And He calleth unto the man who is clothed with linen, who hath the scribe's inkhorn at his loins, and Jehovah saith unto him, 'Pass on into the midst of the city, into the midst of Jerusalem, and thou hast made a mark on the foreheads of the men who are sighing and who are groaning for all the abominations that are done in its midst.'

And He saith unto me, 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is very very great, and the land is full of blood, and the city hath been full of perverseness, for they have said: Jehovah hath forsaken the land, and Jehovah is not seeing.

And I look, and lo, on the expanse that is above the head of the cherubs, as a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne, He hath been seen over them.

And the cherubs are standing on the right side of the house, at the going in of the man, and the cloud hath filled the inner court,

and become high doth the honour of Jehovah above the cherub, over the threshold of the house, and the house is filled with the cloud, and the court hath been filled with the brightness of the honour of Jehovah.

And a noise of the wings of the cherubs hath been heard unto the outer court, as the voice of God -- the Mighty One -- in His speaking.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Your wounded whom ye placed in its midst, They are the flesh, and it is the pot, And you he hath brought out from its midst.

it is ours, the land hath been given for an inheritance; therefore say: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because I put them afar off among nations, And because I scattered them through lands, I also am to them for a little sanctuary, In lands whither they have gone in.

And a spirit hath lifted me up, and bringeth me in to Chaldea, unto the Removed, in a vision, by the Spirit of God, and go up from off me doth the vision that I have seen;

and I speak unto the Removed all the matters of Jehovah that He hath shewed me.

And I have spread My net for him, and he hath been caught in My snare, and I have brought him in to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, and it he doth not see -- and there doth he die.

Son of man, what is this simile to you, concerning the land of Israel, saying, Prolonged are the days, and perished hath every vision?

therefore say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have caused this simile to cease, And they use it not as a simile again in Israel, But speak to them: Drawn near have the days, And spoken hath every vision.

They have seen vanity, and lying divination, Who are saying: An affirmation of Jehovah, And Jehovah hath not sent them, And they have hoped to establish a word.

And My hand hath been on the prophets, Who are seeing vanity, and who are divining a lie, In the assembly of My people they are not, And in the writing of the house of Israel they are not written, And unto the ground of Israel they come not, And ye have known that I am the Lord Jehovah.

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 lo, fallen hath the wall! Doth not one say unto you, Where is the daubing that ye daubed?

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.

Therefore, speak with them, and thou hast said unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Every one of the house of Israel who causeth his idols to go up unto his heart, and the stumbling-block of his iniquity setteth over-against his face, and hath gone in unto the prophet -- I Jehovah have given an answer to him for this, for the abundance of his idols,

for every one of the house of Israel, and of the sojourners who doth sojourn in Israel, who is separated from after Me, and doth cause his idols to go up unto his heart, and the stumbling-block of his iniquity setteth over-against his face, and hath come in unto the prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I, Jehovah, have answered him for Myself;

And the prophet, when he is enticed, and hath spoken a word -- I, Jehovah, I have enticed that prophet, and have stretched out My hand against him, and have destroyed him from the midst of My people Israel.

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?

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!

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.

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.

And -- in their ways thou hast not walked, And according to their abominations done, As a little thing it hath been loathed, And thou dost more corruptly than they in all thy ways.

I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Sodom thy sister hath not done -- she and her daughters -- As thou hast done -- thou and thy daughters.

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.

As to Samaria, as the half of thy sins -- she hath not sinned, And thou dost multiply thine abominations more than they, And dost justify thy sisters by all thy abominations that thou hast done.

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

and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle, great-winged, long-pinioned, Full of feathers, that hath diverse colours, Hath come in unto Lebanon, And it taketh the foliage of the cedar,

The top of its tender twigs it hath cropped, And it bringeth it in to the land of Canaan. In a city of merchants it hath placed it.

And it taketh of the seed of the land, And doth put it in a field of seed, To take by many waters, In a conspicuous place it hath set it.

And there is another great eagle, Great-winged, and abounding with feathers, And lo, this vine hath bent its roots toward him, And its thin shoots it hath sent out toward him, To water it from the furrows of its planting,

Say, I pray thee, to the rebellious house, Have ye not known what these are? Say, Lo, come hath the king of Babylon to Jerusalem, And he taketh its king, and its princes, And bringeth them to himself to Babylon.

And he taketh of the seed of the kingdom, And maketh with him a covenant, And bringeth him in to an oath, And the mighty of the land he hath taken,

And he rebelleth against him, To send his messengers to Egypt, To give to him horses, and much people, Doth he prosper? doth he escape who is doing these things? And hath he broken covenant and escaped?

I live -- an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Doth he not -- in the place of the king who is causing him to reign, Whose oath he hath despised, And whose covenant he hath broken, With him -- in the midst of Babylon -- die?

And he despised the oath -- to break covenant, And lo, he hath given his hand, And all these he hath done, he escapeth not.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I live -- Mine oath that he hath despised, And My covenant that he hath broken, Have I not put it on his head?

And I have spread out for him My snare, And he hath been caught in My net, And I have brought him in to Babylon, And pleaded with him there his trespass, That he hath trespassed against Me.

