The Bible - New International Version

22 All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you: " 'They misled you and overcame you- those trusted friends of yours. Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you.'

23 "All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down."

24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die.

25 If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, 'Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,'

26 then tell them, 'I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan's house to die there.' "

27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.

28 And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.

39 This is how Jerusalem was taken: In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it.

2 And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, the city wall was broken through.

3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon.

4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah.

5 But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him.

6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah.

7 Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.

8 The Babylonians set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

9 Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people.

10 But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard:

12 "Take him and look after him; don't harm him but do for him whatever he asks."

13 So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon

14 sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.

15 While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him:

16 "Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes.

17 But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord ; you will not be handed over to those you fear.

18 I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord .' "

40 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon.

2 When the commander of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, "The Lord your God decreed this disaster for this place.

3 And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned against the Lord and did not obey him.

4 But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don't come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please."

5 However, before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, "Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please." Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go.

6 So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.

7 When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon,

8 they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah-Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, and their men.

9 Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. "Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians, " he said. "Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.

10 I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over."

11 When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them,

12 they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.

13 Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

14 and said to him, "Don't you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.

15 Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, "Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?"

16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Don't do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true."

41 In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king's officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there,

2 Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.

3 Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were there.

4 The day after Gedaliah's assassination, before anyone knew about it,

5 eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, bringing grain offerings and incense with them to the house of the Lord .

6 Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he met them, he said, "Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam."

7 When they went into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.

8 But ten of them said to Ishmael, "Don't kill us! We have wheat and barley, oil and honey, hidden in a field." So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others.

9 Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa had made as part of his defense against Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

10 Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah-the king's daughters along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

11 When Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed,

12 they took all their men and went to fight Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool in Gibeon.

13 When all the people Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad.

14 All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah.

15 But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.

16 Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led away all the survivors from Mizpah whom he had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after he had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam: the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had brought from Gibeon.

17 And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt

18 to escape the Babylonians. They were afraid of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.

42 Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached

2 Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, "Please hear our petition and pray to the Lord your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left.

3 Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do."

4 "I have heard you," replied Jeremiah the prophet. "I will certainly pray to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you."

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us.

6 Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God."

7 Ten days later the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.

8 So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest.

9 He said to them, "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says:

10 'If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you.

11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord , for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands.

12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.'

13 "However, if you say, 'We will not stay in this land,' and so disobey the Lord your God,

14 and if you say, 'No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,'

15 then hear the word of the Lord , O remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there,

16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.

17 Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague; not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.'

18 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'As my anger and wrath have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem, so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be an object of cursing and horror, of condemnation and reproach; you will never see this place again.'

19 "O remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Be sure of this: I warn you today

20 that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, 'Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.'

21 I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you.

22 So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle."

43 When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the Lord their God-everything the Lord had sent him to tell them-

2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are lying! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, 'You must not go to Egypt to settle there.'

3 But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon."

4 So Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers and all the people disobeyed the Lord 's command to stay in the land of Judah.

5 Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers led away all the remnant of Judah who had come back to live in the land of Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered.

6 They also led away all the men, women and children and the king's daughters whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah.

7 So they entered Egypt in disobedience to the Lord and went as far as Tahpanhes.

8 In Tahpanhes the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

9 "While the Jews are watching, take some large stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes.

10 Then say to them, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here; he will spread his royal canopy above them.

11 He will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword.

12 He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt; he will burn their temples and take their gods captive. As a shepherd wraps his garment around him, so will he wrap Egypt around himself and depart from there unscathed.

13 There in the temple of the sun in Egypt he will demolish the sacred pillars and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.' "

44 This word came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in Lower Egypt-in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis -and in Upper Egypt :

2 "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You saw the great disaster I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. Today they lie deserted and in ruins

3 because of the evil they have done. They provoked me to anger by burning incense and by worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your fathers ever knew.

4 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, 'Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!'

5 But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods.

6 Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today.

7 "Now this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Why bring such great disaster on yourselves by cutting off from Judah the men and women, the children and infants, and so leave yourselves without a remnant?

8 Why provoke me to anger with what your hands have made, burning incense to other gods in Egypt, where you have come to live? You will destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and reproach among all the nations on earth.

9 Have you forgotten the wickedness committed by your fathers and by the kings and queens of Judah and the wickedness committed by you and your wives in the land of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem?

10 To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your fathers.

11 "Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all Judah.

12 I will take away the remnant of Judah who were determined to go to Egypt to settle there. They will all perish in Egypt; they will fall by the sword or die from famine. From the least to the greatest, they will die by sword or famine. They will become an object of cursing and horror, of condemnation and reproach.

13 I will punish those who live in Egypt with the sword, famine and plague, as I punished Jerusalem.

14 None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live; none will return except a few fugitives."

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present-a large assembly-and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah,

16 "We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord !

17 We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm.

18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine."

19 The women added, "When we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did not our husbands know that we were making cakes like her image and pouring out drink offerings to her?"

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, both men and women, who were answering him,

21 "Did not the Lord remember and think about the incense burned in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem by you and your fathers, your kings and your officials and the people of the land?

22 When the Lord could no longer endure your wicked actions and the detestable things you did, your land became an object of cursing and a desolate waste without inhabitants, as it is today.

23 Because you have burned incense and have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed him or followed his law or his decrees or his stipulations, this disaster has come upon you, as you now see."

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including the women, "Hear the word of the Lord , all you people of Judah in Egypt.

25 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives have shown by your actions what you promised when you said, 'We will certainly carry out the vows we made to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.' "Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows!

26 But hear the word of the Lord , all Jews living in Egypt: 'I swear by my great name,' says the Lord , 'that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, "As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives."

27 For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed.

28 Those who escape the sword and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few. Then the whole remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand-mine or theirs.

29 " 'This will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,' declares the Lord , 'so that you will know that my threats of harm against you will surely stand.'

30 This is what the Lord says: 'I am going to hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies who seek his life, just as I handed Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who was seeking his life.' "

45 This is what Jeremiah the prophet told Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, after Baruch had written on a scroll the words Jeremiah was then dictating:

2 "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch:

3 You said, 'Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.' "

4 The Lord said, "Say this to him: 'This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land.

5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord , but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.' "

46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:

2 Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

3 "Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle!

4 Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armor!

5 What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side," declares the Lord .

6 "The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape. In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.

7 "Who is this that rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters?

8 Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters. She says, 'I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy cities and their people.'

9 Charge, O horses! Drive furiously, O charioteers! March on, O warriors- men of Cush and Put who carry shields, men of Lydia who draw the bow.

10 But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty- a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.

11 "Go up to Gilead and get balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt. But you multiply remedies in vain; there is no healing for you.

12 The nations will hear of your shame; your cries will fill the earth. One warrior will stumble over another; both will fall down together."

13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt:

14 "Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes: 'Take your positions and get ready, for the sword devours those around you.'

15 Why will your warriors be laid low? They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.

16 They will stumble repeatedly; they will fall over each other. They will say, 'Get up, let us go back to our own people and our native lands, away from the sword of the oppressor.'

17 There they will exclaim, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.'

18 "As surely as I live," declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty, "one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains, like Carmel by the sea.

19 Pack your belongings for exile, you who live in Egypt, for Memphis will be laid waste and lie in ruins without inhabitant.

20 "Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly is coming against her from the north.

21 The mercenaries in her ranks are like fattened calves. They too will turn and flee together, they will not stand their ground, for the day of disaster is coming upon them, the time for them to be punished.

22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent as the enemy advances in force; they will come against her with axes, like men who cut down trees.

23 They will chop down her forest," declares the Lord , "dense though it be. They are more numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted.

