Catholic Public Domain Version

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

2 “Why is it that you circulate among yourselves this parable, as a proverb in the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers ate a bitter grape, and the teeth of the sons have been affected.’

3 As I live, says the Lord God, this parable shall no longer be a proverb for you in Israel.

4 Behold, all souls are mine. Just as the soul of the father is mine, so also is the soul of the son. The soul that sins, the same shall die.

5 And if a man is just, and he accomplishes judgment and justice,

6 and if he does not eat upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and if he has not violated the wife of his neighbor, nor approached a menstruating woman,

7 and if he has not grieved any man, but has restored the collateral to the debtor, if he has seized nothing by violence, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,

8 if he has not lent upon usury, nor taken any increase, if he has averted his hand from iniquity, and has executed true judgment between man and man,

9 if he has walked in my precepts and kept my judgments, so that he acts in accord with truth, then he is just; he shall certainly live, says the Lord God.

10 But if he raises a son who is a robber, who sheds blood, and who does any of these things,

11 (even though he himself does not do any of these things,) and who eats upon the mountains, and who defiles the wife of his neighbor,

12 who grieves the needy and the poor, who seizes with violence, who does not restore the collateral, and who lifts up his eyes to idols, committing abomination,

13 who lends upon usury, and who takes an increase, then shall he live? He shall not live. Since he has done all these detestable things, he shall certainly die. His blood shall be upon him.

14 But if he raises a son, who, seeing all his father’s sins that he has done, is afraid and so does not act in a way similar to him,

15 who does not eat upon the mountains, nor lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and who does not violate the wife of his neighbor,

16 and who has not grieved any man, nor withheld the collateral, nor seized by violence, but instead has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment,

17 who has averted his hand from injuring the poor, who has not taken usury and an overabundance, who has acted according to my judgments and walked in my precepts, then this one shall not die for the iniquity of his father; instead, he shall certainly live.

18 As for his father, because he oppressed and did violence to his brother, and worked evil in the midst of his people, behold, he has died by his own iniquity.

19 And you say, ‘Why has not the son borne the iniquity of the father?’ Clearly, since the son has worked judgment and justice, has observed all my precepts, and has done them, he shall certainly live.

20 The soul that sins, the same shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son. The justice of the just man shall be upon himself, but the impiety of the impious man shall be upon himself.

21 But if the impious man does penance for all his sins which he has committed, and if he keeps all my precepts, and accomplishes judgment and justice, then he shall certainly live, and he shall not die.

22 I will not remember all his iniquities, which he has worked; by his justice, which he has worked, he shall live.

23 How could it be my will that an impious man should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should be converted from his ways and live?

24 But if a just man turns himself away from his justice, and does iniquity in accord with all the abominations that the impious man so often does, why should he live? All his justices, which he has accomplished, shall not be remembered. By the transgression, in which he has transgressed, and by his sin, in which he has sinned, by these he shall die.

25 And you have said, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Therefore, listen, O house of Israel. How could it be that my way is not fair? And is it not instead your ways that are perverse?

26 For when the just man turns himself away from his justice, and commits iniquity, he shall die by this; by the injustice that he has worked, he shall die.

27 And when the impious man turns himself away from his impiety, which he has done, and accomplishes judgment and justice, he shall cause his own soul to live.

28 For by considering and turning himself away from all his iniquities, which he has worked, he shall certainly live, and he shall not die.

29 And yet the sons of Israel say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ How could it be that my ways are not fair, O house of Israel? And is it not instead your ways that are perverse?

30 Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge each one according to his ways, says the Lord God. Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities, and then iniquity will not be your ruin.

31 Cast all your transgressions, by which you have transgressed, away from you, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. And then why should you die, O house of Israel?

32 For I do not desire the death of one who dies, says the Lord God. So return and live.”

1 “And as for you, take up a lament over the leaders of Israel,

2 and you shall say: Why did your mother, the lioness, recline among the male lions, and raise her little ones in the midst of young lions?

3 And she led away one of her little ones, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to consume men.

4 And the Gentiles heard about him, and they seized him, but not without receiving wounds. And they led him away in chains to the land of Egypt.

5 Then, when she had seen that she was weakened, and that her hope had perished, she took one of her little ones, and appointed him as a lion.

6 And he advanced among the lions, and he became a lion. And he learned to seize prey and to devour men.

7 He learned to make widows, and to lead their citizens into the desert. And the land, with its plenitude, was made desolate by the voice of his roaring.

