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

And you, son of man, you must not be afraid of them, and you must not be afraid of their words, because briers and thorns [are] with you, and you [are] sitting among scorpions. You must not be afraid of their words, and you must not be dismayed because of their {looks}, for they [are] a rebellious house.

And you must speak my words to them whether they listen or whether they fail [to listen], for they [are] rebellious.

And you, son of man, hear what I [am] speaking to you: you must not be rebellious like [the] house of rebellion. Open your mouth and eat what I [am] giving to you."

and he said to me, "Son of man, you must give your stomach [this] to eat, and you must fill your belly [with] this scroll that I [am] giving to you." And I ate, and it became {like sweet honey} in my mouth.

And he said to me, "Son of man, come! Go to the house of Israel, and you must speak to them with my words.

Like a diamond {harder than flint} I have made your forehead; you must not fear them, and you must not be dismayed {on account of them}, for they {are a rebellious house}.

And come, go to the exiles, to the children of your people, and you must speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh!' whether they listen or whether they fail [to listen]."

"Son of man, I have appointed you [as] a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.

If I say unto thee, concerning the ungodly man, that without doubt he must die: and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest unto him, that he may turn from his evil way, and so to live - Then shall the same ungodly man die in his own unrighteousness, but his blood will I require of thine hand.

whereas when Thou hast warned a righteous man. That a righteous man must not sin and he hath not sinned, he shall surely live in that he took warning, and thou hast delivered thine own soul.

And when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "The [one] hearing him, let him hear, and the [one] failing [to hear], let him fail," ' for they {are a rebellious house}.

"Now, son of man, take for yourself a brick, and you must put it {before you}, and you must portray on it a city, Jerusalem.

And you must build against it siege works, and you must build against it bulwark, and you must heap against it a siege ramp, and you must set up against it camps and put against it a battering ram all around.

And take for yourself a plate of iron, and you must place it [as] a wall of iron between you and the city, and you must set your face against it, and it must be {under siege}, and you must lay the siege against it; it is a sign for the house of Israel.

And you, lie down on your left side, and you must put the guilt of the house of Israel on it. You will carry their guilt the number of days that you will lie on it.

And I will give to you the years of their guilt according to [the] number of [the] days, three hundred and ninety days, and you must bear the guilt of the house of Israel.

When you have completed these, then you must lie a second [time] on your right side; and you must bear the guilt of the house of Judah forty days, a day for each year, a day for each year I give it to you.

And toward the siege of Jerusalem you must set your face and your bared arm; then you must prophesy against it.

"And you, take for yourself wheat and barley and beans and lentils and millet and spelt, and you must put them in one vessel, and you must make them for yourself into a food [during] the number of days that you [are] lying on your side; three hundred and ninety days you shall eat it.

The food you eat will be eight ounces a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed times.

And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; you must drink it at fixed times.

And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement."

"And you, son of man, take for yourself a sword, sharp [as] {a barber's razor}. Take it for yourself, and you must cause [it] to pass over your head and over your beard, and you must take for yourself a set of scales for weighing, and you must divide them.

A third you must burn with fire in the midst of the city at {the completion} of the days of the siege, and you must take a third, and you must strike [it] with the sword around it, and a third you must scatter to the wind, and I will draw a sword behind them.

And you must take from these a few in number, and you must tuck them in your hem.

And from them again you shall take [some], and you must throw them in the middle of the fire, and you must burn them with fire; from it a fire will go out to all of the house of Israel.

and you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys: "Look, I [am] bringing upon you [the] sword, and I will destroy your high places,

He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing here, more detestable things that the house of Israel is committing, so that I must depart from My sanctuary? You will see even more detestable things.”

He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the repulsive acts which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and repeatedly provoked Me to anger? And behold, they are putting the branch to their nose.

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

You must kill {totally} old man, young man and young woman, and little children and women, but {concerning} every man {with the mark on him} you must not approach; and from my sanctuary you must begin." And they began with the old men who {were before} the house.

And you, son of man, prepare for yourself [the] baggage of an exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes. And you must go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes; perhaps they will see that they [are] a house of rebellion.