24 The Daughter of Egypt will be put to shame, handed over to the people of the north."

25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh.

26 I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past," declares the Lord .

27 "Do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.

28 Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, for I am with you," declares the Lord . "Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished."

47 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:

2 This is what the Lord says: "See how the waters are rising in the north; they will become an overflowing torrent. They will overflow the land and everything in it, the towns and those who live in them. The people will cry out; all who dwell in the land will wail

3 at the sound of the hoofs of galloping steeds, at the noise of enemy chariots and the rumble of their wheels. Fathers will not turn to help their children; their hands will hang limp.

4 For the day has come to destroy all the Philistines and to cut off all survivors who could help Tyre and Sidon. The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines, the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.

5 Gaza will shave her head in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant on the plain, how long will you cut yourselves?

6 " 'Ah, sword of the Lord ,' you cry, 'how long till you rest? Return to your scabbard; cease and be still.'

7 But how can it rest when the Lord has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack Ashkelon and the coast?"

48 Concerning Moab: This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Woe to Nebo, for it will be ruined. Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured; the stronghold will be disgraced and shattered.

2 Moab will be praised no more; in Heshbon men will plot her downfall: 'Come, let us put an end to that nation.' You too, O Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will pursue you.

3 Listen to the cries from Horonaim, cries of great havoc and destruction.

4 Moab will be broken; her little ones will cry out.

5 They go up the way to Luhith, weeping bitterly as they go; on the road down to Horonaim anguished cries over the destruction are heard.

6 Flee! Run for your lives; become like a bush in the desert.

7 Since you trust in your deeds and riches, you too will be taken captive, and Chemosh will go into exile, together with his priests and officials.

8 The destroyer will come against every town, and not a town will escape. The valley will be ruined and the plateau destroyed, because the Lord has spoken.

9 Put salt on Moab, for she will be laid waste ; her towns will become desolate, with no one to live in them.

10 "A curse on him who is lax in doing the Lord 's work! A curse on him who keeps his sword from bloodshed!

11 "Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another- she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged.

12 But days are coming," declares the Lord , "when I will send men who pour from jars, and they will pour her out; they will empty her jars and smash her jugs.

13 Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed when they trusted in Bethel.

14 "How can you say, 'We are warriors, men valiant in battle'?

15 Moab will be destroyed and her towns invaded; her finest young men will go down in the slaughter," declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

16 "The fall of Moab is at hand; her calamity will come quickly.

17 Mourn for her, all who live around her, all who know her fame; say, 'How broken is the mighty scepter, how broken the glorious staff!'

18 "Come down from your glory and sit on the parched ground, O inhabitants of the Daughter of Dibon, for he who destroys Moab will come up against you and ruin your fortified cities.

19 Stand by the road and watch, you who live in Aroer. Ask the man fleeing and the woman escaping, ask them, 'What has happened?'

20 Moab is disgraced, for she is shattered. Wail and cry out! Announce by the Arnon that Moab is destroyed.

21 Judgment has come to the plateau- to Holon, Jahzah and Mephaath,

22 to Dibon, Nebo and Beth Diblathaim,

23 to Kiriathaim, Beth Gamul and Beth Meon,

24 to Kerioth and Bozrah- to all the towns of Moab, far and near.

25 Moab's horn is cut off; her arm is broken," declares the Lord .

26 "Make her drunk, for she has defied the Lord . Let Moab wallow in her vomit; let her be an object of ridicule.

27 Was not Israel the object of your ridicule? Was she caught among thieves, that you shake your head in scorn whenever you speak of her?

28 Abandon your towns and dwell among the rocks, you who live in Moab. Be like a dove that makes its nest at the mouth of a cave.

29 "We have heard of Moab's pride- her overweening pride and conceit, her pride and arrogance and the haughtiness of her heart.

30 I know her insolence but it is futile," declares the Lord , "and her boasts accomplish nothing.

31 Therefore I wail over Moab, for all Moab I cry out, I moan for the men of Kir Hareseth.

32 I weep for you, as Jazer weeps, O vines of Sibmah. Your branches spread as far as the sea; they reached as far as the sea of Jazer. The destroyer has fallen on your ripened fruit and grapes.

33 Joy and gladness are gone from the orchards and fields of Moab. I have stopped the flow of wine from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy. Although there are shouts, they are not shouts of joy.

34 "The sound of their cry rises from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz, from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah, for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.

35 In Moab I will put an end to those who make offerings on the high places and burn incense to their gods," declares the Lord .

36 "So my heart laments for Moab like a flute; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir Hareseth. The wealth they acquired is gone.

37 Every head is shaved and every beard cut off; every hand is slashed and every waist is covered with sackcloth.

38 On all the roofs in Moab and in the public squares there is nothing but mourning, for I have broken Moab like a jar that no one wants," declares the Lord .

39 "How shattered she is! How they wail! How Moab turns her back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule, an object of horror to all those around her."

40 This is what the Lord says: "Look! An eagle is swooping down, spreading its wings over Moab.

41 Kerioth will be captured and the strongholds taken. In that day the hearts of Moab's warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

42 Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the Lord .

43 Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of Moab," declares the Lord .

44 "Whoever flees from the terror will fall into a pit, whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare; for I will bring upon Moab the year of her punishment," declares the Lord .

45 "In the shadow of Heshbon the fugitives stand helpless, for a fire has gone out from Heshbon, a blaze from the midst of Sihon; it burns the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of the noisy boasters.

46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh are destroyed; your sons are taken into exile and your daughters into captivity.

47 "Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in days to come," declares the Lord . Here ends the judgment on Moab.

49 Concerning the Ammonites: This is what the Lord says: "Has Israel no sons? Has she no heirs? Why then has Molech taken possession of Gad? Why do his people live in its towns?

2 But the days are coming," declares the Lord , "when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it will become a mound of ruins, and its surrounding villages will be set on fire. Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out," says the Lord .

3 "Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed! Cry out, O inhabitants of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; rush here and there inside the walls, for Molech will go into exile, together with his priests and officials.

4 Why do you boast of your valleys, boast of your valleys so fruitful? O unfaithful daughter, you trust in your riches and say, 'Who will attack me?'

5 I will bring terror on you from all those around you," declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. "Every one of you will be driven away, and no one will gather the fugitives.

6 "Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites," declares the Lord .

7 Concerning Edom: This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?

8 Turn and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him.

9 If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? If thieves came during the night, would they not steal only as much as they wanted?

10 But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, so that he cannot conceal himself. His children, relatives and neighbors will perish, and he will be no more.

11 Leave your orphans; I will protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in me."

12 This is what the Lord says: "If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it.

13 I swear by myself," declares the Lord , "that Bozrah will become a ruin and an object of horror, of reproach and of cursing; and all its towns will be in ruins forever."

14 I have heard a message from the Lord : An envoy was sent to the nations to say, "Assemble yourselves to attack it! Rise up for battle!"

15 "Now I will make you small among the nations, despised among men.

16 The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle's, from there I will bring you down," declares the Lord .

17 "Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.

18 As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, along with their neighboring towns," says the Lord , "so no one will live there; no man will dwell in it.

19 "Like a lion coming up from Jordan's thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?"

20 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Edom, what he has purposed against those who live in Teman: The young of the flock will be dragged away; he will completely destroy their pasture because of them.

21 At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.

22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom's warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

23 Concerning Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad are dismayed, for they have heard bad news. They are disheartened, troubled like the restless sea.

24 Damascus has become feeble, she has turned to flee and panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her, pain like that of a woman in labor.

25 Why has the city of renown not been abandoned, the town in which I delight?

26 Surely, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day," declares the Lord Almighty.

27 "I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad."

