Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day
of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the
heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month,
which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, The word of the LORD
came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the
Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud,
and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst
thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the
midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their
appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces,
and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole
of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour
of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on
their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings
were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every
one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face
of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face
of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were
their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one
were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went
every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they
turned not when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their
appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it
went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and
out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned
as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the
living creatures, with his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their
work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and
their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a
wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not
when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful;
and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living
creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were
lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit
was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted
up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when
those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against
them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. And the likeness
of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of
the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. And under the
firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had
two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on
that side, their bodies. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings,
like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of
speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.
And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when
they stood, and had let down their wings.
And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a
throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the
throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw
as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from
the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his
loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had
brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in
the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This
was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it,
I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto
thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me
upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. And he said unto me, Son
of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath
rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me,
even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do
send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.
And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a
rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among
them.
And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words,
though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions:
be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a
rebellious house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they
will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. But thou,
son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that
rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a
book was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and
without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll,
and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused
me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat,
and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in
my mouth as honey for sweetness.
And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and
speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a
strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Not to
many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words
thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have
hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for
they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and
hardhearted. Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy
forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint
have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks,
though they be a rebellious house. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all
my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with
thine ears. And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy
people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. Then the spirit took me
up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the
glory of the LORD from his place. I heard also the noise of the wings of the
living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over
against them, and a noise of a great rushing. So the spirit lifted me up, and
took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand
of the LORD was strong upon me.
Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of
Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among
them seven days.
And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came
unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house
of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from
me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him
not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save
his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I
require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his
wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou
hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his
righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he
shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and
his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his
blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous
man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live,
because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
And the hand of the LORD was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go
forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. Then I arose, and went
forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the
glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face. Then the spirit
entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto
me, Go, shut thyself within thine house. But thou, O son of man, behold, they
shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not
go out among them: And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy
mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for
they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy
mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that
heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a
rebellious house.
Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray
upon it the city, even Jerusalem: And lay siege against it, and build a fort
against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set
battering rams against it round about. Moreover take thou unto thee an iron
pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face
against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This
shall be a sign to the house of Israel. Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay
the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the
days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid
upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days,
three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house
of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side,
and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have
appointed thee each day for a year. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward
the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt
prophesy against it. And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt
not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy
siege.
Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and
millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof,
according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three
hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. And thy meat which thou
shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt
thou eat it. Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin:
from time to time shalt thou drink. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and
thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. And the
LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among
the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my
soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not
eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there
abominable flesh into my mouth. Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee
cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread
in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall
drink water by measure, and with astonishment: That they may want bread
and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their
iniquity.
And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and
cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee
balances to weigh, and divide the hair. Thou shalt burn with fire a third part
in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt
take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt
scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. Thou shalt also
take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. Then take of them
again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for
thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the
nations and countries that are round about her. And she hath changed my
judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more
than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my
judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. Therefore thus
saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are
round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my
judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that
are round about you; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am
against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of
the nations. And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I
will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. Therefore
the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their
fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee
will I scatter into all the winds. Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely,
because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and
with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall
mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they
be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword
round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will
draw out a sword after them. Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I
will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall
know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my
fury in them. Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the
nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. So it shall
be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the
nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in
anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it. When I
shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their
destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the
famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: So will I send upon you
famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood
shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have
spoken it.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face
toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, And say, Ye
mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD
to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I,
even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. And
your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast
down your slain men before your idols. And I will lay the dead carcases of the
children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about
your altars. In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the
high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made
desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be
cut down, and your works may be abolished. And the slain shall fall in the
midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword
among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. And
they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they
shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which
hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their
idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have
committed in all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the LORD,
and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and
say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall
by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. He that is far off shall die
of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that
remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my
fury upon them. Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men
shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all
the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick
oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. So will I
stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more
desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they
shall know that I am the LORD.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Also, thou son of man,
thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon
the four corners of the land. Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send
mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will
recompense upon thee all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare
thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and
thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am
the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. An
end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. The
morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is
come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the
mountains. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish
mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will
recompense thee for all thine abominations. And mine eye shall not spare,
neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and
thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am
the LORD that smiteth. Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone
forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. Violence is risen up into a
rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of
any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them. The time is come, the
day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is
upon all the multitude thereof. For the seller shall not return to that which is
sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole
multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself
in the iniquity of his life. They have blown the trumpet, even to make all
ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude
thereof. The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he
that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine
and pestilence shall devour him.
But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like
doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. All
hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. They shall also
gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall
be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. They shall cast their
silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their
gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they
shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the
stumblingblock of their iniquity.
As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the
images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore
have I set it far from them. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for
a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. My
face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the
robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.
Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of
violence. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall
possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and
their holy places shall be defiled. Destruction cometh; and they shall seek
peace, and there shall be none. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and
rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet;
but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. The
king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the
hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after
their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall
know that I am the LORD.
And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the
month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the
hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as
the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire;
and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the
colour of amber. And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock
of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven,
and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner
gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of
jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. And, behold, the glory of the God of
Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the
north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold
northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. He said
furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great
abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far
off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater
abominations.
And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a
hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and
when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and
behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and
behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the
idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. And there
stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in
the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his
censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto
me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in
the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD
seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater
abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of
the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women
weeping for Tammuz.
Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again,
and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into
the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of
the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men,
with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the
east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to
the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit
here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to
provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore
will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and
though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have
charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying
weapon in his hand. And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher
gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his
hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's
inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. And
the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he
was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with
linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; And the LORD said unto him,
Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a
mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the
abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city,
and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and
young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any
man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at
the ancient men which were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile
the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth,
and slew in the city.
And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell
upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the
residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? Then said he
unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and
the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The
LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. And as for me also,
mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their
way upon their head. And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the
inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast
commanded me.
Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the
cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the
appearance of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed
with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill
thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them
over the city. And he went in in my sight. Now the cherubims stood on the
right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner
court. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the
threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court
was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory. And the sound of the
cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the
Almighty God when he speaketh. And it came to pass, that when he had
commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the
wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the
wheels. And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the
cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof,
and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and
went out.
And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand under their
wings. And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one
wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the
appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone. And as for their
appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst
of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not
as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they
turned not as they went. And their whole body, and their backs, and their
hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even
the wheels that they four had. As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my
hearing, O wheel. And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of
a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of
a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. And the cherubims were lifted up.
This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar. And when the
cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up
their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not
from beside them. When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted
up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in
them. Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the
house, and stood over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their
wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the
wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east
gate of the LORD's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them
above. This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the
river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims. Every one had four
faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a
man was under their wings. And the likeness of their faces was the same
faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves:
they went every one straight forward.
Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the
LORD's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five
and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah
the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. Then said he unto me, Son of man,
these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:
Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be
the flesh.
Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man. And the Spirit of
the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus
have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your
mind, every one of them. Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have
filled the streets thereof with the slain. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD;
Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city
is the caldron: but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. Ye have feared
the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord GOD. And I will
bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of
strangers, and will execute judgments among you. Ye shall fall by the sword; I
will judge you in the border of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the flesh in the midst
thereof; but I will judge you in the border of Israel: And ye shall know that I
am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my
judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round
about you.
And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah
died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah
Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, thy brethren,
even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly,
are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from
the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession. Therefore say, Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and
although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as
a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore say, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you
out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the
land of Israel. And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the
detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And
I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take
the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That
they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and
they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart
walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I
will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and
the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the LORD
went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on
the east side of the city.
Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of
God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went
up from me. Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the
LORD had shewed me.
The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying, Son of man, thou dwellest
in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they
have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. Therefore,
thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their
sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it
may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house. Then shalt thou
bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shalt
go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity. Dig thou
through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. In their sight shalt thou
bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover
thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the
house of Israel. And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by
day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with mine
hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their
sight.
And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, Son of man,
hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What doest
thou? Say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth
the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them. Say,
I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall
remove and go into captivity. And the prince that is among them shall bear
upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the
wall to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground
with his eyes. My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my
snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall
he not see it, though he shall die there. And I will scatter toward every wind
all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the
sword after them. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter
them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries. But I will leave
a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the
pestilence; that they may declare all their abominations among the heathen
whither they come; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, eat thy
bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness;
And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord GOD of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel; They shall eat their bread
with carefulness, and drink their water with astonishment, that her land may
be desolate from all that is therein, because of the violence of all them that
dwell therein. And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the
land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, what is that
proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and
every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make
this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but
say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there
shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of
Israel. For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall
come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious
house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Son of man, behold, they of
the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and
he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more,
but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy
against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that
prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and
have seen nothing! O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye
have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of
Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD. They have seen vanity and
lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and
they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have ye
not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye
say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am
against you, saith the Lord GOD. And mine hand shall be upon the prophets
that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my
people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel,
neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the
Lord GOD.
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and
there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with
untempered morter: Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter,
that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great
hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is
fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have
daubed it? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy
wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and
great hailstones in my fury to consume it. So will I break down the wall that ye
have daubed with untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so
that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall
be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Thus
will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it
with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither
they that daubed it; To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning
Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith
the Lord GOD.
Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people,
which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them, And
say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all
armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls!
Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come
unto you? And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and
for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the
souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows,
wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from
your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them
fly. Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and
they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am
the LORD. Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad,
whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that
he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: Therefore ye
shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people
out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up
their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before
their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them,
and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel
that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his
iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer
him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the
house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me
through their idols.
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and
turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your
abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that
sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his
idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his
face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD
will answer him by myself: And I will set my face against that man, and will
make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my
people; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. And if the prophet be deceived
when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I
will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my
people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the
punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that
seeketh unto him; That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me,
neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may
be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.
The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land
sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine
hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send
famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three
men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls
by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it
be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though
these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver
neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be
desolate.
Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so
that I cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men were in it, as I
live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but
they only shall be delivered themselves.
Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood,
to cut off from it man and beast: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I
live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall
but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith the Lord
GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem,
the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut
off from it man and beast?
Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both
sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see
their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that
I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon
it. And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and
ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it,
saith the Lord GOD.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is the vine
tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the
forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of
it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire
devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any
work? Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less
shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is
burned?
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the
forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one fire,
and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD,
when I set my face against them. And I will make the land desolate, because
they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord GOD.
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause
Jerusalem to know her abominations, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto
Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was
an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou
wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple
thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye pitied thee, to
do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast
out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast
born.
And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said
unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou
wast in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field,
and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent
ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou
wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee,
behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and
covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant
with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee
with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed
thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with
badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with
silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands,
and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in
thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou decked
with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered
work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding
beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth
among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness,
which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of
thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by;
his it was. And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places
with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not
come, neither shall it be so. Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold
and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of
men, and didst commit whoredom with them, And tookest thy broidered
garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense
before them. My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey,
wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour:
and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD. Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and
thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou
sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass
through the fire for them? And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms
thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and
bare, and wast polluted in thy blood. And it came to pass after all thy
wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD;) That thou hast also
built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every
street. Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made
thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed
by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. Thou hast also committed fornication
with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy
whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. Behold, therefore I have stretched out
my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered
thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines,
which are ashamed of thy lewd way. Thou hast played the whore also with
the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot
with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. Thou hast moreover multiplied
thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not
satisfied herewith. How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou
doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; In that thou
buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high
place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest
hire; But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of
her husband! They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy
lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy
whoredom. And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms,
whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest
a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered
through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy
abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto
them; Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast
taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast
hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy
nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge
thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give
thee blood in fury and jealousy. And I will also give thee into their hand, and
they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high
places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels,
and leave thee naked and bare. They shall also bring up a company against
thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with
their swords. And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute
judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to
cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more. So
will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from
thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry. Because thou hast not
remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things;
behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the
Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine
abominations.
Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee,
saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter. Thou art thy mother's daughter,
that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy
sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an
Hittite, and your father an Amorite. And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and
her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that
dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. Yet hast thou not
walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were
a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways. As I live,
saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters,
as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of
thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in
her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor
and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me:
therefore I took them away as I saw good. Neither hath Samaria committed
half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they,
and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.
Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins
that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more
righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in
that thou hast justified thy sisters. When I shall bring again their captivity, the
captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her
daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of
them: That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded
in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. When thy
sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and
Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and
thy daughters shall return to your former estate. For thy sister Sodom was
not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride, Before thy wickedness
was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and
all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise
thee round about. Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations,
saith the LORD. For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou
hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth,
and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. Then thou shalt
remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters,
thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but
not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou
shalt know that I am the LORD: That thou mayest remember, and be
confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame,
when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord
GOD.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, put forth a
riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; And say, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which
had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the
cedar: He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of
traffick; he set it in a city of merchants. He took also of the seed of the land,
and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a
willow tree. And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose
branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it
became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. There was
also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold,
this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward
him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation. It was planted in
a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it
might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. Say thou, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the
fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even
without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. Yea,
behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the
east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Say now to the
rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the
king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and
the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon; And hath taken of the
king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him:
he hath also taken the mighty of the land: That the kingdom might be base,
that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might
stand. But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt,
that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he
escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be
delivered? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king
dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant
he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Neither shall
Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war,
by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons: Seeing he
despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand,
and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. Therefore thus saith the
Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant
that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. And I will
spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring
him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath
trespassed against me. And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the
sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall
know that I the LORD have spoken it.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high
cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender
one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of
the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear
fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in
the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the
field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted
the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to
flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.
The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that ye use
this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten
sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord
GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold,
all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is
mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, And hath not eaten
upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house
of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to
a menstruous woman, And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the
debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the
hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; He that hath not given
forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his
hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is
just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like
to any one of these things, And that doeth not any of those duties, but even
hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife, Hath
oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored
the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed
abomination, Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he
then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall
surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done,
and considereth, and doeth not such like, That hath not eaten upon the
mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, Neither hath oppressed any, hath not
withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his
bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, That hath
taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase,
hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for
the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. As for his father, because he
cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not
good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the
son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes,
and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear
the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him,
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep
all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he
shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be
mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and
not that he should return from his ways, and live?
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and
committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the
wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall
not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that
he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is
not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man
turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in
them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked
man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth
that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he
considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath
committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel,
The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal?
are not your ways unequal?
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,
saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions;
so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed;
and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of
Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord
GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, And say, What
is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps
among young lions. And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a
young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. The nations
also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains
unto the land of Egypt. Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope
was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.
And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and
learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. And he knew their desolate
palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the
fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. Then the nations set against him
on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was
taken in their pit. And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the
king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more
be heard upon the mountains of Israel.
Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful
and full of branches by reason of many waters. And she had strong rods for
the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the
thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her
branches. But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground,
and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and
withered; the fire consumed them. And now she is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty ground. And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches,
which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre
to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of
the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD,
and sat before me. Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, Son of
man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be
enquired of by you. Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them?
cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel,
and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made
myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand
unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; In the day that I lifted up mine
hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I
had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all
lands: Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of
his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your
God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did
not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they
forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to
accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I
wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted before the
heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto
them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought
them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my
judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave
them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know
that I am the LORD that sanctify them. But the house of Israel rebelled against
me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my
judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths
they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the
wilderness, to consume them. But I wrought for my name's sake, that it
should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them
out. Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not
bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey,
which is the glory of all lands; Because they despised my judgments, and
walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went
after their idols. Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them,
neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness. But I said unto their
children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither
observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am the LORD
your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And
hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye
may know that I am the LORD your God. Notwithstanding the children rebelled
against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do
them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my
sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my
anger against them in the wilderness. Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand,
and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of
the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth. I lifted up mine hand unto
them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen,
and disperse them through the countries; Because they had not executed my
judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths,
and their eyes were after their fathers' idols. Wherefore I gave them also
statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;
And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the
fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end
that they might know that I am the LORD.
Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them,
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that
they have committed a trespass against me. For when I had brought them
into the land, for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they
saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their
sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there
also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink
offerings. Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go?
And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day. Wherefore say unto the
house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of
your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations? For when
ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye
pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be
enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not
be enquired of by you. And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at
all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to
serve wood and stone.
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched
out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: And I will bring you out
from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are
scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury
poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there
will I plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the
wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond
of the covenant: And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them
that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where
they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall
know that I am the LORD. As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord
GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not
hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and
with your idols. For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of
Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the
land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your
offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. I will
accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people,
and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I
will be sanctified in you before the heathen. And ye shall know that I am the
LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the
which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. And there shall ye
remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and
ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have
committed. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with
you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to
your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy
face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy
against the forest of the south field; And say to the forest of the south, Hear
the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in
thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the
flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the
north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have
kindled it: it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me,
Doth he not speak parables?
