [are] a house of rebellion.

And you, son of man, prepare for yourself [the] baggage of an exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. And you must go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes; perhaps they will see that they [are] a house of rebellion.

Before their eyes dig through for yourself, through the wall, and you must bring [the baggage] out through it.

Before their eyes, on your shoulder, you must lift up [the baggage] in the dusk, [and] your face you must cover, so that you may not see the land, for I make you [as] 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.

For [there] will not be any longer {any false vision} or flattering divination in the midst of the house of Israel.

For I, Yahweh, I will speak what I will speak [as a] word, and it will be done. It will not prolong [itself] any longer, for in your days, house of rebellion, I will speak a word and I will fulfill it!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"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.'

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Alas, for the foolish prophets who [are] going after their [own] spirit, {and they did not see anything}!

You did not go up into the breaches and repair a wall for the house of Israel to stand [firm] in the battle on the day of Yahweh.

They saw falseness and {a lying divination}, the ones saying, 'Declaration of Yahweh!' and Yahweh did not send them, and they wait {for the confirmation of their word}.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'And [so] I will let burst forth a {windstorm} in my rage, and {there will be a torrent of rain} in my anger, and hailstones in [my] rage {for complete destruction}.

And you defiled me among my people for a handful of barley and for morsels of bread to kill persons who should not die and to keep alive persons who should not live by [means of] your lies to my people [who are] listening to [your] lies." '

For {each person} from the house of Israel, and from the alien who dwells as an alien in Israel, who separates himself {from following me} and brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt, and [yet] he comes to the prophet to consult him concerning me, I Yahweh will answer him myself.

so that the house of Israel will not go astray again {from me}, and they will not make themselves unclean again with all of their transgressions, and they will be for me a people, and I will be for them as God," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"Son of man, when a land sins against me by {acting very unfaithfully}, then I will stretch out my hand against it, and I will break for it [the] {supply of food}, and I will send against it famine, and I will cut it off, [both] human and animal.

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "How much more when I send my four punishments--the evil sword, and famine, and fierce animal, and a plague--to Jerusalem to cut it off, [both] human and animal!

And they will console you when you see their way and their deeds, and you will know that not for nothing I did all that I did in it," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

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 Yahweh: {Just like} the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest which I gave to the fire for fuel, so I have given the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And [as for] your birth, {on the day you were born} your umbilical cord was not cut, and {you were not thoroughly washed clean with water}, and {you were not thoroughly rubbed with salt}, and {you were not carefully wrapped in strips of cloth}.