28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked: This is what the Lord says: "Arise, and attack Kedar and destroy the people of the East.

29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken; their shelters will be carried off with all their goods and camels. Men will shout to them, 'Terror on every side!'

30 "Flee quickly away! Stay in deep caves, you who live in Hazor," declares the Lord . "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plotted against you; he has devised a plan against you.

31 "Arise and attack a nation at ease, which lives in confidence," declares the Lord , "a nation that has neither gates nor bars; its people live alone.

32 Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be booty. I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places and will bring disaster on them from every side," declares the Lord .

33 "Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, a desolate place forever. No one will live there; no man will dwell in it."

34 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:

35 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.

36 I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the heavens; I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam's exiles do not go.

37 I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives; I will bring disaster upon them, even my fierce anger," declares the Lord . "I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.

38 I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials," declares the Lord .

39 "Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come," declares the Lord .

50 This is the word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians :

2 "Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back, but say, 'Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror.'

3 A nation from the north will attack her and lay waste her land. No one will live in it; both men and animals will flee away.

4 "In those days, at that time," declares the Lord , "the people of Israel and the people of Judah together will go in tears to seek the Lord their God.

5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and bind themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.

6 "My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place.

7 Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, 'We are not guilty, for they sinned against the Lord , their true pasture, the Lord , the hope of their fathers.'

8 "Flee out of Babylon; leave the land of the Babylonians, and be like the goats that lead the flock.

9 For I will stir up and bring against Babylon an alliance of great nations from the land of the north. They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.

10 So Babylonia will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill," declares the Lord .

11 "Because you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage my inheritance, because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain and neigh like stallions,

12 your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who gave you birth will be disgraced. She will be the least of the nations- a wilderness, a dry land, a desert.

13 Because of the Lord 's anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass Babylon will be horrified and scoff because of all her wounds.

14 "Take up your positions around Babylon, all you who draw the bow. Shoot at her! Spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the Lord .

15 Shout against her on every side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the Lord , take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done to others.

16 Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the reaper with his sickle at harvest. Because of the sword of the oppressor let everyone return to his own people, let everyone flee to his own land.

17 "Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon."

18 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.

19 But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his appetite will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days, at that time," declares the Lord , "search will be made for Israel's guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.

21 "Attack the land of Merathaim and those who live in Pekod. Pursue, kill and completely destroy them," declares the Lord . "Do everything I have commanded you.

22 The noise of battle is in the land, the noise of great destruction!

23 How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! How desolate is Babylon among the nations!

24 I set a trap for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it; you were found and captured because you opposed the Lord .

25 The Lord has opened his arsenal and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do in the land of the Babylonians.

26 Come against her from afar. Break open her granaries; pile her up like heaps of grain. Completely destroy her and leave her no remnant.

27 Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter! Woe to them! For their day has come, the time for them to be punished.

28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon declaring in Zion how the Lord our God has taken vengeance, vengeance for his temple.

29 "Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the Lord , the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day," declares the Lord .

31 "See, I am against you, O arrogant one," declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty, "for your day has come, the time for you to be punished.

32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall and no one will help her up; I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her."

33 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to let them go.

34 Yet their Redeemer is strong; the Lord Almighty is his name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that he may bring rest to their land, but unrest to those who live in Babylon.

35 "A sword against the Babylonians!" declares the Lord - "against those who live in Babylon and against her officials and wise men!

36 A sword against her false prophets! They will become fools. A sword against her warriors! They will be filled with terror.

37 A sword against her horses and chariots and all the foreigners in her ranks! They will become women. A sword against her treasures! They will be plundered.

38 A drought on her waters! They will dry up. For it is a land of idols, idols that will go mad with terror.

39 "So desert creatures and hyenas will live there, and there the owl will dwell. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.

40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighboring towns," declares the Lord , "so no one will live there; no man will dwell in it.

41 "Look! An army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are being stirred up from the ends of the earth.

42 They are armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and without mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.

44 Like a lion coming up from Jordan's thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Babylon from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?"

45 Therefore, hear what the Lord has planned against Babylon, what he has purposed against the land of the Babylonians: The young of the flock will be dragged away; he will completely destroy their pasture because of them.

46 At the sound of Babylon's capture the earth will tremble; its cry will resound among the nations.

51 This is what the Lord says: "See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai.

2 I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and to devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster.

3 Let not the archer string his bow, nor let him put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; completely destroy her army.

4 They will fall down slain in Babylon, fatally wounded in her streets.

5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the Lord Almighty, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel.

6 "Flee from Babylon! Run for your lives! Do not be destroyed because of her sins. It is time for the Lord 's vengeance; he will pay her what she deserves.

7 Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord 's hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.

8 Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken. Wail over her! Get balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.

9 " 'We would have healed Babylon, but she cannot be healed; let us leave her and each go to his own land, for her judgment reaches to the skies, it rises as high as the clouds.'

10 " 'The Lord has vindicated us; come, let us tell in Zion what the Lord our God has done.'

11 "Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields! The Lord has stirred up the kings of the Medes, because his purpose is to destroy Babylon. The Lord will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple.

12 Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush! The Lord will carry out his purpose, his decree against the people of Babylon.

13 You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be cut off.

14 The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself: I will surely fill you with men, as with a swarm of locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.

15 "He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

16 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

17 "Every man is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; they have no breath in them.

18 They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish.

19 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the tribe of his inheritance- the Lord Almighty is his name.

20 "You are my war club, my weapon for battle- with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms,

21 with you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter chariot and driver,

22 with you I shatter man and woman, with you I shatter old man and youth, with you I shatter young man and maiden,

23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock, with you I shatter farmer and oxen, with you I shatter governors and officials.

24 "Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion," declares the Lord .

25 "I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth," declares the Lord . "I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.

26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a foundation, for you will be desolate forever," declares the Lord .

27 "Lift up a banner in the land! Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations for battle against her; summon against her these kingdoms: Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander against her; send up horses like a swarm of locusts.

28 Prepare the nations for battle against her- the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their officials, and all the countries they rule.

29 The land trembles and writhes, for the Lord 's purposes against Babylon stand- to lay waste the land of Babylon so that no one will live there.

30 Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting; they remain in their strongholds. Their strength is exhausted; they have become like women. Her dwellings are set on fire; the bars of her gates are broken.

31 One courier follows another and messenger follows messenger to announce to the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured,

32 the river crossings seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers terrified."

33 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled; the time to harvest her will soon come."

34 "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us, he has thrown us into confusion, he has made us an empty jar. Like a serpent he has swallowed us and filled his stomach with our delicacies, and then has spewed us out.

35 May the violence done to our flesh be upon Babylon," say the inhabitants of Zion. "May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia," says Jerusalem.

36 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: "See, I will defend your cause and avenge you; I will dry up her sea and make her springs dry.

37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives.

38 Her people all roar like young lions, they growl like lion cubs.

39 But while they are aroused, I will set out a feast for them and make them drunk, so that they shout with laughter- then sleep forever and not awake," declares the Lord .

40 "I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and goats.

41 "How Sheshach will be captured, the boast of the whole earth seized! What a horror Babylon will be among the nations!

42 The sea will rise over Babylon; its roaring waves will cover her.

43 Her towns will be desolate, a dry and desert land, a land where no one lives, through which no man travels.

44 I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew out what he has swallowed. The nations will no longer stream to him. And the wall of Babylon will fall.

45 "Come out of her, my people! Run for your lives! Run from the fierce anger of the Lord .

46 Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.

47 For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her.

48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her," declares the Lord .

49 "Babylon must fall because of Israel's slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.

50 You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger! Remember the Lord in a distant land, and think on Jerusalem."