8 And the Gentiles came together against him, on every side, from the provinces, and they spread their net over him; by their wounds, he was captured.

9 And they put him into a cage; they led him in chains to the king of Babylon. And they cast him into a prison, so that his voice would no longer be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

10 Your mother is like a vine, in your blood, planted by the water; her fruit and her branches have increased because of many waters.

11 And her strong branches were made into scepters for the rulers, and her stature was exalted among the branches. And she saw her own loftiness among the multitude of her branches.

12 But she was uprooted in wrath, and cast upon the ground. And the burning wind dried up her fruit. Her robust branches withered and were dried up. A fire consumed her.

13 And now she has been transplanted into the desert, into a land impassable and dry.

14 And a fire has gone forth from a rod of her branches, which has consumed her fruit. And there is no strong branch in her to become a scepter for the rulers. This is a lamentation, and it shall be a lamentation.”

1 And it happened that, in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the elders of Israel arrived, so that they might inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me.

2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Have you arrived in order to inquire of me? As I live, I will not answer you, says the Lord God.

4 If you judge them, if you judge, O son of man, reveal to them the abominations of their fathers.

5 And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: In the day when I chose Israel, and I lifted up my hand on behalf of the stock of the house of Jacob, and I appeared to them in the land of Egypt, and I lifted up my hand on their behalf, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God,’

6 in that day, I lifted up my hand for their sake, so that I would lead them away from the land of Egypt, into a land which I had provided for them, flowing with milk and honey, which was singular among all lands.

7 And I said to them: ‘Let each one cast away the offenses of his eyes, and do not choose to defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’

8 But they provoked me, and they were not willing to listen to me. Each one of them did not cast away the abominations of his eyes, nor did they leave behind the idols of Egypt. And so, I said that I would pour out my indignation upon them, and fulfill my wrath against them, in the midst of the land of Egypt.

9 But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be violated in the sight of the Gentiles, in the midst of whom they were, and among whom I appeared to them, so that I might lead them away from the land of Egypt.

10 Therefore, I cast them out of the land of Egypt, and I led them away into the desert.

11 And I gave them my precepts, and I revealed to them my judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them.

12 Moreover, I also gave to them my Sabbaths, so that these would be a sign between me and them, and so that they would know that I am the Lord, who sanctifies them.

13 But the house of Israel provoked me in the desert. They did not walk in my precepts, and they cast aside my judgments, which, if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they grievously violated my Sabbaths. Therefore, I said that I would pour out my fury upon them in the desert, and that I would consume them.

14 But I acted for the sake of my name, lest it be violated before the Gentiles, from whom I cast them out, in their sight.

15 And so I lifted up my hand over them in the desert, so as not to lead them into the land that I had given to them, flowing with milk and honey, the foremost of all lands.

16 For they cast aside my judgments, and they did not walk in my precepts, and they violated my Sabbaths. For their heart went after idols.

17 Yet my eye was lenient concerning them, so that I did not utterly destroy them, nor did I consume them in the desert.

18 Then I said to their sons in the wilderness: ‘Do not choose to advance by the precepts of your fathers, nor should you observe their judgments. And do not be defiled by their idols.

19 I am the Lord your God. Walk in my precepts, and observe my judgments, and accomplish them.

20 And sanctify my Sabbaths, so that these may be a sign between me and you, and so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’

21 But their sons provoked me. They did not walk in my precepts. And they did not observe my judgments, so as to do them; for if a man does them, he shall live by them. And they violated my Sabbaths. And so, I threatened that I would pour out my fury upon them, and that I would fulfill my wrath among them in the desert.

22 But I turned aside my hand, and I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be violated before the Gentiles, from whom I cast them out, before their eyes.

23 Again, I lifted up my hand against them, in the wilderness, so that I would disperse them among the nations, and scatter them among the lands.

24 For they had not accomplished my judgments, and they had rejected my precepts, and they had violated my Sabbaths. And their eyes had been after the idols of their fathers.

25 Therefore, I also gave them precepts that were not good, and judgments by which they shall not live.

26 And I defiled them by their own gifts, when they offered everything that opened the womb, because of their offenses. And they shall know that I am the Lord.

