19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things have to do with us? Why are you acting like this?”

20 So I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. 22 And you will do as I have done. You will not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners. 23 You will keep your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep but will waste away because of your sins and groan among yourselves. 24 Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.’

19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” 20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. 24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’

19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 20 Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 21 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. 22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23 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. 24 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.

19 Then the people asked, “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”

20 So I said to them, “A message came to me from the Lord, 21 and I was told to give this message to the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will defile my Temple, the source of your security and pride, the place your heart delights in. Your sons and daughters whom you left behind in Judah-will be slaughtered by the sword. 22 Then you will do as Ezekiel has done. You will not mourn in public or console yourselves by eating the food brought by friends. 23 Your heads will remain covered, and your sandals will not be taken off. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins. You will groan among yourselves for all the evil you have done. 24 Ezekiel is an example for you; you will do just as he has done. And when that time comes, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”

19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”

20 Then I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow. 23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another. 24 Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

19 Then the people asked me, “Tell us, what do the things you are doing mean for us?”

20 Then I said to them, “The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 21 ‘Say to the people of Israel, This is what the Lord God says: I am going to dishonor my Temple. You think it gives you strength. You are proud of it, and you look at it with love and tenderness. But your sons and daughters that you left behind in Jerusalem will fall dead by the sword. 22 When that happens, you are to act as I have: you are not to cover your face, and you are not to eat the food people eat when they are sad about a death. 23 Your turbans must stay on your heads, and your sandals on your feet. You must not cry loudly, but you must rot away in your sins and groan to each other. 24 So Ezekiel is to be an example for you. You must do all the same things he did. When all this happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.’

19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 20 Then I said unto them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. 23 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 in your iniquities, and moan one toward another. 24 Thus shall Ezekiel be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when this cometh, then shall ye know that I am the Lord Jehovah.

19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, which thou doest? 20 And I said to them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 21 Say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and your soul’s longing; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover the beard, neither eat the bread of men; 23 and your turbans shall be upon your heads, and your sandals upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall waste away in your iniquities and moan one toward another. 24 Thus Ezekiel shall be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when it cometh, then ye shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.

19 The people asked me, “Tell us, what do these things that you are doing mean to us?” 

20 I told them, “The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 21 ‘Tell the nation of Israel, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: I’m going to dishonor my holy place. You brag that my holy place gives you strength. It’s the thing you love the most. It’s your hearts’ desire. So the sons and daughters that you left behind will die in battle. 22 Then you must do as I did. Don’t cover your faces or eat the food that mourners eat. 23 Leave your turbans on your heads and your sandals on your feet. Don’t grieve or cry! You will waste away because of your guilt and groan to one another. 24 Ezekiel is a sign to you. You will do everything he has done. Then you will know that I am the Almighty Lord.” ’ 

19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?”

20 So I answered them: “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 ‘Say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword. 22 Then you will do just as I have done: You will not cover your mustache or eat the bread of mourners. 23 Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not lament or weep but will waste away because of your sins and will groan to one another. 24 Now Ezekiel will be a sign for you. You will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting this way?” 20 Then I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and your heart’s desire; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners. 23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan to one another. 24 Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; you shall do just as he has done. When this comes, then you shall know that I am the Lord God.

19 And the people said to me, “Will you not make known to us what these things that you are doing mean for us?” 20 And I said to them that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 21 “Say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I will be profaning my sanctuary, the pride of your strength and the delight of your eyes and the object of your own affection; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind will fall by the sword, 22 and you shall do just as I did: You shall not cover your upper lip, and you shall not eat the bread of mourners. 23 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. 24 And Ezekiel will be to you as a sign; everything that he did you shall do; and when it comes you will know that I am the Lord Yahweh.

19 Then the people said to me, “Tell us what these things have to do with us.”

20 So I told them. I said, “A message came to me from the Lord. He said, 21 ‘Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, “The Lord and King says, ‘I am about to pollute my temple. I will let the Babylonians burn it down. It is the beautiful building you are so proud of. You take delight in it. You love it. The sons and daughters you left behind will be killed with swords.

22 “ ‘ “ ‘So do what Ezekiel did. Do not cover the lower part of your face. Do not eat the food people eat to comfort them when someone dies. 23 Keep your turbans on your heads. Keep your sandals on your feet. Do not cry or sob. You will waste away because you have sinned so much. You will groan among yourselves.

24 “ ‘ “ ‘What Ezekiel has done will show you what is going to happen to you. You will do just as he has done. Then you will know that I am the Lord and King.’ ” ’