51 "We are disgraced, for we have been insulted and shame covers our faces, because foreigners have entered the holy places of the Lord 's house."

52 "But days are coming," declares the Lord , "when I will punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan.

53 Even if Babylon reaches the sky and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her," declares the Lord .

54 "The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.

55 The Lord will destroy Babylon; he will silence her noisy din. Waves of enemies will rage like great waters; the roar of their voices will resound.

56 A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken. For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in full.

57 I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake," declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

58 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Babylon's thick wall will be leveled and her high gates set on fire; the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, the nations' labor is only fuel for the flames."

59 This is the message Jeremiah gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign.

60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon-all that had been recorded concerning Babylon.

61 He said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud.

62 Then say, 'O Lord , you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither man nor animal will live in it; it will be desolate forever.'

63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.

64 Then say, 'So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will fall.' " The words of Jeremiah end here.

52 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.

2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord , just as Jehoiakim had done.

3 It was because of the Lord 's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They camped outside the city and built siege works all around it.

5 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.

7 Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah,

8 but the Babylonian army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered,

9 and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him.

10 There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah.

11 Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.

12 On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

13 He set fire to the temple of the Lord , the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down.

14 The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.

15 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon.

16 But Nebuzaradan left behind the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

17 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the Lord and they carried all the bronze to Babylon.

18 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service.

19 The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes and bowls used for drink offerings-all that were made of pure gold or silver.

20 The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the Lord , was more than could be weighed.

21 Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference ; each was four fingers thick, and hollow.

22 The bronze capital on top of the one pillar was five cubits high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar.

23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates above the surrounding network was a hundred.

24 The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers.

25 Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of his men who were found in the city.

26 Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

27 There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed. So Judah went into captivity, away from her land.

28 This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;

29 in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem;

30 in his twenty-third year, 745 Jews taken into exile by Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard. There were 4,600 people in all.

31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month.

32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

33 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king's table.

34 Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived, till the day of his death.

Lamentations

1 How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.

2 Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

3 After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she is in bitter anguish.

5 Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.

6 All the splendor has departed from the Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer.

7 In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction.

8 Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.

9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. "Look, O Lord , on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed."

10 The enemy laid hands on all her treasures; she saw pagan nations enter her sanctuary- those you had forbidden to enter your assembly.

11 All her people groan as they search for bread; they barter their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. "Look, O Lord , and consider, for I am despised."

12 "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that the Lord brought on me in the day of his fierce anger?

13 "From on high he sent fire, sent it down into my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long.

14 "My sins have been bound into a yoke ; by his hands they were woven together. They have come upon my neck and the Lord has sapped my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand.

15 "The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.

16 "This is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to restore my spirit. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed."

17 Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has decreed for Jacob that his neighbors become his foes; Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.

18 "The Lord is righteous, yet I rebelled against his command. Listen, all you peoples; look upon my suffering. My young men and maidens have gone into exile.

19 "I called to my allies but they betrayed me. My priests and my elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.

20 "See, O Lord , how distressed I am! I am in torment within, and in my heart I am disturbed, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is only death.

21 "People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my distress; they rejoice at what you have done. May you bring the day you have announced so they may become like me.

22 "Let all their wickedness come before you; deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my sins. My groans are many and my heart is faint."

2 How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion with the cloud of his anger ! He has hurled down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.

2 Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob; in his wrath he has torn down the strongholds of the Daughter of Judah. He has brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor.

3 In fierce anger he has cut off every horn of Israel. He has withdrawn his right hand at the approach of the enemy. He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything around it.

4 Like an enemy he has strung his bow; his right hand is ready. Like a foe he has slain all who were pleasing to the eye; he has poured out his wrath like fire on the tent of the Daughter of Zion.

5 The Lord is like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed her strongholds. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation for the Daughter of Judah.

6 He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden; he has destroyed his place of meeting. The Lord has made Zion forget her appointed feasts and her Sabbaths; in his fierce anger he has spurned both king and priest.

7 The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his sanctuary. He has handed over to the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord as on the day of an appointed feast.

8 The Lord determined to tear down the wall around the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withhold his hand from destroying. He made ramparts and walls lament; together they wasted away.

9 Her gates have sunk into the ground; their bars he has broken and destroyed. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and her prophets no longer find visions from the Lord .

10 The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.

11 My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers, "Where is bread and wine?" as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers' arms.

13 What can I say for you? With what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?

14 The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.

15 All who pass your way clap their hands at you; they scoff and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?"

16 All your enemies open their mouths wide against you; they scoff and gnash their teeth and say, "We have swallowed her up. This is the day we have waited for; we have lived to see it."

17 The Lord has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago. He has overthrown you without pity, he has let the enemy gloat over you, he has exalted the horn of your foes.

18 The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest.

19 Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.

20 "Look, O Lord , and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 "Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and maidens have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity.

22 "As you summon to a feast day, so you summoned against me terrors on every side. In the day of the Lord 's anger no one escaped or survived; those I cared for and reared, my enemy has destroyed."

3 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light;

3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.

4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones.

5 He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.

6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.

7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains.

8 Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.

9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked.

10 Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding,

11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help.

12 He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows.

13 He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver.

14 I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all day long.

15 He has filled me with bitter herbs and sated me with gall.

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust.

17 I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.

18 So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord ."

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.

20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.

21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord 's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord .

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him.

29 Let him bury his face in the dust- there may yet be hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace.

31 For men are not cast off by the Lord forever.

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.

33 For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

34 To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land,

35 to deny a man his rights before the Most High,

36 to deprive a man of justice- would not the Lord see such things?

37 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?

38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?

39 Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?

40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord .

41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say:

42 "We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven.

43 "You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain without pity.

44 You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.

45 You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.

46 "All our enemies have opened their mouths wide against us.

47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls, ruin and destruction."

48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.

49 My eyes will flow unceasingly, without relief,

50 until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees.

51 What I see brings grief to my soul because of all the women of my city.

52 Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird.

53 They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me;

54 the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to be cut off.

55 I called on your name, O Lord , from the depths of the pit.

56 You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief."

57 You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear."

58 O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life.

59 You have seen, O Lord , the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause!

60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me.

61 O Lord , you have heard their insults, all their plots against me-

62 what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long.

63 Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs.

64 Pay them back what they deserve, O Lord , for what their hands have done.

65 Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them!

66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord .

4 How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the head of every street.

2 How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in gold, are now considered as pots of clay, the work of a potter's hands!

3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but my people have become heartless like ostriches in the desert.

4 Because of thirst the infant's tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth; the children beg for bread, but no one gives it to them.

5 Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those nurtured in purple now lie on ash heaps.

6 The punishment of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment without a hand turned to help her.

7 Their princes were brighter than snow and whiter than milk, their bodies more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.

8 But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.

9 Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of famine; racked with hunger, they waste away for lack of food from the field.

10 With their own hands compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food when my people were destroyed.

11 The Lord has given full vent to his wrath; he has poured out his fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion that consumed her foundations.

12 The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the world's people, that enemies and foes could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.

14 Now they grope through the streets like men who are blind. They are so defiled with blood that no one dares to touch their garments.

15 "Go away! You are unclean!" men cry to them. "Away! Away! Don't touch us!" When they flee and wander about, people among the nations say, "They can stay here no longer."

16 The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.

17 Moreover, our eyes failed, looking in vain for help; from our towers we watched for a nation that could not save us.

18 Men stalked us at every step, so we could not walk in our streets. Our end was near, our days were numbered, for our end had come.

19 Our pursuers were swifter than eagles in the sky; they chased us over the mountains and lay in wait for us in the desert.