27 For this reason, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God. Yet also in this did your fathers blaspheme me, after they had spurned and despised me,

28 though I had led them into the land, about which I lifted up my hand, so that I might give it to them: They saw every lofty hill and every leafy tree, and there they immolated their victims, and there they presented the provocation of their oblations, and there they stationed their sweet fragrances, and poured out their libations.

29 And I said to them, ‘What is exalted about the place to which you go?’ And yet its name is called ‘Exalted,’ even to this day.

30 Because of this, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Certainly, you are defiled by the way of your fathers, and you have fornicated after their stumbling blocks.

31 And you are being defiled by all of your idols, even to this day, by the oblation of your gifts, when you lead your sons through the fire. And should I respond to you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not answer you.

32 And the plan of your mind will not occur, saying: ‘We will be like the Gentiles, and like the families of the earth, so that we worship what is wood and stone.’

33 As I live, says the Lord God, I will reign over you with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured forth.

34 And I will lead you away from the peoples. And I will gather you from the lands into which you were dispersed. I will reign over you with a powerful hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out.

35 And I will lead you into the desert of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you, face to face.

36 Just as I contended in judgment against your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so also will I enter into judgment with you, says the Lord God.

37 And I will subject you to my scepter, and I will lead you into the bonds of the covenant.

38 And I will select, from among you, the transgressors and the impious. And I will lead them away from the land of their sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord.

39 And as for you, house of Israel: thus says the Lord God: Walk, each one of you, after your idols and serve them. But if in this also you will not listen to me, and you continue to defile my holy name with your gifts and with your idols,

40 on my holy mountain, on the exalted mountain of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel shall serve me; all of them, I say, in the land in which they shall please me, and there I will require your first-fruits, and the foremost of your tithes, with all your sanctifications.

41 I will receive from you a fragrance of sweetness, when I will have led you away from the peoples, and gathered you from the lands into which you were dispersed. And I will be sanctified in you before the eyes of the nations.

42 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have led you into the land of Israel, into the land about which I lifted up my hand, so that I would give it to your fathers.

43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your wickedness, by which you have been defiled. And you will be displeased with yourselves in your own sight, over all your evil deeds which you did.

44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have acted well toward you for the sake of my name, and not according to your evil ways, nor according to your very great wickedness, O house of Israel, says the Lord God.”

45 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

46 “Son of man, set your face against the way of the south, and pour in drops toward Africa, and prophesy against the forest of the field of the meridian.

47 And you shall say to the meridian forest: Listen to the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and I will burn up within you every green tree and every dry tree. The flame of the kindling will not be extinguished. And every face will be burned up within it, from the south, even to the north.

48 And all flesh will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it, and that it will not be extinguished.”

49 And I said: “Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! They are saying about me: ‘Does this man not speak except through parables?’ “

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

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and pour in drops toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the soil of Israel.

3 And you shall say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will cast my sword from its sheath, and I will slay the just and the impious among you.

4 But in as much as I have slain among you the just and the impious, for this reason my sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.

5 So may all flesh know that I, the Lord, have led my sword out of its sheath irrevocably.

6 And as for you, son of man, groan in the breaking of your back, and groan in bitterness before them.

7 And when they will say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say: ‘On behalf of the report, For it is approaching. And every heart will waste away, and every hand will be broken, and every spirit will be weakened, and water will flow across every knee.’ Behold, it is approaching and it will happen, says the Lord God.”

8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

9 “Son of man, prophesy, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Speak: The sword! The sword has been sharpened and polished!

10 It has been sharpened, so that it may cut down victims! It has been polished, so that it may shine! You are disturbing the scepter of my son. You have cut down every tree.

11 And I have sent it to be made smooth, so that it may be handled. This sword has been sharpened, and it has been polished, so that it may be in the hand of the one who kills.

12 Cry out and wail, O son of man! For this has been done among my people, this is among all the leaders of Israel, who have fled. They have been handed over to the sword, with my people. Therefore, slap your thigh,

13 for it has been tested. And this one, when he will have overthrown the scepter, will not be, says the Lord God.

14 You therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike hand against hand, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled. This is the sword of the great slaughter, which causes them to be utterly stupefied,

15 and to waste away in heart, and which multiplies ruin. At all their gates, I have presented the consternation of the sword, which has been sharpened and polished so as to shine, which has been dressed for the slaughter.

16 Be sharpened! Go to the right or to the left, whichever way is the desire of your face.

17 And then I will clap hand against hand, and I will fulfill my indignation. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

19 “And as for you, son of man, set for yourself two ways, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may approach. Both shall go forth from one land. And with a hand, he will grasp and cast lots; he will cast at the head of the way of the community.

