For they committed adultery, and blood [is] on their hands, and they committed adultery with their idols, and even their children that they had borne for me--they sacrificed them as food!

and when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they came to my sanctuary on that day to profane it. And look, {this is what they did in my house}!

{What is worse}, they sent for men {who come} from a distant place, [to] whom a messenger [was] sent to them, and look! They came! [Men] for whom you bathed and painted your eyes, and you adorned yourself [with] an ornament.

But righteous men, they will judge them [with] [the] judgment of committing adultery, and [with] [the] judgment of shedding blood; for they were committing adultery, and blood [was] on their hands."

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Bring up against them an assembly, and make them as a thing of horror and as plunder.

And an assembly must stone them [with] stones, and they must cut them down. With their swords they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and with fire they shall burn their houses.

"Son of man, write for yourself the name of the day, {this very day}. The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on exactly this day!

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.

Pile up the logs; kindle the fire; finish [cooking] the meat, and mix [in] the spices, and let the bones be burned.

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

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?"

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of clapping your hand and stamping with your foot, and [because] you rejoiced in yourself with all of your malice over the land of Israel,

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of the doings of Edom in avenging himself [with] vengeance for the house of Judah, and [so] they became very guilty and they avenged themselves on them,"

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of the {acting} of [the] Philistines in vengeance, so that they avenged themselves relentlessly with malice in themselves for destruction {with everlasting hostility},

"Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, 'Ah! The gates of the peoples are broken; it has swung [open] to me; I shall be filled, [for] it lies in ruins!'

It will become a place for spreading out dragnets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh. 'And it will become as plunder for the nations,

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] bringing to Tyre Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, from [the] north, [the] king of kings, with horse and with chariot and with horsemen and [his] assembly and many people.

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.

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.

They built [with] pine trees from Senir all of your boards for you; they took cedars from Lebanon to make a sailing mast {for you}.

Your sail was fine linen with colorful weaving from Egypt {to serve as a banner for you}; blue and purple cloth from the coastlands of Cyprus was your awning.

" 'Tarshish [was] your trader; from [the] abundance of all of [their] wealth, with silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your merchandise.

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders; {in exchange for people} and an object of bronze they gave [you] your wares.

From Beth Togarmah they exchanged horses and war horses and mules for your wares.

Edom [was] trading [with] you because of the abundance of your products, [trading] with malachite, purple wool yarn and colorful weaving, and fine white fabric and black corals and rubies; [all these] they exchange for your merchandise.

Judah and the land of Israel [were] trading [with] you with wheat from Minnith and millet and honey and olive oil and balm; [all these] they gave [for] your wares.

Vedan and Javan from Uzal, they exchanged wrought iron, cinnamon, and reed spice for your merchandise; [all this] was for your wares.

Dedan [was] trading [with] you, with garments of woven material for riding.

The traders of Sheba and Raamah [were] trading [with] you, with the finest of every spice and with every precious stone and gold; they exchanged [all these] for your merchandise.

The ships of Tarshish [were] carrying [for] you your wares, and you were filled, and you became very heavy in [the] heart of [the] seas.

{They will shave themselves bald for your sake}, and they will dress themselves [in] sackcloth, and they will weep over you with bitterness of soul [and] with bitter wailing.

By your wisdom and by your understanding you have gained for yourself wealth, and you have amassed gold and silver in your treasuries.

You will die [the] death of [the] uncircumcised by the hand of strangers, for {I myself} have spoken!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

You were [an] anointed guardian cherub, and I placed you on {God's holy mountain}; you walked in the midst of stones of fire.

In the abundance of your trading, they filled the midst of you [with] violence, and you sinned; and I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I expelled you, [the] guardian cherub, from the midst of [the] stones of fire.

Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you ruined your wisdom because of your splendor. I threw you on the ground {before} kings; I have exposed you {for viewing}.

From the abundance of your iniquities in the dishonesty of your trading, I profaned your sanctuaries and I brought fire from your midst; it consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth {before the eyes of everyone who sees 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." '"

"Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against Egypt, all of it.

Speak, and you must say, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great sea monster, the [one] lying down in the midst of his Nile streams, who says to me, "[It is] my Nile, and I made [it] [for] myself."

And all of the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I [am] Yahweh, because of their being a staff of reed for the house of Israel.

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.

And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated countries, and its cities [to be] in the midst of ruined cities. They will be desolation [for] forty years, and I will scatter Egypt among the nations, and I will disperse them among the countries."

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "At the end of forty years I will gather Egypt from the peoples [among] whom they were scattered.

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."

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] giving to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon the land of Egypt, and he will carry its wealth [away], and he will plunder its plunder, and he will loot its loot, and it will be wage for his army.

[As] his wages that he worked for, I will give to him the land of Egypt, because they worked for me," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"On that day I will cause {power} to grow [up] for the house of Israel, and for you I will give an opening of [your] mouth in the midst of them, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh."

"Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Wail, alas! For the day!

For a day [is] near; indeed, a day [is] near for Yahweh. A day of cloud, a time of [the] nations it will be.

And they will know that I [am] Yahweh when I put my fire in Egypt, and all of its helpers are broken.

On that day messengers will go down from {before me} in the ships to terrify unsuspecting Cush, and anguish will be in them on the day of Egypt; for look, [it is] coming!"

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "And I will destroy [the] idols, and I will put an end to [the] worthless idols from Memphis. And there will {no longer be} a prince from the land of Egypt, and I will put fear in the land of Egypt.

And I will lay waste Pathros, and I will set fire in Zoan, and I will execute judgments in No.

And I will set fire in Egypt, certainly Sin will writhe, and No will be breached, and Memphis [will] face enemies {daily}.

"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."

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will break his strong arm and the broken [arm], and I will let the sword fall from his hand.