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face
toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy
against the land of Israel, And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD;
Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath,
and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will
cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go
forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: That all
flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath:
it shall not return any more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the
breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. And it shall
be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer,
For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands
shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as
water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and
say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also
furbished: It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may
glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every
tree. And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword
is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. Cry and
howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the
princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people:
smite therefore upon thy thigh. Because it is a trial, and what if the sword
contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD. Thou
therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the
sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the
great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers. I have set
the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and
their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the
slaughter. Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left,
whithersoever thy face is set. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will
cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, Also, thou son of man,
appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both
twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at
the head of the way to the city. Appoint a way, that the sword may come to
Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. For the
king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways,
to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he
looked in the liver. At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to
appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with
shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to
build a fort. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to
them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity,
that they may be taken. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have
made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are
discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that
ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity
shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off
the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that
is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he
come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning
the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword,
the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of
the glittering: Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto
thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked,
whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. Shall I cause it to
return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created,
in the land of thy nativity. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I
will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand
of brutish men, and skilful to destroy. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy
blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered:
for I the LORD have spoken it.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Now, thou son of man,
wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all
her abominations. Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth
blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against
herself to defile herself. Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast
shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou
hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years:
therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to
all countries. Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock
thee, which art infamous and much vexed. Behold, the princes of Israel, every
one were in thee to their power to shed blood. In thee have they set light by
father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with
the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. Thou
hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. In thee are
men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains:
in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. In thee have they discovered their
fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for
pollution. And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife;
and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath
humbled his sister, his father's daughter. In thee have they taken gifts to
shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily
gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord
GOD.
Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou
hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. Can thine
heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with
thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. And I will scatter thee among
the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy
filthiness out of thee. And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the
sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, the house of
Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in
the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus
saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will
gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and
iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it,
to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you
there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my
wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the
midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall
know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto her,
Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of
indignation. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a
roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the
treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst
thereof. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy
things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither
have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid
their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in
the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to
destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them
with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying,
Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. The people of the
land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor
and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought
for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap
before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed
them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their
heads, saith the Lord GOD.
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, there were
two women, the daughters of one mother: And they committed whoredoms
in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts
pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. And the names of
them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine,
and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah,
and Jerusalem Aholibah. And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine;
and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, Which were
clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men,
horsemen riding upon horses. Thus she committed her whoredoms with
them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on
whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. Neither left she her
whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they
bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of
the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These discovered her nakedness: they
took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she
became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her
inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her
whoredoms. She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and
rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them
desirable young men. Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one
way, And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men
pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with
vermilion, Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon
their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the
Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: And as soon as she saw
them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto them
into Chaldea. And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they
defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her
mind was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and
discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my
mind was alienated from her sister. Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in
calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the
harlot in the land of Egypt. For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh
is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. Thus thou
calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by
the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.
Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy
lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them
against thee on every side; The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod,
and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable
young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding
upon horses. And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and
wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler
and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and
they shall judge thee according to their judgments. And I will set my jealousy
against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy
nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take
thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.
They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy fair jewels.
Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought
from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them,
nor remember Egypt any more. For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will
deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them
from whom thy mind is alienated: And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and
shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the
nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy
whoredoms. I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a
whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into
thine hand. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep
and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth
much. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of
astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. Thou shalt
even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and
pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast
me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy
whoredoms.
The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and
Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; That they have
committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have
they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare
unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover this
they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day,
and have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to
their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and,
lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house. And furthermore, that ye
have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and,
lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and
deckedst thyself with ornaments, And satest upon a stately bed, and a table
prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil. And
a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with the men of the
common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets
upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. Then said I unto
her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and
she with them? Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that
playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd
women.
And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of
adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because they
are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. For thus saith the Lord GOD; I
will bring up a company upon them, and will give them to be removed and
spoiled. And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them
with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and burn up
their houses with fire. Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out of the land, that
all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. And they shall
recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the sins of your idols:
and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, write thee the name of
the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against
Jerusalem this same day. And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and
say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour
water into it: Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the
thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. Take the choice of the
flock, and burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them
seethe the bones of it therein.
Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose
scum is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it! bring it out piece by
piece; let no lot fall upon it. For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it
upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with
dust; That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance; I have set her
blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. Therefore thus
saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile for fire
great. Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and
let the bones be burned. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the
brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be
molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. She hath wearied herself
with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in
the fire. In thy filthiness is lewdness: because I have purged thee, and thou
wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I
have caused my fury to rest upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it: it shall
come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will
I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge
thee, saith the Lord GOD.
Also the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, behold, I take
away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou
mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. Forbear to cry, make no
mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy
shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. So I
spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in
the morning as I was commanded.
And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us,
that thou doest so? Then I answered them, The word of the LORD came unto
me, saying, Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I
will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, the desire of your
eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters
whom ye have left shall fall by the sword. And ye shall do as I have done: ye
shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. And your tires shall be
upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor
weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward
another. Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done
shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Also,
thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their
strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon
they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, That he that escapeth in
that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? In that
day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt
speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they
shall know that I am the LORD.
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face
against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; And say unto the
Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and
against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of
Judah, when they went into captivity; Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to
the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee,
and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink
thy milk. And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a
couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. For thus saith
the Lord GOD; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the
feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel;
Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee
for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will
cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt
know that I am the LORD.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the
house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; Therefore, behold, I will open the
side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the
glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, Unto the
men of the east with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that
the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. And I will
execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of
Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself
upon them; Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine
hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it
desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. And I will lay
my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do
in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall
know my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and
have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon
the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of
the sea coast. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious
rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my
vengeance upon them.
And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, because that Tyrus
hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the
people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and
will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his
waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down
her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a
rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I
have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they
shall know that I am the LORD.
For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with
chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. He shall slay
with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against
thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. And
he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break
down thy towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall
cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the
wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter
into a city wherein is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he
tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy
strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of
thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down
thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and
thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. And I will cause the noise of
thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. And I
will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets
upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the
Lord GOD.
Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy
fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee?
Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay
away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe
themselves with trembling; they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble
at every moment, and be astonished at thee. And they shall take up a
lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast
inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea,
she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it!
Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the
sea shall be troubled at thy departure. For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I
shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I
shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; When I
shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of
old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of
old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall
set glory in the land of the living; I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be
no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again,
saith the Lord GOD.
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Now, thou son of man,
take up a lamentation for Tyrus; And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at
the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Thy
borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.
They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken
cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee. Of the oaks of Bashan have
they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches
of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim. Fine linen with broidered work
from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and
purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee. The inhabitants
of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in
thee, were thy pilots. The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in
thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to
occupy thy merchandise. They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine
army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set
forth thy comeliness. The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls
round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their
shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.
Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches;
with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs. Javan, Tubal, and
Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and
vessels of brass in thy market. They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy
fairs with horses and horsemen and mules. The men of Dedan were thy
merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought
thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony. Syria was thy merchant by
reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs
with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and
agate. Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in
thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.
Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for
the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool. Dan also
and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and
calamus, were in thy market. Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for
chariots. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in
lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants. The merchants
of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs
with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold. Haran, and
Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy
merchants. These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes,
and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and
made of cedar, among thy merchandise. The ships of Tarshish did sing of
thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the
midst of the seas.
Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken
thee in the midst of the seas. Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy
mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise,
and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the
midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. The
suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. And all that handle
the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from
their ships, they shall stand upon the land; And shall cause their voice to be
heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their
heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: And they shall make
themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall
weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. And in their wailing
they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What
city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea? When thy wares
went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the
kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise. In
the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters
thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall. All the
inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be
sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance. The merchants
among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be
any more.
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the
prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and
thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet
thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from
thee: With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee
riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy great
wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is
lifted up because of thy riches: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because
thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring
strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their
swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them
that are slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that
slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of
him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the
hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a
lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou
hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering,
the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the
sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy
tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast
created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so:
thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in
the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day
that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy
merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast
sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I
will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy
wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay
thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy
sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick;
therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee,
and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that
behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at
thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face
against Zidon, and prophesy against it, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee:
and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall have executed judgments
in her, and shall be sanctified in her. For I will send into her pestilence, and
blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her
by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any
grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they
shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have
gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are
scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then
shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they
shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea,
they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all
those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the
LORD their God.
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt:
Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh
king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath
said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks
in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I
will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers
shall stick unto thy scales. And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness,
thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou
shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the
beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. And all the inhabitants of
Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to
the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst
break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou
brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee,
and cut off man and beast out of thee. And the land of Egypt shall be
desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath
said, The river is mine, and I have made it. Behold, therefore I am against
thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste
and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. No
foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it,
neither shall it be inhabited forty years. And I will make the land of Egypt
desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among
the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the
Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries.
Yet thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the
Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: And I will bring again
the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros,
into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom. It
shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more
above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over
the nations. And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel,
which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after
them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the
first day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of
man, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great
service against Tyrus: every head was made bald, and every shoulder was
peeled: yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he
had served against it: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will give
the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her
multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for
his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he
served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord GOD.
In that day will I cause the horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will
give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know
that I am the LORD.
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy and
say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near,
even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the
heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in
Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her
multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. Ethiopia, and Libya,
and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land
that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. Thus saith the LORD; They
also that uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down:
from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.
And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and
her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. And they shall
know that I am the LORD, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her
helpers shall be destroyed. In that day shall messengers go forth from me in
ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon
them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will
also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon. He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, shall
be brought to destroy the land: and they shall draw their swords against
Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. And I will make the rivers dry, and sell
the land into the hand of the wicked: and I will make the land waste, and all
that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the LORD have spoken it. Thus saith
the Lord GOD; I will also destroy the idols, and I will cause their images to
cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt:
and I will put a fear in the land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and
will set fire in Zoan, and will execute judgments in No. And I will pour my fury
upon Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the multitude of No. And I
will set fire in Egypt: Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder,
and Noph shall have distresses daily. The young men of Aven and of Pi-beseth
shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity. At
Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the
yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a
cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus will I
execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day
of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I
have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound
up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of
Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I
will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. And I will scatter the Egyptians
among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. And I will
strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand:
but I will break Pharaoh's arms, and he shall groan before him with the
groanings of a deadly wounded man. But I will strengthen the arms of the
king of Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down; and they shall know
that I am the LORD, when I shall put my sword into the hand of the king of
Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of Egypt. And I will scatter
the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries;
and they shall know that I am the LORD.
And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of
the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man,
speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in
thy greatness?
Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a
shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick
boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her
rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all
the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of
the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long
because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of
heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the
beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all
great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches:
for his root was by great waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not
hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were
not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in
his beauty. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all
the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in
height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is
lifted up in his height; I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the
mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him
out for his wickedness. And strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut
him off, and have left him: upon the mountains and in all the valleys his
branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land;
and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left
him. Upon his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts
of the field shall be upon his branches: To the end that none of all the trees
by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top
among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that
drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the
earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused
a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof,
and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him,
and all the trees of the field fainted for him. I made the nations to shake at
the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend
into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that
drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. They also
went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they
that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of
Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether
parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them
that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord
GOD.
And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day
of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man,
take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art
like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou
camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and
fouledst their rivers. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my
net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in
my net. Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the
open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee,
and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. And I will lay thy flesh
upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height. I will also water with
thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the
rivers shall be full of thee. And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the
heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I
make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. I
will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction
among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known. Yea, I will
make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for
thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at
every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall.
For thus saith the Lord GOD; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come
upon thee. By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the
terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt,
and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed. I will destroy also all the
beasts thereof from beside the great waters; neither shall the foot of man
trouble them any more, nor the hoofs of beasts trouble them. Then will I
make their waters deep, and cause their rivers to run like oil, saith the Lord
GOD. When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate, and the country shall be
destitute of that whereof it was full, when I shall smite all them that dwell
therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD. This is the lamentation
wherewith they shall lament her: the daughters of the nations shall lament
her: they shall lament for her, even for Egypt, and for all her multitude, saith
the Lord GOD.