20 You shall appoint a way, so that the sword may approach to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, or to Judah, into Jerusalem, greatly fortified.

21 For the king of Babylon stood at the fork, at the head of the two ways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows; he inquired of idols, and he consulted entrails.

22 To his right was set the divination over Jerusalem, to place battering rams so as to open a mouth for the slaughter, to lift up the voice of wailing, to place battering rams opposite the gates, to cast up a rampart, to build fortifications.

23 And he shall be, in their eyes, like someone consulting an oracle in vain, or imitating the leisure of Sabbaths. But he will call to mind iniquities, so that it will be captured.

24 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have been remembered in your iniquities, and you have revealed your betrayals, and your sins have appeared within all your plans, because, I say, you have been remembered, you will be captured by a hand.

25 But as for you, O impious leader of Israel, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity:

26 Thus says the Lord God: Take away the diadem, remove the crown. Is this not what has exalted the lowly one, and brought low the sublime one?

27 Iniquity, iniquity, iniquity I will make it. And this was not done until the one arrived to whom judgment belongs, and I will hand it over to him.

28 And as for you, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God to the sons of Ammon, and to their disgrace, and you shall say: O sword, O sword, unsheathe yourself so as to slay; polish yourself so as to kill and to shine,

29 while they look upon you in vain, and they divine lies, so that you may be given over to the necks of the wounded impious, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity.

30 Be returned to your sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your nativity.

31 And I will pour out upon you my indignation. In the fire of my fury, I will fan you, and I will give you over to the hands of cruel men, who have devised destruction.

32 You will be food for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land; you will be delivered to oblivion. For I, the Lord, have spoken.”

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

2 “And you, son of man, should you not judge, should you not judge the city of blood?

3 And you shall reveal to her all her abominations. And you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: This is the city which sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and which has made idols against herself, so that she may be defiled.

4 You have offended by your blood, which you shed from yourself. And you have been defiled by your idols which you yourself made. And you have caused your days to approach, and you have brought on the time of your years. Because of this, I have made you a disgrace to the Gentiles, and a derision to all the lands.

5 Those that are near and those that are far from you will triumph over you. You are filthy, infamous, great in destruction.

6 Behold, the leaders of Israel have each used his arm to shed blood within you.

7 They have abused father and mother within you. The new arrival has been oppressed in your midst. They have grieved the orphan and the widow among you.

8 You have spurned my sanctuaries, and you have defiled my Sabbaths.

9 Maligning men were within you, in order to shed blood, and they have eaten upon the mountains within you. They have worked wickedness in your midst.

10 They have uncovered the nakedness of their father within you. They have debased the uncleanness of the menstruous woman within you.

11 And each one has committed abomination with the wife of his neighbor. And the father-in-law has heinously defiled his daughter-in-law. The brother has oppressed his sister, the daughter of his father, within you.

12 They have accepted bribes among you to shed blood. You have received usury and superabundance, and in avarice you have oppressed your neighbors. And you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.

13 Behold, I have clapped my hands over your avarice, which you have worked, and over the blood that has been shed in your midst.

14 How can your heart endure, or your hands prevail, in the days that I will bring upon you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will act.

15 And I will disperse you among the nations, and I will scatter you among the lands, and I will cause your uncleanness to fade away from you.

16 And I will possess you in the sight of the Gentiles. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”

17 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become like dross to me. All these are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead in the midst of the furnace; they have become like the dross of silver.

19 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since you have all turned into dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you together in the midst of Jerusalem,

20 just as they gather silver, and brass, and tin, and iron, and lead in the midst of the furnace, so that I may kindle in it a fire to melt it. So will I gather you together in my fury and in my wrath, and I will be quieted, and I will melt you down.

21 And I will gather you together, and I will burn you in the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in its midst.

22 Just as silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so will you be in its midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have poured out my indignation upon you.”

23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

24 “Son of man, say to her: You are a land unclean and not rained upon, in the day of fury.

25 There is a conspiracy of prophets in her midst. Like a lion, roaring and seizing the prey, they have devoured souls. They have taken riches and a price. They have multiplied widows in her midst.

26 Her priests have despised my law, and they have defiled my sanctuaries. They have held no distinction between holy and profane. And they have not understood the difference between defiled and clean. And they have averted their eyes from my Sabbaths. And I was profaned in their midst.