In a mountain -- the high place of Israel, I plant it, And it hath borne boughs, and yielded fruit, And become a goodly cedar, And dwelt under it have all birds of every wing, In the shade of its thin shoots they dwell.

And a man, when he is righteous, And hath done judgment and righteousness,

On the mountains he hath not eaten, And his eyes he hath not lifted up Unto idols of the house of Israel, And the wife of his neighbour defiled not, And to a separated woman cometh not near,

In My statutes he doth walk, And My judgments he hath kept -- to deal truly, Righteous is he, he surely liveth, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

And -- he hath begotten a son, A burglar -- a shedder of blood, And he hath made a brother of one of these,

And he all those hath not done, For even on the mountains he hath eaten, And the wife of his neighbour he hath defiled,

The afflicted and needy he hath oppressed, Plunder he hath taken violently away, A pledge he doth not return, And unto the idols he hath lifted up his eyes, Abomination he hath done!

In usury he hath given, and increase taken, And he liveth: he doth not live, All these abominations he hath done, He doth surely die, his blood is on him.

And -- lo, he hath begotten a son, And he seeth all the sins of his father, That he hath done, and he feareth, And doth not do like them,

On the mountains he hath not eaten, And his eyes he hath not lifted up Unto idols of the house of Israel, The wife of his neighbour he hath not defiled,

A man -- he hath not oppressed, A pledge he hath not bound, And plunder he hath not taken away, His bread to the hungry he hath given, And the naked he covered with a garment,

From the afflicted he hath turned back his hand, Usury and increase he hath not taken, My judgments he hath done, In My statutes he hath walked, He doth not die for the iniquity of his father, He doth surely live.

And ye have said, Wherefore hath not the son, Borne of the iniquity of the father? And -- the son judgment and righteousness hath done, All My statutes he hath kept, And he doeth them, he surely liveth.

And the wicked -- when he turneth back From all his sins that he hath done, And he hath kept all My statutes, And hath done judgment and righteousness, He doth surely live, he doth not die.

All his transgressions that he hath done Are not remembered to him, In his righteousness that he hath done he liveth.

Do I at all desire the death of the wicked? An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Is it not in his turning back from his way -- And he hath lived?

And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, According to all the abominations That the wicked hath done, he doth -- thus he liveth, All his righteousnesses that he hath done are not remembered, For his trespass that he hath trespassed, And for his sin that he hath sinned, For them he doth die.

In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, And he is dying by them, for his perversity That he hath done he dieth.

And in the turning back of the wicked From his wickedness that he hath done, And he doth judgment and righteousness, He his soul doth keep alive.

And he seeth and turneth back, From all his transgressions that he hath done, He doth surely live, he doth not die,

and thou hast said: What is thy mother? -- a lioness, Among lions she hath crouched down, In the midst of young lions she hath multiplied her whelps.

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.

And she seeth, that stayed -- perished hath her hope, And she taketh one of her whelps, A young lion she hath made it.

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 it knoweth his forsaken habitations, And their cities it hath laid waste, And desolate is the land and its fulness, Because of the voice of his roaring.

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 hath strong rods for sceptres of rulers, And high is its stature above thick branches, And it appeareth in its height In the multitude of its thin shoots.

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 go forth doth fire from a rod of its boughs, Its fruit it hath devoured, And it hath no rod of strength -- a sceptre to rule, Lamentation it is -- and it is for a lamentation!'

And Mine eye hath pity on them -- against destroying them, And I have not made of them an end in the wilderness.

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.

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.'

So as to slaughter a slaughter it is sharpened. So as to have brightness it is polished, Desire hath rejoiced the sceptre of my son, It is despising every tree.

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 stood hath the king of Babylon at the head of the way, At the top of the two ways, to use divination, He hath moved lightly with the arrows, He hath asked at the teraphim, He hath looked on the liver.

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.

And thou, wounded, wicked one, Prince of Israel, whose day hath come, In the time of the iniquity of the end!

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.

In the seeing for thee of a vain thing, In the divining for thee of a lie, To put thee on the necks of the wounded of the wicked, whose day hath come, In the time of the iniquity of the end.

and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The city is shedding blood in its midst, For the coming in of its time, And it hath made idols on it for defilement.

The nakedness of a father hath one uncovered in thee, The defiled of impurity they humbled in thee.

And each with the wife of his neighbour hath done abomination, And each his daughter-in-law hath defiled through wickedness, And each his sister, his father's daughter, hath humbled in thee.

And lo, I have smitten My hand, Because of thy dishonest gain that thou hast gained, And for thy blood that hath been in thy midst.

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 its prophets have daubed for them with chalk, Seeing a vain thing, and divining for them a lie, Saying, 'Thus said the Lord Jehovah:' And Jehovah hath not spoken.

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.

And her whoredoms out of Egypt she hath not forsaken, For with her they lay in her youth, And they dealt with the loves of her virginity, And they pour out their whoredoms on her.

On sons of Asshur she hath doted, Governors and prefects, Neighbouring ones -- clothed in perfection, Horsemen, riding on horses, Desirable young men all of them.

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

Therefore, O Aholibah, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am stirring up thy lovers against thee, From whom thy soul hath been alienated, And have brought them in against thee from round about.