Chapter 1
- 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.
Chapter 2
- 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.
Chapter 3
- 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 Telabib, 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 stumbling-block 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.
Chapter 4
- 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.
Chapter 5
- 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.
Chapter 6
- 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.
Chapter 7
- 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 their's: 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.
Chapter 8
- 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.
Chapter 9
- 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.
Chapter 10
- 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.
Chapter 11
- 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.
Chapter 12
- 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.
Chapter 13
- 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.
Chapter 14
- 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.
Chapter 15
- 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.
Chapter 16
- 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 therewith.
- 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.
Chapter 17
- 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.
Chapter 18
- 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.
Chapter 19
- 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.
Chapter 20
- 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 whereof 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?
Chapter 21
- 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.
Chapter 22
- 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 therof.
- 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.
Chapter 23
- 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.
Chapter 24
- 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.
Chapter 25
- 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
couching place 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,
Bethjeshimoth, Baalmeon, 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.
Chapter 26
- 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.
Chapter 27
- 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.
Chapter 28
- 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 jasp
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