5 “Thus says the Lord 1God, ‘This is aJerusalem; I have set her at the bcenter of the nations, with lands around her.

6 ‘But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations and against My statutes amore than the lands which surround her; for they have brejected My ordinances and have not walked 1in My statutes.’

7 “Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have amore turmoil than the nations which surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor observed My ordinances, nor observed the ordinances of the nations which surround you,’

8 therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I, even I, am aagainst you, and I will bexecute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.

9 ‘And because of all your abominations, I will do among you what I have anot done, and the like of which I will never do again.

10 ‘Therefore, afathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and bscatter all your remnant to every wind.

11 ‘So as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have adefiled My sanctuary with all your bdetestable idols and with all your abominations, therefore I will also withdraw, and My eye will have no pity and I will not spare.

12 ‘One third of you will die by aplague or be consumed by famine among you, one third will fall by the sword around you, and one third I will bscatter to every wind, and I will cunsheathe a sword behind them.

13 ‘Thus My anger will be spent and I will 1satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be 2aappeased; then they will know that I, the Lord, have bspoken in My zeal when I have spent My wrath upon them.

14 ‘Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a areproach among the nations which surround you, in the sight of all who pass by.

15 ‘So 1it will be a reproach, a reviling, a awarning and an object of horror to the nations who surround you when I bexecute judgments against you in anger, wrath and raging rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken.

16 ‘When I send against them the 1deadly arrows of famine which 2were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will also intensify the famine upon you and break the staff of bread.

17 ‘Moreover, aI will send on you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you of children; bplague and bloodshed also will pass through you, and I will bring the sword on you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ ”

Chapter 6

Idolatrous Worship Denounced

1 And the word of the Lord came to me saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face toward the amountains of Israel, and prophesy against them

3 and say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord 1God! Thus says the Lord 1God to the mountains, the hills, the ravines and the valleys: “Behold, I Myself am going to bring a sword on you, and aI will destroy your high places.

4 “So your aaltars will become desolate and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols.

5 “I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your abones around your altars.

6 “In all your dwellings, acities will become waste and the high places will be desolate, that your altars may become waste and 1desolate, your bidols may be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out.

7 “The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.

8 “However, I will leave a aremnant, for you will have those who bescaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries.

9 “Then those of you who escape will aremember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have 1bbeen hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will cloathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations.

10 “Then they will know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain 1that I would inflict this disaster on them.” ’

11 “Thus says the Lord 1God, ‘Clap your hand, astamp your foot and say, “bAlas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by csword, famine and plague!

12 “He who is afar off will die by the plague, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus will I bspend My wrath on them.

13 “Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their aslain are among their idols around their altars, on bevery high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree and under every leafy oak—the places where they offered soothing aroma to all their idols.

14 “So throughout all their habitations I will astretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Diblah; thus they will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”

Chapter 7

Punishment for Wickedness Foretold

1 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me saying,

2 “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord 1God to the land of Israel, ‘An aend! The end is coming on the four corners of the land.

3 ‘Now the end is upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways and bring all your abominations upon you.

4 ‘For My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you, but I will abring your ways upon you, and your abominations will be among you; then you will bknow that I am the Lord!’

5 “Thus says the Lord 1God, ‘A adisaster, unique disaster, behold it is coming!

6 ‘An end is coming; the end has come! It has aawakened against you; behold, it has come!

7 ‘Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The atime has come, the bday is near—tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains.

8 ‘Now I will shortly apour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you; bjudge you according to your ways and bring on you all your abominations.

9 ‘My eye will show no pity nor will I spare. I will 1repay you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst; then you will know that I, the Lord, do the smiting.

10 ‘Behold, the day! Behold, it is coming! Your doom has gone forth; the arod has budded, arrogance has blossomed.

11 ‘Violence 1has grown into a rod of awickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their people, none of their bwealth, nor anything eminent among them.

12 ‘The atime has come, the day has arrived. Let not the bbuyer rejoice nor the seller mourn; for cwrath is against all their multitude.

13 ‘Indeed, the seller will not 1aregain 2what he sold as long as 3they both live; for the vision regarding all their multitude will not 4be averted, nor will any of them maintain his life by his iniquity.

14 ‘They have ablown the trumpet and made everything ready, but no one is going to the battle, for My wrath is against all 1their multitude.

15 ‘The asword is outside and the plague and the famine are within. He who is in the field will die by the sword; famine and the plague will also consume those in the city.

16 ‘Even when their survivors aescape, they will be on the mountains like bdoves of the valleys, all of them 1cmourning, each over his own iniquity.

17 ‘All ahands will hang limp and all knees will 1become like water.

18 ‘They will agird themselves with sackcloth and bshuddering will overwhelm them; and shame will be on all faces and cbaldness on all their heads.

19 ‘They will afling their silver into the streets and their gold will become an abhorrent thing; their bsilver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their 1appetite nor can they fill their stomachs, for their iniquity has become an occasion of stumbling.

The Temple Profaned

20 ‘They transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride, and athey made the images of their abominations and their detestable things with it; therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them.

21 ‘I will give it into the hands of the aforeigners as plunder and to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it.

22 ‘I will also turn My aface from them, and they will profane My secret place; then robbers will enter and profane it.

23 ‘aMake the chain, for the land is full of 1bbloody crimes and the city is cfull of violence.

24 ‘Therefore, I will bring the worst of the anations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the bpride of the strong ones cease, and their choly places will be profaned.

25 ‘When anguish comes, they will seek apeace, but there will be none.

26 ‘aDisaster will come upon disaster and brumor will be added to rumor; then they will seek a cvision from a prophet, but the dlaw will be lost from the priest and ecounsel from the elders.

27 ‘The king will mourn, the prince will be aclothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will 1tremble. According to their conduct I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”