4“Son of man, get a clay tablet. Put it in front of you. Draw the city of Jerusalem on it. ²Then pretend to surround it and attack it. Make some little models of war machines. Build a ramp up to it. Set camps up around it. Surround it with models of logs to be used for knocking down its gates. ³Then get an iron pan. Put it between you and the city. Pretend it is an iron wall. Turn your face toward the city. It will be under attack when you begin to attack it. That will show the people of Israel what is going to happen to Jerusalem.

⁴“Next, lie down on your left side. Pretend that you are putting Israel’s sin on yourself. Keep their sin on you for the number of days you lie on your side. ⁵Let each day you lie there stand for one year of their sin. So you will keep Israel’s sin on you for 390 days.

⁶“After you have finished that, lie down again. This time lie on your right side. Pretend that you are putting Judah’s sin on yourself. Lie there for 40 days. That is one day for each year of their sin.

⁷“Next, turn your face toward the model of Jerusalem under attack. Uncover your arm as if you were a soldier ready to fight. Prophesy against the city.

⁸“I will tie you up with ropes. Then you will not be able to turn from one side to the other. You will stay that way until you have finished attacking Jerusalem.

⁹“Get some wheat and barley. Also get some beans and lentils. And get some millet and spelt. Put everything in a storage jar. Use it to make some bread for yourself. Eat it during the 390 days you are lying down on your side. ¹⁰Weigh out eight ounces of food to eat each day. Eat it at your regular mealtimes. ¹¹Also measure out two thirds of a quart of water. Drink it at your regular mealtimes.

¹²“Eat your food as you would eat a barley cake. Bake it over human waste in front of the people.” ¹³The Lord said, “That is how the people of Israel will eat ‘unclean’ food. They will eat it in the nations where I will drive them.”

¹⁴Then I said, “No, Lord and King! I won’t do it! I’ve never eaten anything that was ‘unclean.’ From the time I was young until now, I’ve never eaten anything that was found dead. And I’ve never eaten anything that was torn apart by wild animals. ‘Unclean’ meat has never entered my mouth.”

¹⁵“All right,” he said. “I will let you bake your bread over waste from cows. You can use that instead of human waste.”

¹⁶He continued, “Son of man, I will cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will be worried as they eat their tiny share of food. They will not have any hope as they drink their tiny share of water. ¹⁷There will be very little food and water. The people will be shocked as they look at one another. They will become weaker and weaker because of their sin.

5“Son of man, get a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor. Shave your head and beard with it. Then get a set of scales and weigh the hair. Separate it into three piles.

²“Burn up a third of the hair inside the city. Do it when you stop attacking the model of Jerusalem. Next, get another third of the hair. Strike it with a sword all around the city. Then scatter the last third to the winds. That is because I will chase the people with a sword that is ready to strike them down. ³But save a few of the hairs. Tuck them away in the clothes you are wearing.

⁴“Next, get a few more hairs. Throw them into the fire. Burn them up. The fire will spread to all of the people of Israel.”

⁵The Lord and King says, “This little model stands for Jerusalem. I have placed that city in the center of the nations. Countries are all around it. ⁶But its people are sinful. They have refused to obey my laws and rules. They have turned their backs on my laws. They have not followed my rules. Those people are worse than the nations and countries around them.”

⁷The Lord and King continues, “You people have been worse than the nations around you. You have not lived by my rules or kept my laws. You have not even lived up to the standards of the nations around you.”

⁸The Lord and King continues, “Jerusalem, I myself am against you. I will punish you in the sight of the nations. ⁹I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. That is because you worship statues of gods. I hate them. ¹⁰So parents will eat their own children inside the city. And children will eat their parents. I will punish you. And I will scatter to the winds anyone who is left alive.

¹¹“You have made my temple ‘unclean.’ You have set up statues of all of your evil gods. You have done other things I hate. So I will not show you my favor anymore. I will not spare you or feel sorry for you. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King.

¹²“A third of your people will die of the plague inside your walls. Or they will die of hunger there. Another third will be killed with swords outside your walls. And I will scatter the last third of your people to the winds. I will chase them with a sword that is ready to strike them down.

¹³“Then I will not be angry anymore. My burning anger against them will die down. And I will be satisfied. Then they will know that I have spoken with strong feelings. And my burning anger toward them will come to an end. I am the Lord.

¹⁴“I will destroy you. I will bring shame on you in the sight of the nations that are around you. All those who pass by will see it. ¹⁵You will be put to shame. The nations will make fun of you. You will serve as a warning to others. They will be shocked when they see you. So I will punish you because my anger burns against you. You will feel the sting of my warning. I have spoken. I am the Lord.

¹⁶“I will shoot at you with my deadly, destroying arrows of hunger. I will shoot to kill. I will bring more and more hunger on you. I will cut off your food supply. ¹⁷I will send hunger and wild animals against you. They will destroy all of your children. Plague and murder will sweep over you. And I will send swords to kill you. I have spoken. I am the Lord.”

Ezekiel Prophesies Against the Mountains of Israel

6A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Son of man, turn your attention to the mountains of Israel. Prophesy against them. ³Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the message of the Lord and King. Here is what he says to the mountains and hills. And here is what he says to the canyons and valleys. He tells them, “I will send swords to kill your people. I will destroy the high places where you worship other gods.

⁴“ ‘ “Your altars will be torn down. Your incense altars will be smashed. And I will kill your people in front of the statues of your gods. ⁵I will put the dead bodies of Israelites in front of those statues. I will scatter your bones around your altars.

⁶“ ‘ “No matter where you live, the towns will be destroyed. The high places will be torn down. So your altars will be completely destroyed. The statues of your gods will be smashed to pieces. Your incense altars will be broken down. And everything you have made will be wiped out. ⁷Your people will fall down dead among you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁸“ ‘ “But I will spare some of you. Some will escape from being killed with swords. You will be scattered among other lands and nations. ⁹You will be taken away to those nations as prisoners. Those of you who escape will remember me. You will recall how much pain your unfaithful hearts gave me. You turned away from me. Your eyes longed to see the statues of your gods. You will hate yourselves because of all of the evil things you have done. I hate those things too. ¹⁰You will know that I am the Lord. I said I would bring trouble on you. And my warning came true.” ’ ”

¹¹The Lord and King said to me, “Clap your hands. Stamp your feet. Cry out, ‘How sad!’ Do it because the people of Israel have done so many evil things. I hate those things. Israel will be destroyed by war, hunger and plague. ¹²Those who are far away will die of the plague. Those who are near will be killed with swords. Those who are left alive and are spared will die of hunger. And my burning anger toward them will come to an end.

¹³“Then they will know that I am the Lord. Their people will lie dead among the statues of their gods around their altars. Their bodies will lie on every high hill and every mountaintop. They will lie under every green tree and leafy oak tree. They used to offer sweet-smelling incense to all of their gods at those places. ¹⁴I will reach out my powerful hand against them. The land will become dry and empty. Those people will live from the desert all the way to Diblah. They will know that I am the Lord.”

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