"Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me.

Look here, I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege.

"As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor. Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off.

But take a few strands of hair from those and tie them in the ends of your garment.

"This is what the sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem; I placed her in the center of the nations with countries all around her.

Then she defied my regulations and my statutes, becoming more wicked than the nations and the countries around her. Indeed, they have rejected my regulations, and they do not follow my statutes.

Say, 'Mountains of Israel, Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

He stretched out the form of a hand and grabbed me by a lock of hair on my head. Then a wind lifted me up between the earth and sky and brought me to Jerusalem by means of divine visions, to the door of the inner gate which faces north where the statue which provokes to jealousy was located.

He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing -- the great abominations that the people of Israel are practicing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see greater abominations than these!"

He said to me, "Go in and see the evil abominations they are practicing here."

He said to me, "Do you see, son of man? Is it a trivial thing that the house of Judah commits these abominations they are practicing here? For they have filled the land with violence and provoked me to anger still further. Look, they are putting the branch to their nose!

"Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, because they are a rebellious house.

"Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: 'Hear the word of the Lord!

"Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominable practices

I made you plentiful like sprouts in a field; you grew tall and came of age so that you could wear jewelry. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, but you were still naked and bare.

So see here, I have stretched out my hand against you and cut off your rations. I have delivered you into the power of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed by your obscene conduct.

"'Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband!

"'Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord:

You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north of you with her daughters, and your younger sister, who lived south of you, was Sodom with her daughters.

As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters have behaved.

"'See here -- this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help the poor and needy.

"'I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them),

As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status.

before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines -- those all around you who despise you.

"Say to the rebellious house of Israel: 'Don't you know what these things mean?' Say: 'See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon.

does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains or pray to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not have sexual relations with a woman during her period,

"Yet you say, 'The Lord's conduct is unjust!' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?

and say: "'What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay among young lions; she reared her cubs.

She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion. He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.

"'When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost. She took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.

and say to the scrub land of the Negev, 'Hear the word of the Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, I am about to start a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The flaming fire will not be extinguished, and the whole surface of the ground from the Negev to the north will be scorched by it.

"As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

Then say, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: O city, who spills blood within herself (which brings on her doom), and who makes herself idols (which results in impurity),

"Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that receives no rain or showers in the day of my anger.'

Her princes within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows within it.

Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore my Sabbaths and I am profaned in their midst.

Her officials are like wolves in her midst rending their prey -- shedding blood and destroying lives -- so they can get dishonest profit.

Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says,' when the Lord has not spoken.

Oholah was the name of the older and Oholibah the name of her younger sister. They became mine, and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

"Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians -- warriors

She bestowed her sexual favors on them; all of them were the choicest young men of Assyria. She defiled herself with all whom she desired -- with all their idols.

She did not abandon the prostitution she had practiced in Egypt; for in her youth men had sex with her, fondled her virgin breasts, and ravished her.

Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.

They exposed her nakedness, seized her sons and daughters, and killed her with the sword. She became notorious among women, and they executed judgments against her.

"Her sister Oholibah watched this, but she became more corrupt in her lust than her sister had been, and her acts of prostitution were more numerous than those of her sister.

But she increased her prostitution. She saw men carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans carved in bright red,

The Babylonians crawled into bed with her. They defiled her with their lust; after she was defiled by them, she became disgusted with them.

When she lustfully exposed her nakedness, I was disgusted with her, just as I had been disgusted with her sister.

Yet she increased her prostitution, remembering the days of her youth when she engaged in prostitution in the land of Egypt.

"Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, I am about to stir up against you the lovers with whom you were disgusted; I will bring them against you from every side:

"For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look here, I am about to deliver you over to those whom you hate, to those with whom you were disgusted.

You have followed the ways of your sister, so I will place her cup of judgment in your hand.

The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her, including all kinds of men; even Sabeans were brought from the desert. The sisters put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.

Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, 'Now they will commit immoral acts with her.'

They had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. In this way they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, promiscuous women.

For her blood was in it; she poured it on an exposed rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust.

To arouse anger, to take vengeance, I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up.

Say to the Ammonites, 'Hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: You said "Aha!" about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile.

So this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her, and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die by the sword.

They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock.

and her daughters who are in the field will be slaughtered by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

They will sing this lament over you: "'How you have perished -- you have vanished from the seas, O renowned city, once mighty in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who spread their terror!

The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were within you, mending cracks; all the ships of the sea and their mariners were within you to trade for your merchandise.

they will tear out their hair because of you and put on sackcloth, and they will weep bitterly over you with intense mourning.

Say, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Look, I am against you, Sidon, and I will magnify myself in your midst. Then they will know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments on her and reveal my sovereign power in her.

I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. He will carry off her wealth, capture her loot, and seize her plunder; it will be his army's wages.

"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Wail, "Alas, the day is here!"

A sword will come against Egypt and panic will overtake Ethiopia when the slain fall in Egypt and they carry away her wealth and dismantle her foundations.

"'This is what the Lord says: Egypt's supporters will fall; her confident pride will crumble. From Migdol to Syene they will die by the sword within her, declares the sovereign Lord.

They will know that I am the Lord when I ignite a fire in Egypt and all her allies are defeated.

In Tahpanhes the day will be dark when I break the yoke of Egypt there. Her confident pride will cease within her; a cloud will cover her, and her daughters will go into captivity.

This is a lament; they will chant it. The daughters of the nations will chant it. They will chant it over Egypt and over all her hordes, declares the sovereign Lord."

"Son of man, wail over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; bring her and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; they carry her and all her hordes away.

"Assyria is there with all her assembly around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword.

Their graves are located in the remote slopes of the pit. Her assembly is around her grave, all of them struck down by the sword, those who spread terror in the land of the living.

"Elam is there with all her hordes around her grave; all of them struck down by the sword. They went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, those who spread terror in the land of the living. Now they will bear their shame with those who descend to the pit.

Among the dead they have made a bed for her, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for their terror had spread in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who descend to the pit; they are placed among the dead.

"Meshech-Tubal is there, along with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living.

"Edom is there with her kings and all her princes. Despite their might they are laid with those killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised and those who descend to the pit.

"As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.

I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them.

"But as for you, son of man, your people (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 'Come hear the word that comes from the Lord.'

They come to you in crowds, and they sit in front of you as my people. They hear your words, but do not obey them. For they talk lustfully, and their heart is set on their own advantage.

Realize that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. They hear your words, but they do not obey them.

"'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

"As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord!

therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, and to the desolate ruins and the abandoned cities that have become prey and an object of derision to the rest of the nations round about --

"Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period.

Like the sheep for offerings, like the sheep of Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

The man said to me, "Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. Tell the house of Israel everything you see."

"'They must not shave their heads nor let their hair grow long; they must only trim their heads.

This is what the sovereign Lord says: "Here are the borders you will observe as you allot the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. (Joseph will have two portions.)