And he said to me, "Son of man, I am sending you to the {Israelites}, to nations [who are] rebelling, who rebelled against me, they and their ancestors, they transgressed against me {until this very day}.

And the children [are] {impudent} and {stubborn}, [and so] I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh!'

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 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}.

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}.

"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.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This [is] Jerusalem in the midst of the nations [where] I have put her, and countries [are] around her.

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.

Therefore, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because of your commotion more than the nations that [are] around you--you did not walk in my statutes, and you did not do my regulations, and according to the regulations of the nations that [are] around you, you did not do.

And it will be [an] object of taunting and [an] object of mockery, a warning and a horror to the nations that [are] around you whenever I execute judgments against you in anger and in wrath and in furious punishments! I, Yahweh, have spoken!

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 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.

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.

The sword {is outside}, and the plague and the famine {are inside}; [the one] who [is] in the field will die by the sword, and [the one] who [is] in the city, famine and plague will devour him.

And he said to me, "Son of man, "{Do you see} what they [are] doing--great detestable things that the house of Israel [is] committing here [so as] to drive [me] from my sanctuary, and yet {you will see again} greater detestable things."

And he said to me, "Come and see the detestable things, the evil that they are doing here.

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 said to me, "Still {you will see again} greater detestable things that they [are] doing."

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 Yahweh said to him, "Go through in the midst of the city, in the midst of Jerusalem, and you must place a mark on the foreheads of the men {who are groaning and lamenting} about all of the detestable things {that are being done} in the midst of her."

And he spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, "Go {in among the wheel area under the cherubim} and fill the hollow of your hands [with] coals of fire from among the cherubim, and toss [them] on the city." And he went [right] before my eyes.

And then at his command to the man clothed in linen, {saying}, "Take fire from among the wheel area from among the cherubim," he went and stood beside the wheel.

And he said to me, "Son of man, these [are] the men {who devise mischief}, and [who are] offering bad counsel in this city,

who [are] saying, "The building of houses [is] not near; [the city] is the pot, and we [are] the flesh.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Your slain ones whom you put in its midst, they [are] the flesh, and it is [the] pot, and I will bring you out from its midst.

And you will know that I [am] Yahweh, whose rules you did not follow, and whose regulations you did not do, but according to the regulations of the nations that [are] around you, you acted." '

And it happened [that] {as I was prophesying}, Pelatiahu the son of Benaiahu died! And I fell on my face, and I cried [with] a loud voice, and I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh, you [are] making complete destruction [of] the remnant of Israel!"

"Son of man, your brothers, your brothers, the men of your redemption, and all of the house of Israel, all of it, {who said concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem}, 'They are far from Yahweh, [therefore] to us this land was given as a possession.'

"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.

"Son of man, did not they, the house of Israel, the house of rebellion, say to you, 'What [are] you doing?'

Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "This oracle [is about] the prince in Jerusalem and {the entire} house of Israel {who are among them}." '

And all who [are] around him, his help and all of his troops I will scatter {in every direction}, and I will draw [the] sword behind them.

And you must say to the people of the land, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the inhabitants of Jerusalem about the land of Israel: "They will eat their food with anxiety and their water they will drink with horror, because their land will be desolate from its fullness because of all the violence of {those who are dwelling in it}.

"Son of man, what [is] this proverb {you people have} about the land of Israel, {saying}, '{The days are prolonged}, and every vision has come to nothing.'

Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "I will put an end [to] this proverb, and they will not quote it as a proverb again in Israel." ' But say to them, 'The days are near, and [also] the word of every vision.'

"Son of man, prophesy to the prophets of Israel {who are prophesying}, and you must say to [those who are] prophets out of their own {imagination}, 'Hear the word of Yahweh!'

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

"And it will be my hand against the prophets who [are] seeing falseness and who [are] practicing lying divination. They will not be in the council of my people, and they will not be written [down] in the record [book] of the house of Israel, and into the land of Israel they will not come, and [then] you will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh.

And I will fully vent my rage against the wall and against those covering it [with] whitewash, and I will say to you, "{The wall is no more}, and {the people covering it are no more},

And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe to {those who sew} magic charm bands on all the wrists of the hands of my [people] and {those who make the veils} [that are] on the head of [people of] every height, to ensnare [people's] lives! Will you ensnare [the] lives of my people {and keep yourselves alive}?