20 The Lord 's anointed, our very life breath, was caught in their traps. We thought that under his shadow we would live among the nations.

21 Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who live in the land of Uz. But to you also the cup will be passed; you will be drunk and stripped naked.

22 O Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end; he will not prolong your exile. But, O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin and expose your wickedness.

5 Remember, O Lord , what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace.

2 Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, our homes to foreigners.

3 We have become orphans and fatherless, our mothers like widows.

4 We must buy the water we drink; our wood can be had only at a price.

5 Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are weary and find no rest.

6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.

7 Our fathers sinned and are no more, and we bear their punishment.

8 Slaves rule over us, and there is none to free us from their hands.

9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the desert.

10 Our skin is hot as an oven, feverish from hunger.

11 Women have been ravished in Zion, and virgins in the towns of Judah.

12 Princes have been hung up by their hands; elders are shown no respect.

13 Young men toil at the millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood.

14 The elders are gone from the city gate; the young men have stopped their music.

15 Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.

16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!

17 Because of this our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim

18 for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, with jackals prowling over it.

19 You, O Lord , reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.

20 Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?

21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord , that we may return; renew our days as of old

22 unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

Ezekiel

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

2 On the fifth of the month-it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin-

3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was upon him.

4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north-an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,

5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man,

6 but each of them had four faces and four wings.

7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze.

8 Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings,

9 and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.

10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.

11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings, one touching the wing of another creature on either side, and two wings covering its body.

12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went.

13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it.

14 The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.

15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.

16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.

17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about as the creatures went.

18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.

19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.

20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

21 When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome.

23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body.

24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

25 Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings.

26 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.

27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.

28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD . When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

2 He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you."

2 As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said: "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day.

4 The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.'

5 And whether they listen or fail to listen-for they are a rebellious house-they will know that a prophet has been among them.

6 And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house.

7 You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.

8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."

9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,

10 which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

3 And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel."

2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

3 Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them.

5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel-

6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.

7 But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.

8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.

9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house."

10 And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.

11 Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says,' whether they listen or fail to listen."

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound-May the glory of the LORD be praised in his dwelling place!-

13 the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.

14 The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.

15 I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Abib near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days-overwhelmed.

16 At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me:

17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.

18 When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.

19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

20 "Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.

21 But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself."

22 The hand of the LORD was upon me there, and he said to me, "Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you."

23 So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown.

24 Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: "Go, shut yourself inside your house.

25 And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.

26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.

27 But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' Whoever will listen let him listen, and whoever will refuse let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.

4 "Now, son of man, take a clay tablet, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.

2 Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it.

3 Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.

4 "Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side.

5 I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel.

6 "After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

7 Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her.

8 I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.

9 "Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side.

10 Weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day and eat it at set times.

11 Also measure out a sixth of a hin of water and drink it at set times.

12 Eat the food as you would a barley cake; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel."

13 The LORD said, "In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them."

14 Then I said, "Not so, Sovereign LORD ! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth."

15 "Very well," he said, "I will let you bake your bread over cow manure instead of human excrement."

16 He then said to me: "Son of man, I will cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,

17 for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.

5 "Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair.

2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair with fire inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword.

3 But take a few strands of hair and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.

4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to the whole house of Israel.

5 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.

6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.

7 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you.

8 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.

9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.

10 Therefore in your midst fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.

11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will withdraw my favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.

12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.

13 "Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath upon them, they will know that I the LORD have spoken in my zeal.

14 "I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.

15 You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the LORD have spoken.

16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.

17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the LORD have spoken."

6 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel; prophesy against them

3 and say: 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign LORD . This is what the Sovereign LORD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

4 Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.

5 I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars.

6 Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste and the high places demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols smashed and ruined, your incense altars broken down, and what you have made wiped out.

7 Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the LORD .

8 " 'But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.

9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me-how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.

10 And they will know that I am the LORD ; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.

11 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out "Alas!" because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.

12 He that is far away will die of the plague, and he that is near will fall by the sword, and he that survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I spend my wrath upon them.

13 And they will know that I am the LORD , when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak-places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.

14 And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah -wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the LORD .' "

7 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.

3 The end is now upon you and I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices.

4 I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will surely repay you for your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD .

5 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Disaster! An unheard-of disaster is coming.

6 The end has come! The end has come! It has roused itself against you. It has come!

7 Doom has come upon you-you who dwell in the land. The time has come, the day is near; there is panic, not joy, upon the mountains.

8 I am about to pour out my wrath on you and spend my anger against you; I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices.

9 I will not look on you with pity or spare you; I will repay you in accordance with your conduct and the detestable practices among you. Then you will know that it is I the LORD who strikes the blow.

10 "The day is here! It has come! Doom has burst forth, the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed!

11 Violence has grown into a rod to punish wickedness; none of the people will be left, none of that crowd-no wealth, nothing of value.

12 The time has come, the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller grieve, for wrath is upon the whole crowd.

13 The seller will not recover the land he has sold as long as both of them live, for the vision concerning the whole crowd will not be reversed. Because of their sins, not one of them will preserve his life.

14 Though they blow the trumpet and get everything ready, no one will go into battle, for my wrath is upon the whole crowd.

15 "Outside is the sword, inside are plague and famine; those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.

16 All who survive and escape will be in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valleys, each because of his sins.

17 Every hand will go limp, and every knee will become as weak as water.

18 They will put on sackcloth and be clothed with terror. Their faces will be covered with shame and their heads will be shaved.

19 They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the LORD 's wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin.

20 They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their detestable idols and vile images. Therefore I will turn these into an unclean thing for them.

21 I will hand it all over as plunder to foreigners and as loot to the wicked of the earth, and they will defile it.

22 I will turn my face away from them, and they will desecrate my treasured place; robbers will enter it and desecrate it.

23 "Prepare chains, because the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of violence.

24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations to take possession of their houses; I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their sanctuaries will be desecrated.

25 When terror comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none.

26 Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon rumor. They will try to get a vision from the prophet; the teaching of the law by the priest will be lost, as will the counsel of the elders.

27 The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the LORD ."

8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign LORD came upon me there.

2 I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal.

3 He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood.

4 And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.

5 Then he said to me, "Son of man, look toward the north." So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.

6 And he said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing-the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable."

7 Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall.

8 He said to me, "Son of man, now dig into the wall." So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.

9 And he said to me, "Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here."

10 So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and detestable animals and all the idols of the house of Israel.

11 In front of them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.

12 He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, 'The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.' "

13 Again, he said, "You will see them doing things that are even more detestable."

14 Then he brought me to the entrance to the north gate of the house of the LORD , and I saw women sitting there, mourning for Tammuz.

15 He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this."

16 He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD , and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.

17 He said to me, "Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose!

18 Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them."

9 Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, "Bring the guards of the city here, each with a weapon in his hand."

2 And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side

4 and said to him, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."

5 As I listened, he said to the others, "Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.

6 Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.

7 Then he said to them, "Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!" So they went out and began killing throughout the city.

8 While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, "Ah, Sovereign LORD ! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?"

9 He answered me, "The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, 'The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see.'

10 So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done."

11 Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, "I have done as you commanded."

10 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of sapphire above the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim.

2 The LORD said to the man clothed in linen, "Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city." And as I watched, he went in.

3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.

4 Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD .

5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 When the LORD commanded the man in linen, "Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim," the man went in and stood beside a wheel.

7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out.

8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like the hands of a man.)

9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like chrysolite.

10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel.

11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went.

12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels.

13 I heard the wheels being called "the whirling wheels."

14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River.

16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side.

17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.

19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the LORD 's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.

21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like the hands of a man.

22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.