It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, wail for the
multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the
famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down
into the pit. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? go down, and be thou laid with
the uncircumcised. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the
sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes. The
strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with
them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the
sword. Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of
them slain, fallen by the sword: Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit,
and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the
sword, which caused terror in the land of the living. There is Elam and all her
multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which
are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which
caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame
with them that go down to the pit. They have set her a bed in the midst of the
slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them
uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land
of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the
pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain. There is Meshech, Tubal, and
all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised,
slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living.
And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised,
which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid
their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones,
though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. Yea, thou
shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that
are slain with the sword. There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which
with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie
with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. There be the
princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down
with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie
uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame
with them that go down to the pit. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be
comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the
sword, saith the Lord GOD. For I have caused my terror in the land of the
living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that
are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord
GOD.
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the
children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a
land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their
watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the
trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the
trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his
blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and
took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning
shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not
the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any
person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I
require at the watchman's hand.
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;
therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost
not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn
the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall
die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak,
saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in
them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from
his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O
house of Israel? Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy
people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of
his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall
thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the
righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When
I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own
righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be
remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his
sin, and do that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge,
give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing
iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath
committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful
and right; he shall surely live.
Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for
them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the
wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he
shall live thereby.
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge
you every one after his ways.
And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in
the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came
unto me, saying, The city is smitten. Now the hand of the LORD was upon me
in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth,
until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no
more dumb. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man,
they that inhabit those wastes of the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham
was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for
inheritance. Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Ye eat with
the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall
ye possess the land? Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye
defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land? Say thou
thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely they that are in the
wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to
the beasts to be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall
die of the pestilence. For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of
her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that
none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I
have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which
they have committed.
Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee
by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every
one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that
cometh forth from the LORD. And they come unto thee as the people cometh,
and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will
not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth
after their covetousness. And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of
one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they
hear thy words, but they do them not. And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it
will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed
themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye
clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which
was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye
brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which
was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were
scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the
beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through
all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon
all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I live, saith the Lord
GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to
every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my
shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed
not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my
flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither
shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from
their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and
seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is
among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will
deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy
and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them
from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them
upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of
the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains
of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat
pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and
I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was
lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which
was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat
and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between
cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing
unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with
your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters,
but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that
which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have
fouled with your feet.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge
between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust
with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till
ye have scattered them abroad; Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall
no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up
one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he
shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their
God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts
to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and
sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill
a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there
shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and
the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and
shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke,
and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of
the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them
afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no
more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the
heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with
them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord
GOD. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God,
saith the Lord GOD.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it, And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate. I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end: Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth. And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword. I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there: Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee. And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate. As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye
mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places
are ours in possession: Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side,
that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are
taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: Therefore, ye
mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD
to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the
desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and
derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; Therefore thus
saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the
residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my
land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds,
to cast it out for a prey. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and
say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury,
because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: Therefore thus saith the
Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you,
they shall bear their shame.
But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield
your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I
am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: And I will
multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities
shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will multiply upon
you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle
you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your
beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. Yea, I will cause men to
walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou
shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them
of men. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land
devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations; Therefore thou shalt
devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord
GOD. Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any
more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither
shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, when the
house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and
by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed
woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had
shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it: And I
scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the
countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned
my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and
are gone forth out of his land.
But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned
among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore say unto the house of
Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel,
but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen,
whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned
among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the
heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be
sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the
heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own
land.
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my
spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your
fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you
from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it,
and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the
increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among
the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings
that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your
iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the
Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own
ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have
cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities,
and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled,
whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say,
This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste
and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then
the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the
ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and
I will do it. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the
house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As
the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the
waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the
LORD.
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the
LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And
caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many
in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of
man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again
he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry
bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones;
Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay
sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin,
and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise,
and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And
when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin
covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me,
Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon
these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and
the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an
exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut
off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up
out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know
that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and
brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall
live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD
have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of
man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of
Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph,
the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join
them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou
not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim,
and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the
stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children
of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather
them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them
one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be
king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be
divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile
themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor
with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their
dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall
they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king
over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my
judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the
land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have
dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their
children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for
ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an
everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and
will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also
shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And
the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary
shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face
against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and
prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against
thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back,
and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army,
horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a
great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia,
Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer,
and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his
bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for
thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou
a guard unto them.
After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into
the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many
people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it
is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover
the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the
Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come
into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will
go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that
dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor
gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the
desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are
gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in
the midst of the land. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with
all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil?
hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold,
to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many
people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a
mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud
to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my
land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O
Gog, before their eyes. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have
spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in
those days many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall
come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of
Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my
jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there
shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and
the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things
that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the
earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down,
and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I
will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord
GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against
him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his
bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and
great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify
myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know
that I am the LORD.
Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and
Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will
cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the
mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will
cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the
mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee:
I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the
field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it,
saith the Lord GOD. And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that
dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. So will I
make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let
them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am
the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I
have spoken. And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall
set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the
bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall
burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the
field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons
with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that
robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of
graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it
shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all
his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. And seven
months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse
the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to
them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. And they
shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to
bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to
cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. And the
passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then
shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of
Hamon-gog. And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they
cleanse the land.
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered
fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather
yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a
great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink
blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes
of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings
of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be
drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled
at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of
war, saith the Lord GOD. And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all
the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I
have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD
their God from that day and forward.