27 Her leaders in her midst are like wolves seizing the prey: to shed blood, and to perish souls, and to continually pursue profit with avarice.

28 And her prophets have covered them without tempering the mortar, seeing emptiness, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

29 The people of the land have oppressed with slander and have seized with violence. They have afflicted the needy and the poor, and they have oppressed the new arrival by accusations without judgment.

30 And I sought among them for a man who might set up a hedge, and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I might not destroy it; and I found no one.

31 And so I poured out my indignation upon them; in the fire of my wrath I consumed them. I have rendered their own way upon their head, says the Lord God.”

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

2 “Son of man, two women were daughters of one mother,

3 and they fornicated in Egypt; they committed fornication in their youth. In that place, their breasts were conquered; the breasts of their adolescence were subdued.

4 Now their names were Oholah, the elder, and Oholibah, her younger sister. And I held them, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names: Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

5 And then, Oholah committed fornication against me, and she acted madly with her lovers, with the Assyrians who approached her,

6 who were clothed with hyacinth: rulers and magistrates, passionate youths and all of the horsemen, mounted on horses.

7 And she distributed her fornications to those chosen men, all of them sons of the Assyrians. And she defiled herself with the uncleanness of all those whom she madly desired.

8 Moreover, she also did not abandon her fornications, which she had done in Egypt. For they also slept with her in her youth, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and they poured out their fornication upon her.

9 Because of this, I have delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the sons of the Assur, whom she has lustfully desired.

10 They uncovered her shame; they took away her sons and daughters; and they slew her with the sword. And they became infamous women. And they carried out judgments in her.

11 And when her sister, Oholibah, had seen this, she was even more mad with lust than the other. And her fornication was beyond the fornication of her sister.

12 She shamelessly offered herself to the sons of the Assyrians, to the rulers and magistrates who brought themselves to her clothed with colorful garments, to the horsemen who were carried by horses, and to the youths, all of them exceptional in appearance.

13 And I saw that she had been defiled, and that they both took the same path.

14 And she increased her fornications. And when she had seen men depicted on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans, expressed in colors,

15 with belts wrapped around the waist, and with dyed headdresses on their heads, having seen the appearance of all the rulers, the likenesses of the sons of Babylon and of the land of the Chaldeans in which they were born,

16 she became mad for them with the desire of her eyes, and she sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

17 And when the sons of Babylon had gone to her, to the bed of breasts, they defiled her with their fornications, and she was polluted by them, and her soul was gorged by them.

18 Also, her fornications were uncovered, and her shame was revealed. And my soul withdrew from her, as my soul had withdrawn from her sister.

19 For she multiplied her fornications, remembering the days of her youth, in which she fornicated in the land of Egypt.

20 And she was mad with lust after lying with them, whose flesh is like the flesh of donkeys, and whose flow is like the flow of horses.

21 And you have revisited the crimes of your youth, when your breasts were conquered in Egypt, and the breasts of your adolescence were subdued.

22 Because of this, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will raise up against you all of your lovers, with whom your soul has been gorged. And I will gather them together against you all around:

23 the sons of Babylon, and all the Chaldeans, the nobles, the sovereigns and princes, all the sons of the Assyrians, youths of exceptional form, all the rulers and magistrates, the leaders among leaders, and the renowned riders of horses.

24 And they will overwhelm you, well-equipped with chariot and wheel, a multitude of peoples. They will be armed against you on every side with armor and shield and helmet. And I will give judgment to their eyes, and they will judge you with their judgments.

25 And against you, I will set my zeal, which they will execute upon you with fury. They will cut off your nose and your ears. And what remains will fall by the sword. They will seize your sons and your daughters, and your youngest will be devoured by fire.

26 And they will strip you of your vestments, and take away the articles of your glory.

27 And I will cause your wickedness to cease from you, and your fornication to cease from the land of Egypt. Neither shall you lift up your eyes toward them, and you shall no longer remember Egypt.

28 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you have hated, into the hands by which your soul has been gorged.

29 And they will act toward you with hatred, and they will take away all your labors, and they will send you away naked and filled with disgrace. And the shame of your fornication will be revealed: your crimes and your fornications.

30 They have done these things to you, because you have fornicated after the Gentiles, among whom you were defiled by their idols.

31 You have walked in the way of your sister, and so I will give her chalice into your hand.

32 Thus says the Lord God: You will drink the chalice of your sister, deep and wide. You will be held in derision and in ridicule, to a very great extent.