11 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. There at the entrance to the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

2 The LORD said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city.

3 They say, 'Will it not soon be time to build houses? This city is a cooking pot, and we are the meat.'

4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man."

5 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon me, and he told me to say: "This is what the LORD says: That is what you are saying, O house of Israel, but I know what is going through your mind.

6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead.

7 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: The bodies you have thrown there are the meat and this city is the pot, but I will drive you out of it.

8 You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign LORD .

9 I will drive you out of the city and hand you over to foreigners and inflict punishment on you.

10 You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD .

11 This city will not be a pot for you, nor will you be the meat in it; I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel.

12 And you will know that I am the LORD , for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you."

13 Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, "Ah, Sovereign LORD ! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?"

14 The word of the LORD came to me:

15 "Son of man, your brothers-your brothers who are your blood relatives and the whole house of Israel-are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, 'They are far away from the LORD ; this land was given to us as our possession.'

16 "Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.'

17 "Therefore say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.'

18 "They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols.

19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD ."

22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

23 The glory of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.

24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen went up from me,

25 and I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.

12 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.

3 "Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.

4 During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile.

5 While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it.

6 Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel."

7 So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.

8 In the morning the word of the LORD came to me:

9 "Son of man, did not that rebellious house of Israel ask you, 'What are you doing?'

10 "Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel who are there.'

11 Say to them, 'I am a sign to you.' "As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives.

12 "The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land.

13 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.

14 I will scatter to the winds all those around him-his staff and all his troops-and I will pursue them with drawn sword.

15 "They will know that I am the LORD , when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries.

16 But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the LORD ."

17 The word of the LORD came to me:

18 "Son of man, tremble as you eat your food, and shudder in fear as you drink your water.

19 Say to the people of the land: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.

20 The inhabited towns will be laid waste and the land will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD .' "

21 The word of the LORD came to me:

22 "Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: 'The days go by and every vision comes to nothing'?

23 Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer quote it in Israel.' Say to them, 'The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.

24 For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations among the people of Israel.

25 But I the LORD will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For in your days, you rebellious house, I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "

26 The word of the LORD came to me:

27 "Son of man, the house of Israel is saying, 'The vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future.'

28 "Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "

13 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: 'Hear the word of the LORD !

3 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!

4 Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals among ruins.

5 You have not gone up to the breaks in the wall to repair it for the house of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the LORD .

6 Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. They say, "The LORD declares," when the LORD has not sent them; yet they expect their words to be fulfilled.

7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, "The LORD declares," though I have not spoken?

8 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign LORD .

9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD .

10 " 'Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,

11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth.

12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, "Where is the whitewash you covered it with?"

13 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury.

14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the LORD .

15 So I will spend my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, "The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it,

16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign LORD ." '

17 "Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them

18 and say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the women who sew magic charms on all their wrists and make veils of various lengths for their heads in order to ensnare people. Will you ensnare the lives of my people but preserve your own?

19 You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.

20 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds.

21 I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the LORD .

22 Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives,

23 therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the LORD .' "

14 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me.

2 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

3 "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?

4 Therefore speak to them and tell them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the LORD will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry.

5 I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.'

6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!

7 " 'When any Israelite or any alien living in Israel separates himself from me and sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet to inquire of me, I the LORD will answer him myself.

8 I will set my face against that man and make him an example and a byword. I will cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am the LORD .

9 " 'And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the LORD have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.

10 They will bear their guilt-the prophet will be as guilty as the one who consults him.

11 Then the people of Israel will no longer stray from me, nor will they defile themselves anymore with all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "

12 The word of the LORD came to me:

13 "Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals,

14 even if these three men-Noah, Daniel and Job-were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness, declares the Sovereign LORD .

15 "Or if I send wild beasts through that country and they leave it childless and it becomes desolate so that no one can pass through it because of the beasts,

16 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate.

17 "Or if I bring a sword against that country and say, 'Let the sword pass throughout the land,' and I kill its men and their animals,

18 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , even if these three men were in it, they could not save their own sons or daughters. They alone would be saved.

19 "Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it through bloodshed, killing its men and their animals,

20 as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness.

21 "For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem my four dreadful judgments-sword and famine and wild beasts and plague-to kill its men and their animals!

22 Yet there will be some survivors-sons and daughters who will be brought out of it. They will come to you, and when you see their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled regarding the disaster I have brought upon Jerusalem-every disaster I have brought upon it.

23 You will be consoled when you see their conduct and their actions, for you will know that I have done nothing in it without cause, declares the Sovereign LORD ."

15 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest?

3 Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it to hang things on?

4 And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle, is it then useful for anything?

5 If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

6 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As I have given the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people living in Jerusalem.

7 I will set my face against them. Although they have come out of the fire, the fire will yet consume them. And when I set my face against them, you will know that I am the LORD .

8 I will make the land desolate because they have been unfaithful, declares the Sovereign LORD ."

16 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices

3 and say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.

5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised.

6 " 'Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, "Live!"

7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, you who were naked and bare.

8 " 'Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD , and you became mine.

9 " 'I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you.

10 I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments.

11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck,

12 and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.

13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.

14 And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD .

15 " 'But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his.

16 You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. Such things should not happen, nor should they ever occur.

17 You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.

18 And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them.

19 Also the food I provided for you-the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat-you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign LORD .

20 " 'And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough?

21 You slaughtered my children and sacrificed them to the idols.

22 In all your detestable practices and your prostitution you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, kicking about in your blood.

23 " 'Woe! Woe to you, declares the Sovereign LORD . In addition to all your other wickedness,

24 you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine in every public square.

25 At the head of every street you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, offering your body with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.

26 You engaged in prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and provoked me to anger with your increasing promiscuity.

27 So I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were shocked by your lewd conduct.

28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.

29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia, a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.

30 " 'How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign LORD , when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!

31 When you built your mounds at the head of every street and made your lofty shrines in every public square, you were unlike a prostitute, because you scorned payment.

32 " 'You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!

33 Every prostitute receives a fee, but you give gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from everywhere for your illicit favors.

34 So in your prostitution you are the opposite of others; no one runs after you for your favors. You are the very opposite, for you give payment and none is given to you.

35 " 'Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the LORD !

36 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because you gave them your children's blood,

37 therefore I am going to gather all your lovers, with whom you found pleasure, those you loved as well as those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and will strip you in front of them, and they will see all your nakedness.

38 I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and who shed blood; I will bring upon you the blood vengeance of my wrath and jealous anger.

39 Then I will hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your mounds and destroy your lofty shrines. They will strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry and leave you naked and bare.

40 They will bring a mob against you, who will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords.

41 They will burn down your houses and inflict punishment on you in the sight of many women. I will put a stop to your prostitution, and you will no longer pay your lovers.

42 Then my wrath against you will subside and my jealous anger will turn away from you; I will be calm and no longer angry.

43 " 'Because you did not remember the days of your youth but enraged me with all these things, I will surely bring down on your head what you have done, declares the Sovereign LORD . Did you not add lewdness to all your other detestable practices?

44 " 'Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: "Like mother, like daughter."

45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despised her husband and her children; and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despised their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.

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

47 You not only walked in their ways and copied their detestable practices, but in all your ways you soon became more depraved than they.

48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.

49 " 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.

50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.

51 Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done.

52 Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

53 " 'However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them,

54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in giving them comfort.

55 And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to what they were before; and you and your daughters will return to what you were before.

56 You would not even mention your sister Sodom in the day of your pride,

57 before your wickedness was uncovered. Even so, you are now scorned by the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines-all those around you who despise you.

58 You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the LORD .

59 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant.

60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both those who are older than you and those who are younger. I will give them to you as daughters, but not on the basis of my covenant with you.