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." '

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! I am against your magic charm bands {with which you are ensnaring persons} as birds; I will tear them from your arms, and I will release the persons that you [are] ensnaring, [treating] persons as birds.

so that [I may] take hold of the house of Israel by their heart, [those] who are estranged from me, all of them, through their idols.'

But look! A remnant will be left over in it, sons and daughters {who will be brought out}. Look! They are coming out to you, and you will see their way, and with their deeds you will be consoled with respect to the evil that I brought over Jerusalem, all of [it] that I brought over it.

You [are] a daughter of your mother [who] abhorred her husband and her children, and you [are] a sister of your sisters who abhorred their husbands and their children. Your mother [was] a Hittite, and your father [was] an Amorite.

And your elder sister, she [is] Samaria, and her daughters, [who are] dwelling on your north, and your younger sister [is] the one dwelling on your south; [she] [is] Sodom and her daughters.

{before} your evil was uncovered? [It was] like the time of the scorn of the daughters of Aram and all [those] around her, and of the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who [are] despising you.

"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.

And all of his choice troops, among all of his troops, they will fall by the sword, and [those who] [are] remaining, they will be scattered to all [the directions of the] wind, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken.'

Look! {All lives are mine}. {The lives of father and son alike are mine}. The person sinning will 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 [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?}

"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.

And I said to them, 'What [is] the high place to which you are going?' And {it is called} Bamah until this day.

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.

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

{And then} when they say to you, 'On account of what [are] you groaning?' then you must say, 'On account of [the] report, for it [is] coming, and every heart will be weak and all hands will hang limp and every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will go [like] water.' Look! It [is] coming, and it will happen!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Cry and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all of the princes of Israel. They are thrown to [the] sword with my people; therefore {strike your thigh}.

thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Remove the turban and lift off the crown; things [are] no longer the same. Exalt the low and bring low the high.

Look! The princes of Israel, each [one] according to his strength, they are in you {for the shedding of blood}.

Slanderous men are {among you} to shed blood, and they, {among you}, eat upon the mountains; they do wickedness in the midst of you.

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become as silver dross to me; all of them [are as] bronze and tin and iron and lead in the midst of a furnace, [even] [as] silver dross, silver [dross] they became!

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

Its officials [are] like wolves tearing prey in its midst, to pour out blood, to destroy people, to make dishonest gain.

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.

Now [as for] their names, the older [was] Oholah, and Oholibah [was] her sister. And {they became mine}, and they bore sons and daughters, and their names [are] Samaria [for] Oholah, and Jerusalem [for] Oholibah

And I will direct my zeal against you, and they will deal with you in anger; your nose and your ears they will remove, and {those who are left}, they will fall by the sword, and they will take your sons and your daughters, and {your remnant} will be consumed by fire.

These [things] [are] accomplished against you since you prostituted yourself after the nations, [and] on account of that, you defiled yourself by their idols.

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

"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!'

and its daughters who [are] in the field with the sword, they will be killed; and they will know that I [am] Yahweh.'"

Now the coastlands will tremble [at] the day of your downfall, and the islands that [are] in the sea will be horrified because of your departure.'"

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.

In [the] heart of [the] seas [are] your boundaries; your builders perfected your beauty.

Your wealth and your merchandise, your wares, your mariners, and your seamen, your shipwrights and the barterers of your wares and all of {your soldiers} who [are] in you, along with all of your crew who are in the midst of you, they will fall in [the] heart of [the] seas on the day of your downfall.

Now you are broken by seas in [the] depths of waters; your wares and all of your crew in the midst of you have sunk.

All of the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled over you, and their kings {shudder} [in] horror; {they distort their faces}!

"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.

Look, are you wiser than Daniel, [so that] {no secret} is hidden [from] you?

{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}.

{All who know you} among the peoples are appalled over you; you have become [as] horrors, and {you shall cease to exist forever}." '"

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

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

Waters made it great, the deep made it grow high; its rivers [were] going all around {its planting area}, and its channels it sent [out] to all of the trees of the field.

[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."

"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.

{You are more lovely than whom}? Go down and be laid in rest with [the] uncircumcised.

Assyria [is] there and all of its assembly; all around it [are] its graves, all of them killed, those fallen by the sword,

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.