And you must bring out your baggage like [the] baggage of an exile by day before their eyes, and you must go out in the evening before their eyes like {those who go into exile}.

Before their eyes dig through for yourself, through the wall, and you must bring [the baggage] out through it.

Before their eyes, on your shoulder, you must lift up [the baggage] in the dusk, [and] your face you must cover, so that you may not see the land, for I make you [as] a sign to the house of Israel."

"Son of man, you must eat your food with trembling, and your water with shuddering, and with anxiety you must drink.

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

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

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

Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt and [yet] he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act with [respect to] the multitude of his idols,

and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth [were] from the land of the Canaanites, your father [was] an Amorite, and your mother [was] a Hittite.

You must also bear your disgrace, since you have been an advocate for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you because of your sins, which you committed more abhorrently than they did. So you also, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.

Your wickedness and your detestable things, you, you must bear them,' {declares} Yahweh.

and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{The great eagle with great wings and long feathers} [and] {full of variegated plumage} came to Lebanon and he took the treetop of the cedar.

so it would be a lowly kingdom which could not rise on its own but must keep its treaty with him in order to stand.

Could I take delight, in the death of the lawless? Demandeth My Lord. Yahweh. Must it not be in his turning from his ways in which case he shall live?

and you must say, 'What a lioness [was] your mother among [the] lions. She lay down in the midst of young lions, [and] she reared her lion cubs.

"Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "[Are] you coming to consult me? {As I live}, I will surely not allow myself to be consulted by you!" ' {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

And you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "On the day of my choosing Israel {I swore} to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and {I swore} to them, {saying}, 'I [am] Yahweh your God.'

Then I said to them, '[Let] each [one] throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I [am] Yahweh your God.'

I gave them My statutes and explained My ordinances to them, which, if a man keeps, he will live.

But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they despised and rejected My ordinances, which, if a man keeps, he will live; and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I decided to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.

"And I said to their children in the desert, 'You must not go in the statutes of your parents; you must not keep their regulations, and you must not make yourself unclean with their idols.

Yet the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, which, if a man keeps, he will live; they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I decided to pour out My wrath on them and finish My anger against them in the wilderness.

"Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Again [in] this your ancestors blasphemed me {at their display of infidelity toward me}." '

And you must say to the forest of the Negev, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am kindling against you a fire, and it will devour in you every fresh tree and every dry tree; [the] blaze of [the] flame will not be quenched, and all the surfaces from [the] south [to] [the] north will be scorched by it.

And you must say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says Yahweh: "Look! I [am] against you, and I will draw out my sword from its sheath, and I will cut [off] from you [the] righteous and [the] wicked.

And you, son of man, groan {with shaking hips}, and you must groan with bitterness before their eyes.

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

"Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord,' say, 'A sword, a sword [is] sharpened and [is] also polished.

‘It is sharpened to make a slaughter,
Polished to flash and glimmer like lightning!’

Shall we then rejoice [when such a disaster approaches]? But it rejects and views with contempt the scepter of My son [Judah].

"And you, son of man, mark [out] for yourself two roads for the coming of the sword of the king of Babylon; they must {both} go out from the same land. And hew [out] a {signpost}; hew [it] at [the] head of [the] road of [the] city.

You must mark a road for [the] coming of [the] sword [to] Rabbah of the {Ammonites} and [to] Judah, in Jerusalem [the] fortified.

Nevertheless, as for the soothsaying, they shall hold it but for vanity; even as though a jest were told them. Yea and they themselves remember their wickedness, so that by right they must be taken and won.

this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tear off the turban, take off the crown! Things must change! Exalt the lowly, bring down the proud!

And you, son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the {Ammonites} and concerning their disgrace,' and you must say, 'A sword, a sword [is] drawn for slaughtering; [it is] polished for holding, {for flashing like lightning},

"And you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the {bloody city}? Then you must make known [to] her all of her detestable things!

And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "A city pouring out blood in the midst of her; {its time has come}, and it made idols for itself, becoming unclean.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and promiscuity.”