62 So I will establish my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD .

63 Then, when I make atonement for you for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your humiliation, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "

17 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, set forth an allegory and tell the house of Israel a parable.

3 Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar,

4 he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.

5 " 'He took some of the seed of your land and put it in fertile soil. He planted it like a willow by abundant water,

6 and it sprouted and became a low, spreading vine. Its branches turned toward him, but its roots remained under it. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out leafy boughs.

7 " 'But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and full plumage. The vine now sent out its roots toward him from the plot where it was planted and stretched out its branches to him for water.

8 It had been planted in good soil by abundant water so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a splendid vine.'

9 "Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will it thrive? Will it not be uprooted and stripped of its fruit so that it withers? All its new growth will wither. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots.

10 Even if it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not wither completely when the east wind strikes it-wither away in the plot where it grew?' "

11 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

12 "Say to this rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean?' Say to them: 'The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon.

13 Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land,

14 so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty.

15 But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?

16 " 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , he shall die in Babylon, in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose oath he despised and whose treaty he broke.

17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great horde will be of no help to him in war, when ramps are built and siege works erected to destroy many lives.

18 He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Because he had given his hand in pledge and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.

19 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, I will bring down on his head my oath that he despised and my covenant that he broke.

20 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon and execute judgment upon him there because he was unfaithful to me.

21 All his fleeing troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken.

22 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.

24 All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. " 'I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.' "

18 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: " 'The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?

3 "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.

4 For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son-both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

5 "Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right.

6 He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or lie with a woman during her period.

7 He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.

8 He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man.

9 He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD .

10 "Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things

11 (though the father has done none of them): "He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor's wife.

12 He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things.

13 He lends at usury and takes excessive interest. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.

14 "But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things:

15 "He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife.

16 He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.

17 He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live.

18 But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.

19 "Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.

20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

21 "But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.

22 None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live.

23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD . Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

24 "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.

25 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

26 If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die.

27 But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.

28 Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die.

29 Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

30 "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD . Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.

31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?

32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD . Repent and live!

19 "Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel

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

3 She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he devoured men.

4 The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

5 " 'When she saw her hope unfulfilled, her expectation gone, she took another of her cubs and made him a strong lion.

6 He prowled among the lions, for he was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he devoured men.

7 He broke down their strongholds and devastated their towns. The land and all who were in it were terrified by his roaring.

8 Then the nations came against him, those from regions round about. They spread their net for him, and he was trapped in their pit.

9 With hooks they pulled him into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.

10 " 'Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water.

11 Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler's scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches.

12 But it was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them.

13 Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land.

14 Fire spread from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit. No strong branch is left on it fit for a ruler's scepter.' This is a lament and is to be used as a lament."

20 In the seventh year, in the fifth month on the tenth day, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD , and they sat down in front of me.

2 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

3 "Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign LORD .'

4 "Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their fathers

5 and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of the house of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, "I am the LORD your God."

6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.

7 And I said to them, "Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God."

8 " 'But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.

9 But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations they lived among and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites by bringing them out of Egypt.

10 Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the desert.

11 I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them.

12 Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy.

13 " 'Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws-although the man who obeys them will live by them-and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the desert.

14 But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

15 Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the desert that I would not bring them into the land I had given them-a land flowing with milk and honey, most beautiful of all lands-

16 because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols.

17 Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or put an end to them in the desert.

18 I said to their children in the desert, "Do not follow the statutes of your fathers or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols.

19 I am the LORD your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

20 Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God."

21 " 'But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws-although the man who obeys them will live by them-and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the desert.

22 But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

23 Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the desert that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries,

24 because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their fathers' idols.

25 I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by;

26 I let them become defiled through their gifts-the sacrifice of every firstborn -that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the LORD .'

27 "Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In this also your fathers blasphemed me by forsaking me:

28 When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that provoked me to anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings.

29 Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?' " (It is called Bamah to this day.)

30 "Therefore say to the house of Israel: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Will you defile yourselves the way your fathers did and lust after their vile images?

31 When you offer your gifts-the sacrifice of your sons in the fire-you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , I will not let you inquire of me.

32 " 'You say, "We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone." But what you have in mind will never happen.

33 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD , I will rule over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.

34 I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered-with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath.

35 I will bring you into the desert of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you.

36 As I judged your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign LORD .

37 I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

38 I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD .

39 " 'As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols.

40 For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD , there in the land the entire house of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.

41 I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will show myself holy among you in the sight of the nations.

42 Then you will know that I am the LORD , when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I had sworn with uplifted hand to give to your fathers.

43 There you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done.

44 You will know that I am the LORD , when I deal with you for my name's sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, O house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "

45 The word of the LORD came to me:

46 "Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest of the southland.

47 Say to the southern forest: 'Hear the word of the LORD . This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.

48 Everyone will see that I the LORD have kindled it; it will not be quenched.' "

49 Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD ! They are saying of me, 'Isn't he just telling parables?' "

21 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel

3 and say to her: 'This is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.

4 Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.

5 Then all people will know that I the LORD have drawn my sword from its scabbard; it will not return again.'

6 "Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.

7 And when they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you shall say, 'Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every knee become as weak as water.' It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD ."

8 The word of the LORD came to me:

9 "Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the Lord says: " 'A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished-

10 sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! " 'Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my son Judah ? The sword despises every such stick.

11 " 'The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer.

12 Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast.

13 " 'Testing will surely come. And what if the scepter of Judah , which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign LORD .'

14 "So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword for slaughter- a sword for great slaughter, closing in on them from every side.

15 So that hearts may melt and the fallen be many, I have stationed the sword for slaughter at all their gates. Oh! It is made to flash like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter.

16 O sword, slash to the right, then to the left, wherever your blade is turned.

17 I too will strike my hands together, and my wrath will subside. I the LORD have spoken."

18 The word of the LORD came to me:

19 "Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city.

20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.

21 For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.

22 Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works.

23 It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.

24 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do-because you have done this, you will be taken captive.

25 " 'O profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax,

26 this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.

27 A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! It will not be restored until he comes to whom it rightfully belongs; to him I will give it.'

28 "And you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says about the Ammonites and their insults: " 'A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume and to flash like lightning!

29 Despite false visions concerning you and lying divinations about you, it will be laid on the necks of the wicked who are to be slain, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax.

30 Return the sword to its scabbard. In the place where you were created, in the land of your ancestry, I will judge you.

31 I will pour out my wrath upon you and breathe out my fiery anger against you; I will hand you over to brutal men, men skilled in destruction.

32 You will be fuel for the fire, your blood will be shed in your land, you will be remembered no more; for I the LORD have spoken.' "

22 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices

3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols,

4 you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries.

5 Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, O infamous city, full of turmoil.

6 " 'See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.

7 In you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.

8 You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.

9 In you are slanderous men bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines and commit lewd acts.

10 In you are those who dishonor their fathers' bed; in you are those who violate women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean.

11 In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor's wife, another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own father's daughter.

12 In you men accept bribes to shed blood; you take usury and excessive interest and make unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion. And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign LORD .

13 " 'I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the blood you have shed in your midst.

14 Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.

15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness.

16 When you have been defiled in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the LORD .' "

17 Then the word of the LORD came to me:

18 "Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver.

19 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into Jerusalem.

20 As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace to melt it with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.

21 I will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be melted inside her.

22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath upon you.' "

23 Again the word of the LORD came to me:

24 "Son of man, say to the land, 'You are a land that has had no rain or showers in the day of wrath.'

25 There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.

26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain.

28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says'-when the LORD has not spoken.

29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.

30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

31 So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD ."

23 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.

3 They became prostitutes in Egypt, engaging in prostitution from their youth. In that land their breasts were fondled and their virgin bosoms caressed.

