Israel Refuses to Obey the Lord

20 It was the seventh year since King Jehoiachin had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. On the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to ask the Lord for advice. They sat down with me.

2Then a message came to me from the Lord. He said, 3“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Have you come to ask me for advice? I will not let you do that,” announces the Lord and King. “And that is just as sure as I am alive.” ’

4“Are you going to judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Tell them the evil things their people did long ago. I hate those things. 5Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “I chose Israel. On that day I raised my hand and took an oath. I made a promise to the members of Jacob’s family line. I made myself known to them in Egypt. I raised my hand and told them, ‘I am the Lord your God.’

6“ ‘ “On that day I promised I would bring them out of Egypt. I told them I would take them to a land I had found for them. It had plenty of milk and honey. It was the most beautiful land of all. 7I said to them, ‘Each of you must get rid of the statues of the evil gods you worship. Do not pollute yourselves by worshiping the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’

8“ ‘ “But they refused to obey me. They would not listen to me. They did not get rid of the evil gods they worshiped. And they did not turn away from Egypt’s gods. So I said I would pour out all of my burning anger on them in Egypt.

9“ ‘ “But I wanted my name to be honored. I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations my people lived among. I had made myself known to Israel in the sight of those nations. I had brought my people out of Egypt.

10“ ‘ “So I led them out of Egypt. I brought them into the Desert of Sinai. 11I gave them my rules. I made my laws known to them. The one who obeys them will live by them. 12I also told them to observe my Sabbath days. That is the sign of the covenant I made with them. I wanted them to know that I made them holy. I am the Lord.

13“ ‘ “But the people of Israel refused to obey me in the desert. They did not follow my rules. They turned their backs on my laws. The one who obeys them will live by them. They totally misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out my burning anger on them. I would destroy them in the desert.

14“ ‘ “But I wanted my name to be honored. I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.

15“ ‘ “I also raised my hand and took an oath in the desert. I told my people I would not bring them into the land I had given them. It had plenty of milk and honey. It was the most beautiful land of all. 16But they turned their backs on my laws. They did not follow my rules. They misused my Sabbaths. Their hearts were committed to worshiping the statues of their gods.

17“ ‘ “Then I felt sorry for them. So I did not destroy them. I did not put an end to them in the desert. 18I spoke to their children there. I said, ‘Do not follow the rules your parents gave you. Do not obey their laws. Do not pollute yourselves by worshiping their gods. 19I am the Lord your God. So follow my rules. Be careful to obey my laws. 20Keep my Sabbath days holy. That is the sign of the covenant I made with you. You will know that I am the Lord your God.’

21“ ‘ “But their children refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They were not careful to keep my laws. The one who obeys them will live by them. They misused my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out all of my burning anger on them in the desert.

22“ ‘ “But I kept myself from punishing them at that time. I wanted my name to be honored. So I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.

23“ ‘ “I also raised my hand and took an oath in the desert. I told my people I would scatter them among the nations. I would send them to other countries. 24They had not obeyed my laws. They had turned their backs on my rules. They had misused my Sabbaths. Their eyes longed to see the statues of their parents’ gods.

25“ ‘ “I even let them follow rules that were not good. I let them have laws they could not live by. 26I let them become polluted by offering sacrifices to other gods. They even sacrificed the first male child who was born in each family. I wanted to fill them with horror. Then they would know that I am the Lord.” ’

27“Son of man, speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Your people spoke evil things against me long ago. They deserted me. 28But I brought them into the land. I had taken an oath and promised to give the land to them. Then they offered sacrifices that made me very angry. They did it on every high hill and under every green tree. There they brought their sweet-smelling incense. And there they poured out their drink offerings. 29Then I said to them, ‘What? You are going to a high place?’ ” ’ ” That high place is called Bamah to this very day.

The Lord Judges Israel and Blesses Them

30The Lord said to me, “Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord and King says, “Are you going to pollute yourselves the way your people did? Do you long to see the statues of their evil gods? 31You pollute yourselves by offering sacrifices to other gods. You even sacrifice your children in the fire. You continue to do those things to this very day. People of Israel, should I let you ask me for advice? I will not let you do that,” announces the Lord and King. “And that is just as sure as I am alive.

32“ ‘ “You say, ‘We want to be like the other nations. We want to be like all of the other people in the world. They serve gods that are made out of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen. 33I will rule over you by reaching out my mighty hand and powerful arm. I will pour my burning anger out on you,” announces the Lord and King. “And that is just as sure as I am alive.

34“ ‘ “I will bring you back from the nations. I will gather you together from the countries where you have been scattered. I will reach out my mighty hand and powerful arm. I will pour my burning anger out on you. 35I will send you among the nations. There I will judge you face to face. It will be as if I were judging you in the desert again. 36Long ago, I judged your people in the desert of Egypt. In the same way, I will judge you,” announces the Lord and King.

37“ ‘ “I will take note of you as you pass under my shepherd’s rod. I will separate those who obey me from those who do not. And I will give the blessings of the new covenant to those of you who obey me. 38I will get rid of those among you who turn against me and refuse to obey me. I will bring them out of the land where they are living. But they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

39“ ‘ “People of Israel, the Lord and King says, ‘Go, every one of you! Serve your gods. But later you will listen to me. You will no longer treat my name as if it were not holy. You will not offer sacrifices to other gods anymore.

40“ ‘ “ ‘People of Israel, you will serve me,’ announces the Lord and King. ‘You will serve me on my high and holy mountain in Jerusalem. There I will accept you. I will require your offerings and your finest gifts. I want you to bring them along with all of your other holy sacrifices. 41I will bring you back from the nations. I will gather you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will accept you as if you were sweet-smelling incense. I will show that I am holy among you. The nations will see it.

42“ ‘ “ ‘I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Long ago I raised my hand and took an oath. I promised to give that land to your people. 43There you will remember your conduct. You will think about everything you did that polluted you. And you will hate yourselves because of all of the evil things you have done.

44“ ‘ “ ‘People of Israel, I will deal with you for the honor of my name. I will not deal with you based on your evil conduct and sinful practices. Then you will know that I am the Lord,’ announces the Lord and King.” ’ ”

Ezekiel Prophesies Against the South

45A message came to me from the Lord. He said, 46“Son of man, turn your attention to Judah in the south. Preach against it. Prophesy against its forests. 47Tell them, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message. The Lord and King says, “I am about to set you on fire. The fire will destroy all of your trees. It will burn up green trees and dry trees alike. The blazing flame will not be put out. The faces of everyone from south to north will be burned by it. 48Everyone will see that I started the fire. It will not be put out. I am the Lord.” ’ ”

49Then I said, “Lord and King, people are talking about me. They are saying, ‘Isn’t he just telling stories?’ ”