And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for
their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face
from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by
the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their
transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have
mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they
have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none
made them afraid. When I have brought them again from the people, and
gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the
sight of many nations; Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God,
which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have
gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more
there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out
my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in
the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was
smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought
me thither. In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and
set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the
south. And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose
appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand,
and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. And the man said unto me,
Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine
heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them
unto thee art thou brought hither: declare all that thou seest to the house of
Israel.
And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's
hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth:
so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one
reed.
Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the
stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed
broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad. And
every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the
little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of
the gate within was one reed. He measured also the porch of the gate within,
one reed. Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the
posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward. And the little
chambers of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that
side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this
side and on that side. And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate,
ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. The space also before
the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on
that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits
on that side. He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber
to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against
door. He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the
court round about the gate. And from the face of the gate of the entrance
unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits. And there were
narrow windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate
round about, and likewise to the arches: and windows were round about
inward: and upon each post were palm trees. Then brought he me into the
outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the
court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. And the
pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was
the lower pavement. Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of
the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred
cubits eastward and northward.
And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he
measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. And the little
chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the
posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate:
the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.
And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the
measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it
by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. And the gate of the
inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east;
and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.
After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the
south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according
to these measures. And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof
round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth
five and twenty cubits. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the
arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and
another on that side, upon the posts thereof.
And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured
from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. And he brought me to
the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according
to these measures; And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof,
and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were
windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long,
and five and twenty cubits broad. And the arches round about were five and
twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward
the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up
to it had eight steps.
And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured
the gate according to these measures. And the little chambers thereof, and
the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures:
and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was
fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And the arches thereof
were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof,
on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps.
And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these
measures; The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches
thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and
the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the posts thereof were toward the
utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on
that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And the chambers and the
entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt
offering.
And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on
that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the
trespass offering. And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the
north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of
the gate, were two tables. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on
that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their
sacrifices. And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a
cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high:
whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt
offering and the sacrifice. And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened
round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.
And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner
court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward
the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the
north. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the
south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house. And the
chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of
the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi,
which come near to the LORD to minister unto him. So he measured the court,
an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the
altar that was before the house.
And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the
porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of
the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side. The
length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; and he
brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by
the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.
Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits. Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits. So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place. After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side. And the side chambers were three, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side chambers round about, that they might have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house. And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst. I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits. The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within. And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side. And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about. Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long; Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits. And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court; The door posts, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, cieled with wood round about, and from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were covered; To that above the door, even unto the inner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by measure. And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces; So that the face of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side: it was made through all the house round about. From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple. The posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appearance of the one as the appearance of the other. The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD. And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors. And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door. And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the walls; and there were thick planks upon the face of the porch without. And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.
Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and
he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place,
and which was before the building toward the north. Before the length of an
hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. Over
against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the
pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three
stories. And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits breadth inward, a
way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north. Now the upper chambers
were shorter: for the galleries were higher than these, than the lower, and
than the middlemost of the building. For they were in three stories, but had
not pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the building was straitened
more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground. And the wall that
was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the
forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. For the length of
the chambers that were in the utter court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the
temple were an hundred cubits. And from under these chambers was the
entry on the east side, as one goeth into them from the utter court. The
chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, over
against the separate place, and over against the building. And the way before
them was like the appearance of the chambers which were toward the north,
as long as they, and as broad as they: and all their goings out were both
according to their fashions, and according to their doors. And according to
the doors of the chambers that were toward the south was a door in the head
of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one
entereth into them.
Then said he unto me, The north chambers and the south chambers, which
are before the separate place, they be holy chambers, where the priests that
approach unto the LORD shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the
most holy things, and the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the
trespass offering; for the place is holy. When the priests enter therein, then
shall they not go out of the holy place into the utter court, but there they shall
lay their garments wherein they minister; for they are holy; and shall put on
other garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people.
Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought
me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it
round about. He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five
hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. He measured the
north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. He
measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed.
He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the
measuring reed. He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about,
five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation
between the sanctuary and the profane place.
Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the
east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the
east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with
his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw,
even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and
the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon
my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate
whose prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me
into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. And I
heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me.
And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of
the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for
ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they,
nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their
high places. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their
post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled
my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I
have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their
whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the
midst of them for ever.
Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be
ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be
ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and
the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof,
and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms
thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may
keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit
thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit
and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a
cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a
span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar. And from the bottom
upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth
one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four
cubits, and the breadth one cubit. So the altar shall be four cubits; and from
the altar and upward shall be four horns. And the altar shall be twelve cubits
long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. And the settle shall be
fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the
border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit
about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.
And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the
ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt
offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. And thou shalt give to the
priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to
minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering. And
thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on
the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt
thou cleanse and purge it. Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering,
and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the
sanctuary. And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without
blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse
it with the bullock. When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt
offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without
blemish. And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast
salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the
LORD. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they
shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without
blemish. Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall
consecrate themselves. And when these days are expired, it shall be, that
upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt
offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith
the Lord GOD.
Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which
looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This
gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it;
because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be
shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the
LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by
the way of the same.
Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I
looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I
fell upon my face. And the LORD said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and
behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee
concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws
thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of
the sanctuary. And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of
Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all
your abominations, In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers,
uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to
pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and
they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. And ye
have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my
charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor
uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is
among the children of Israel.
And the Levites that are gone away far from me, when Israel went astray,
which went astray away from me after their idols; they shall even bear their
iniquity. Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the
gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt
offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to
minister unto them. Because they ministered unto them before their idols,
and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up
mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their
iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest
unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place:
but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have
committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all
the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein.
But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my
sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come
near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto
me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: They shall enter into my
sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and
they shall keep my charge.
And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner
court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come
upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.
They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen
breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that
causeth sweat. And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the
utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they
ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other
garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments. Neither
shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall
only poll their heads. Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into
the inner court. Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is
put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a
widow that had a priest before. And they shall teach my people the difference
between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the
unclean and the clean. And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and
they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws
and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.