4 The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5 "Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians-warriors

6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen.

7 She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.

8 She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her.

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

10 They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women, and punishment was inflicted on her.

11 "Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.

12 She too lusted after the Assyrians-governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.

13 I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.

14 "But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall, figures of Chaldeans portrayed in red,

15 with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.

16 As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

17 Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.

18 When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.

19 Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt.

20 There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.

21 So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.

22 "Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will stir up your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side-

23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, the men of Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.

24 They will come against you with weapons, chariots and wagons and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment, and they will punish you according to their standards.

25 I will direct my jealous anger against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters, and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire.

26 They will also strip you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry.

27 So I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.

28 "For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.

29 They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you naked and bare, and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed. Your lewdness and promiscuity

30 have brought this upon you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.

31 You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup into your hand.

32 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "You will drink your sister's cup, a cup large and deep; it will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much.

33 You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, the cup of ruin and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria.

34 You will drink it and drain it dry; you will dash it to pieces and tear your breasts. I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD .

35 "Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you have forgotten me and thrust me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution."

36 The LORD said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront them with their detestable practices,

37 for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them.

38 They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths.

39 On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it. That is what they did in my house.

40 "They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, painted your eyes and put on your jewelry.

41 You sat on an elegant couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed the incense and oil that belonged to me.

42 "The noise of a carefree crowd was around her; Sabeans were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets on the arms of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, 'Now let them use her as a prostitute, for that is all she is.'

44 And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah.

45 But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood, because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.

46 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder.

47 The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses.

48 "So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you.

49 You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD ."

24 In the ninth year, in the tenth month on the tenth day, the word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, record this date, this very date, because the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

3 Tell this rebellious house a parable and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'Put on the cooking pot; put it on and pour water into it.

4 Put into it the pieces of meat, all the choice pieces-the leg and the shoulder. Fill it with the best of these bones;

5 take the pick of the flock. Pile wood beneath it for the bones; bring it to a boil and cook the bones in it.

6 " 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'Woe to the city of bloodshed, to the pot now encrusted, whose deposit will not go away! Empty it piece by piece without casting lots for them.

7 " 'For the blood she shed is in her midst: She poured it on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground, where the dust would cover it.

8 To stir up wrath and take revenge I put her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.

9 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'Woe to the city of bloodshed! I, too, will pile the wood high.

10 So heap on the wood and kindle the fire. Cook the meat well, mixing in the spices; and let the bones be charred.

11 Then set the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows so its impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away.

12 It has frustrated all efforts; its heavy deposit has not been removed, not even by fire.

13 " 'Now your impurity is lewdness. Because I tried to cleanse you but you would not be cleansed from your impurity, you will not be clean again until my wrath against you has subsided.

14 " 'I the LORD have spoken. The time has come for me to act. I will not hold back; I will not have pity, nor will I relent. You will be judged according to your conduct and your actions, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "

15 The word of the LORD came to me:

16 "Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears.

17 Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food of mourners ."

18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.

19 Then the people asked me, "Won't you tell us what these things have to do with us?"

20 So I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me:

21 Say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary-the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.

22 And you will do as I have done. You will not cover the lower part of your face or eat the customary food of mourners .

23 You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves.

24 Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD .'

25 "And you, son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes, their heart's desire, and their sons and daughters as well-

26 on that day a fugitive will come to tell you the news.

27 At that time your mouth will be opened; you will speak with him and will no longer be silent. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD ."

25 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

3 Say to them, 'Hear the word of the Sovereign LORD . This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you said "Aha!" over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile,

4 therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk.

5 I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD .

6 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel,

7 therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the LORD .' "

8 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because Moab and Seir said, "Look, the house of Judah has become like all the other nations,"

9 therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns-Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon and Kiriathaim-the glory of that land.

10 I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations;

11 and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD .' "

12 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because Edom took revenge on the house of Judah and became very guilty by doing so,

13 therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill its men and their animals. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword.

14 I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "

15 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah,

16 therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast.

17 I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the LORD , when I take vengeance on them.' "

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, 'Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,'

3 therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves.

4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock.

5 Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD . She will become plunder for the nations,

6 and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD .

7 "For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army.

8 He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you.

9 He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons.

10 His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the war horses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through.

11 The hoofs of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.

12 They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea.

13 I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more.

14 I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD .

15 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you?

16 Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you.

17 Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you: " 'How you are destroyed, O city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there.

18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.'

19 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you,

20 then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living.

21 I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign LORD ."

27 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre.

3 Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'You say, O Tyre, "I am perfect in beauty."

4 Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection.

5 They made all your timbers of pine trees from Senir ; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.

6 Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; of cypress wood from the coasts of Cyprus they made your deck, inlaid with ivory.

7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail and served as your banner; your awnings were of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.

8 Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen; your skilled men, O Tyre, were aboard as your seamen.

9 Veteran craftsmen of Gebal were on board as shipwrights to caulk your seams. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to trade for your wares.

10 " 'Men of Persia, Lydia and Put served as soldiers in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls, bringing you splendor.

11 Men of Arvad and Helech manned your walls on every side; men of Gammad were in your towers. They hung their shields around your walls; they brought your beauty to perfection.

12 " 'Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of goods; they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise.

13 " 'Greece, Tubal and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged slaves and articles of bronze for your wares.

14 " 'Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged work horses, war horses and mules for your merchandise.

15 " 'The men of Rhodes traded with you, and many coastlands were your customers; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

16 " 'Aram did business with you because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work, fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise.

17 " 'Judah and Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, honey, oil and balm for your wares.

18 " 'Damascus, because of your many products and great wealth of goods, did business with you in wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.

19 " 'Danites and Greeks from Uzal bought your merchandise; they exchanged wrought iron, cassia and calamus for your wares.

20 " 'Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you.

21 " 'Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats.

22 " 'The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold.

23 " 'Haran, Canneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba, Asshur and Kilmad traded with you.

24 In your marketplace they traded with you beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work and multicolored rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.

25 " 'The ships of Tarshish serve as carriers for your wares. You are filled with heavy cargo in the heart of the sea.

26 Your oarsmen take you out to the high seas. But the east wind will break you to pieces in the heart of the sea.

27 Your wealth, merchandise and wares, your mariners, seamen and shipwrights, your merchants and all your soldiers, and everyone else on board will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck.

28 The shorelands will quake when your seamen cry out.

29 All who handle the oars will abandon their ships; the mariners and all the seamen will stand on the shore.

30 They will raise their voice and cry bitterly over you; they will sprinkle dust on their heads and roll in ashes.

31 They will shave their heads because of you and will put on sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and with bitter mourning.

32 As they wail and mourn over you, they will take up a lament concerning you: "Who was ever silenced like Tyre, surrounded by the sea?"

33 When your merchandise went out on the seas, you satisfied many nations; with your great wealth and your wares you enriched the kings of the earth.

34 Now you are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you.

35 All who live in the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder with horror and their faces are distorted with fear.

36 The merchants among the nations hiss at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.' "

28 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 "Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas." But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.

3 Are you wiser than Daniel ? Is no secret hidden from you?

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

5 By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud.

6 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'Because you think you are wise, as wise as a god,

7 I am going to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations; they will draw their swords against your beauty and wisdom and pierce your shining splendor.

8 They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the seas.

9 Will you then say, "I am a god," in the presence of those who kill you? You will be but a man, not a god, in the hands of those who slay you.

10 You will die the death of the uncircumcised at the hands of foreigners. I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD .' "

11 The word of the LORD came to me:

12 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: " 'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.

16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.

17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

18 By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.