And I will strengthen the arm of the king of Babylon, and I will give my sword into his hand, and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan [with the] groaning of [the] mortally wounded {before him}.

And I will strengthen the arm of the king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh will fall. And they will know that I [am] Yahweh when I give my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will stretch it out to the land of Egypt.

"Son of man, say to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his crowd, 'To whom are you like in your greatness?

And it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches, for its root [was] toward much water.

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."

{To whom could you be compared, whether in glory or in majesty} among the trees of Eden? And yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to [the] world below; in the midst of [the] uncircumcised you will lie with {those who died by the sword}. That is Pharaoh and {his entire} crowd!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"Son of man, raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you must say to him, '[With] a fierce, strong lion among nations you compared yourself, and you [are] like the sea monster in the seas, and you thrash about in your rivers, and you make water turbid with your feet, and you make your rivers muddy.

And I will cause many peoples to be awestruck over you, and their kings will shudder over you [in] horror, at my brandishing my sword before their faces, and they will tremble {continually}, each [person] for his life, on the day of your downfall."

For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The sword of the king of Babylon, it will come to you.

In the midst of [the] slain they made a bed for her with all of her hordes all around its graves, all of them uncircumcised, slain by [the] sword, for their terror was spread in [the] land of [the] living, and they [now] bear their disgrace with [the people] going down to [the] grave; in the midst of [the] slain it was placed.

Meshech [and] Tubal [are] there and all of its hordes, all around him its graves, all of them uncircumcised [and] killed by [the] sword, for they gave their terror in [the] land of [the] living.

And they do not lie with warriors fallen from long ago, who went down [to] Sheol with their weapons of war, and they placed their sword under their heads, and their shields were on their bones, for [the] terror of [the] warriors [was] in [the] land of the living.

Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted over all of his hordes killed by [the] sword, Pharaoh and all of his army," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"For he spread my terror in [the] land of [the] living, and [so] he will be laid down in the midst of the uncircumcised with those killed by [the] sword: Pharaoh and all of his hordes,"{declares} the Lord Yahweh.

"Son of man, speak to {your people}, and you must say to them, 'A land, if I bring over it a sword and the people of the land take a man, one from their number, and they appoint him for them as a watchman,

[For] he heard the sound of the horn and he did not take warning; his blood will be on him. But [if] he took warning, he saved his life.

And [as for] the watchman, if he sees the sword coming and {he does not blow} the horn, and the people [are] not warned, and [the] sword comes and it takes {their lives}, he will be taken through his guilt, but his blood from the hand of the watchman I will seek.'

"And you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; if you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.

Say to them, '{As I live},' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, '{Surely I have no delight} in the death of the wicked, {except} in [the] wicked returning from his way, and he lives. Turn back! Turn back from your ways, O evil [ones], for why should you die, house of Israel?'

[for example], [the] wicked returns a pledge for a loan, he restores {stolen property}, he goes in the statutes of life [so as] not to do injustice--certainly he will live; he will not die.

"Yet {your people} say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' [yet] their way is not fair.

Yet you said, 'The way of the Lord is not fair!' I will judge you, house of Israel, each [person] according to his ways."

"Son of man, the inhabitants of these ruins on the soil of Israel [are] saying, 'Abraham was one [man], and he took possession of the land, and we [are] many; the land has been given for us as possession.'

And they come to you {as people do}, and they sit {before you}, and my people hear your words, and they do not do them, for they [are] showing passion in their mouth, but their heart [is] going after ill-gotten gain.

And they were scattered {without} a shepherd, and they were as food for all the animals of the field [when] they were scattered.

My flock went astray upon all of the mountains and on every high hill, and [so] upon all the surface of the world my flock were scattered, and {there was no one seeking them}, and {there was no one searching for them}."

'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] against the shepherds, and I will seek my flock from their hand, and I will put an end to them from shepherding flocks, and the shepherds will {no longer} feed themselves, and I will deliver my flocks from their mouth, so that they will not be as food for them."

" 'For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I, even I, will seek my flock, and I will look after them,

[just] like [the] caring of a shepherd [for] his herd on the day when he is in the midst of his scattered flock. Thus I will look after my flock, and I will deliver them from all the places {to which they were scattered} on [the] day {of storm and stress}.

{Is it not enough for you} [that] you feed on the good pasture? And [still] you must trample the remainder of your pasture with your feet, and {clear water} you drink, and the {leftover water} you must make muddy with your feet.

And [so] I will save my flock, and {they will no longer be} for plunder, and I will judge between {one sheep and another}.

And I will set up over them one shepherd, and he will feed them; [that is], my servant David. He will feed them, and he will be for them as a shepherd.

And I, Yahweh, I will be for them {as God}, and my servant David [will be] a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken.

And I will raise for them a garden plot of renown, and they will {no longer} be victims of famine in the land, and they will not bear any more the insult of the nations.

Therefore prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{Because indeed} {when you were desolate}, then they crushed you from all around, so that you became a possession to the remainder of the nations, and you became {a byword and object of slander for the people}."

Therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh; thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys and to the ruins that [are] desolate and to the cities that [are] abandoned [and] that have become as plunder and as scorn for the remainder of the nations that [are] from all around.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{Certainly} in the fire of my passion I spoke against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who made my land as possession, because of its pastureland for plunder, for themselves in all of [the] joy of their whole heart [and] in [their] inner disdain."

" '"But you, mountains of Israel, your branch you will shoot, and your fruit you will carry for my people Israel, for they [are] soon to come.

For look! I [am] for you, and I will turn you, and you will be tilled, and you will be planted.

And I will cause {your population} to increase for you, all of the house of Israel, all of it, and the towns will be inhabited, and the ruins will be built.