And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves: but for father, or
for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had
no husband, they may defile themselves. And after he is cleansed, they shall
reckon unto him seven days. And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary,
unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin
offering, saith the Lord GOD. And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am
their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their
possession. They shall eat the meat offering, and the sin offering, and the
trespass offering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. And the
first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of
your oblations, shall be the priest's: ye shall also give unto the priest the first
of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house. The
priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be
fowl or beast.
Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer
an oblation unto the LORD, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the
length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten
thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. Of this
there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in
breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs
thereof. And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and
twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the
sanctuary and the most holy place. The holy portion of the land shall be for
the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister
unto the LORD: and it shall be a place for their houses, and an holy place for
the sanctuary. And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten
thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers of the house, have
for themselves, for a possession for twenty chambers.
And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five
and twenty thousand long, over against the oblation of the holy portion: it
shall be for the whole house of Israel.
And a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of
the oblation of the holy portion, and of the possession of the city, before the
oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the
west side westward, and from the east side eastward: and the length shall be
over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border.
In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more
oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of
Israel according to their tribes.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove
violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your
exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. Ye shall have just balances,
and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one
measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the
ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the
homer. And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty
shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.
This is the oblation that ye shall offer; the sixth part of an ephah of an homer
of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of an homer of barley:
Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of
a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an
homer: And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat
pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace
offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD. All the people
of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. And it shall be the
prince's part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings,
in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of
the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering,
and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the
house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the first month, in the first day of
the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the
sanctuary: And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it
upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the
altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. And so thou shalt do
the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is
simple: so shall ye reconcile the house. In the first month, in the fourteenth
day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days;
unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that day shall the prince prepare
for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. And
seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the LORD, seven
bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of
the goats daily for a sin offering. And he shall prepare a meat offering of an
ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and an hin of oil for an ephah.
In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in
the feast of the seven days, according to the sin offering, according to the
burnt offering, and according to the meat offering, and according to the oil.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the
east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened,
and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter
by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of
the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace
offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go
forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. Likewise the people of
the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths
and in the new moons. And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto
the LORD in the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram
without blemish. And the meat offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the
meat offering for the lambs as he shall be able to give, and an hin of oil to an
ephah. And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without
blemish, and six lambs, and a ram: they shall be without blemish. And he
shall prepare a meat offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a
ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and an hin of
oil to an ephah. And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of
the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.
But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn
feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go
out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the
south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by
the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.
And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in; and when
they go forth, shall go forth. And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meat
offering shall be an ephah to a bullock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the
lambs as he is able to give, and an hin of oil to an ephah. Now when the
prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily
unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east,
and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on
the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall
shut the gate. Thou shalt daily prepare a burnt offering unto the LORD of a
lamb of the first year without blemish: thou shalt prepare it every morning.
And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of
an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a
meat offering continually by a perpetual ordinance unto the LORD. Thus shall
they prepare the lamb, and the meat offering, and the oil, every morning for a
continual burnt offering.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the
inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by
inheritance. But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then
it shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the prince: but his
inheritance shall be his sons' for them. Moreover the prince shall not take of
the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their
possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession:
that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.
After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into
the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north: and,
behold, there was a place on the two sides westward. Then said he unto me,
This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin
offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out
into the utter court, to sanctify the people. Then he brought me forth into the
utter court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and,
behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. In the four corners of
the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these
four corners were of one measure. And there was a row of building round
about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places
under the rows round about. Then said he unto me, These are the places of
them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the
people.
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold,
waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the
forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from
under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then
brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the
way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and,
behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man that had
the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and
he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he
measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were
to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the
waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a
river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a
river that could not be passed over.
And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me,
and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned,
behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on
the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east
country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being
brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to
pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall
come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because
these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing
shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers
shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to
spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the
great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marishes
thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon
the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat,
whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall
bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they
issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the
leaf thereof for medicine.
Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the
land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up
mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for
inheritance. And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side,
from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad; Hamath,
Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border
of Hamath; Hazar-hatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran. And the border
from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north
northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side. And the east
side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead,
and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And
this is the east side. And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the
waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side
southward. The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a
man come over against Hamath. This is the west side. So shall ye divide this
land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto
you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children
among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the
children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of
Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth,
there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of
the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazar-enan, the border of
Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and
west; a portion for Dan. And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the
west side, a portion for Asher. And by the border of Asher, from the east side
even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali. And by the border of Naphtali,
from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh. And by the
border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for
Ephraim. And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the
west side, a portion for Reuben. And by the border of Reuben, from the east
side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be
the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth,
and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side:
and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it. The oblation that ye shall offer
unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten
thousand in breadth. And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy
oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the
west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth,
and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary
of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof. It shall be for the priests that are
sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not
astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray. And
this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy
by the border of the Levites. And over against the border of the priests the
Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in
breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten
thousand. And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the
firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and
twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for
suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof. And these shall be the
measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the
south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four
thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five
hundred. And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred
and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east
two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty. And the
residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten
thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against
the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food
unto them that serve the city. And they that serve the city shall serve it out of
all the tribes of Israel. All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by
five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with
the possession of the city.
And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of
the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and
twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over
against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against
the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the
sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof. Moreover from the
possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the
midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the
border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince. As for the rest of the tribes, from
the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion. And by the
border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have
a portion. And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side,
Issachar a portion. And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the
west side, Zebulun a portion. And by the border of Zebulun, from the east
side unto the west side, Gad a portion. And by the border of Gad, at the south
side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of
strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea. This is the land which
ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are
their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and
five hundred measures.
And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three
gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and
one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan. And at the south
side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of
Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. At the west side four
thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate
of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. It was round about eighteen thousand
measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.