Yea verily, that ye must needs send for men, ready to come in. from afar-in that a messenger was sent unto them. and to they came, For whom thou didst bathe thyself Paint thine eyes And deck thyself with ornaments.

And an assembly must stone them [with] stones, and they must cut them down. With their swords they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and with fire they shall burn their houses.

And {deliver a proverb} to {the rebellious house}, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Place the pot! Place [it] and also pour water into it.

But it will not go off, there is so much of it: the rustiness must be burnt out.

“Son of man, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a fatal blow. But you must not lament or weep or let your tears flow.

Sigh in silence [for the] dead; you shall not make a mourning ceremony. Bind your turban on you, and you must put your sandals on your feet. You must not cover your [upper] lip, and the bread of {mourners} you shall not eat."

And your turban [must be] on your heads, and your sandals [must be] on your feet. You shall not mourn, and you shall not weep, but you shall waste away because of your iniquities, and you shall groan {to one another}.

and you must say to the {Ammonites}, 'Hear the word of the Lord Yahweh! Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of your saying, 'Ah!' to my sanctuary when it was profaned, and to the land of Israel when it was desolate, and to the house of Judah when they went into the exile,

And you must say to Tyre, the one who sits at [the] entrance of the sea [as] the merchant of the peoples to the many coastlands, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Tyre, {you yourself said} "I [am] perfect {in beauty}!"

"Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre, and you must say to him, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "You were a perfect model of an example, full of wisdom and perfect of beauty.

and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I [am] against you, Sidon, and I display my glory in the midst of you, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh {when I execute my judgments}, and I will show myself holy within it.

Speak, and you must say, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great sea monster, the [one] lying down in the midst of his Nile streams, who says to me, "[It is] my Nile, and I made [it] [for] myself."

"Son of man, prophesy, and you must say, 'thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Wail, alas! For the day!

To whom shalt thou be likened, that art so glorious and great, among the trees of Eden? Yet art thou cast down under the earth, among the trees of Eden, where thou must lie among the uncircumcised, with them that be slain with the sword. Even thus is it with Pharaoh and all his people, sayeth the LORD God.'"

"Son of man, raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you must say to him, '[With] a fierce, strong lion among nations you compared yourself, and you [are] like the sea monster in the seas, and you thrash about in your rivers, and you make water turbid with your feet, and you make your rivers muddy.

Their burial is given them and all their people, among them that be slain. Their graves are round about all them, which be uncircumcised, and with them that be slain through the sword: for seeing that in times past they made the land of the living afraid, they must now bear their own shame, with them that go down to the pit, and lie among them, that be slain.

"Son of man, speak to {your people}, and you must say to them, 'A land, if I bring over it a sword and the people of the land take a man, one from their number, and they appoint him for them as a watchman,

"And you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; if you hear a word from my mouth, then you must warn them from me.

When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you must certainly die,' and you do not warn the wicked about his behavior, the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

Suppose I say to the wicked, 'You must certainly die,' but he turns from his sin and does what is just and right.

"Thus you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{As I live}, {surely} whoever [is] in the ruins, by the sword they will fall, and whoever [is] on the surface of the open field, I will give him to the animals to eat him, and whoever [is] in the stronghold and in the cave, they will die by the plague.

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Woe [to] the shepherds of Israel who were feeding themselves! Must not the shepherds feed the flock?

Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

As for My flock (the righteous), they must feed on what you trample with your feet and drink what you muddy with your feet!’”

and you must say to it, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am against you, mountain of Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you desolation and wasteland.

"'And because thou hast said, 'What, both these nations and both these lands must be mine, and I will have them in possession,' whereas the LORD was there:

"And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel; and [so] you must say, 'Mountains of Israel, hear the word of Yahweh;

Therefore prophesy, and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{Because indeed} {when you were desolate}, then they crushed you from all around, so that you became a possession to the remainder of the nations, and you became {a byword and object of slander for the people}."

Therefore prophesy against the land of Israel, and you must say to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I spoke in my passion and in my anger [the] insult of [the] peoples you have endured."

Now when they were gone unto the Heathen, and come in among them they dishonoured my holy name: so that it was said of them, 'Are these the people of God, and must go out of their own land?'