33 You will be filled with inebriation and sorrow, by the chalice of grief and sadness, by the chalice of your sister Samaria.

34 And you will drink it, and you will empty it, even to the dregs. And you will consume even its particles. And you will wound your own breasts. For I have spoken, says the Lord God.

35 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Since you have forgotten me, and you have cast me behind your body, so also will you bear your wickedness and your fornications.”

36 And the Lord spoke to me, saying: “Son of man, should you not judge Oholah and Oholibah, and announce to them their crimes?

37 For they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands, and they have fornicated with their idols. Moreover, they have offered even their children, whom they bore for me, to them to be devoured.

38 But they have done even this to me: They have defiled my sanctuary on the same day, and they have profaned my Sabbaths.

39 And when they immolated their children to their idols, they also entered my sanctuary on the same day, so that they defiled it. They have done these things, even in the midst of my house.

40 They sent for men who were coming from far away, to whom they had sent a messenger. And so, behold, they arrived, those for whom you washed yourself, and smeared cosmetics around your eyes, and were adorned with feminine ornaments.

41 You sat upon a very beautiful bed, and a table was adorned before you, on which you placed my incense and my ointment.

42 And the voice of a multitude was exulting within her. And concerning certain men, who were being led out of a multitude of persons, and who were arriving from the desert, they placed bracelets on their hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.

43 And I said about her, as she was being worn away by her adulteries, ‘Even now, she continues in her fornication!’

44 And they entered to her, as if to a kept woman. So did they enter to Oholah and Oholibah, nefarious women.

45 But there are just men; these shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses and with the judgment of those who shed blood. For they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

46 For thus says the Lord God: Lead upon them a multitude, and hand them over to tumult and to pillaging.

47 And may they be stoned with the stones of the peoples, and may they be pierced with their own swords. They will put to death their sons and daughters, and they will burn their houses with fire.

48 And I will take away wickedness from the land. And all women shall learn not to act according to their wickedness.

49 And they will set your own crimes upon you, and you will bear the sins of your idols. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.”

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying:

2 “Son of man, write for yourself the name of this day, on which the king of Babylon was confirmed against Jerusalem today.

3 And you shall speak, through a proverb, a parable to the inciting house. And you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Set out a cooking pot; set it out, I say, and put water into it.

4 Pile together within it every morsel, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder, the choice pieces and those full of bones.

5 Take the fattest from the flock, and arrange also a heap of bones under it. Its cooking has boiled over, and its bones in its midst have been thoroughly cooked.

6 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Woe to the city of blood, to the cooking pot that has rust in it, and whose rust has not gone out of it! Cast it out piece by piece! No lot has fallen upon it.

7 For her blood is in her midst; she has shed it upon the smoothest rock. She has not shed it upon the ground, so that it could be covered with dust.

8 So shall I bring my indignation over her, and take my vengeance. I have presented her blood upon the smoothest rock, so that it would not be covered.

9 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Woe to the city of blood, out of which I will make a great funeral pyre.

10 Pile together the bones, which I will burn with fire. The flesh shall be consumed, and the entire composition shall be boiled, and the bones shall deteriorate.

11 Also, place it empty on burning coals, so that it may be heated, and its brass may melt. And let the filth of it be melted in its midst, and let its rust be consumed.

12 There has been much sweat and labor, and yet its extensive rust has not gone out of it, not even by fire.

13 Your uncleanness is execrable. For I wanted to cleanse you, and you have not been cleansed from your filth. So then, neither will you be cleansed before I cause my indignation over you to cease.

14 I, the Lord, have spoken. It shall happen, and I will act. I will not pass over, nor be lenient, nor be placated. I will judge you according to your ways and according to your intentions, says the Lord.”

15 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

16 “Son of man, behold, I am taking away from you, with a stroke, the desire of your eyes. And you shall not lament, and you shall not weep. And your tears shall not flow down.

17 Groan silently; you shall make no mourning for the dead. Let the band of your crown be on you, and let your shoes be on your feet. And you shall not cover your face, nor shall you eat the food of those who mourn.”

18 Therefore, I spoke to the people in the morning. And my wife died in the evening. And in the morning, I did just as he had instructed me.

19 And the people said to me: “Why won’t you explain to us what these things signify, which you are doing?”

20 And I said to 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 defile my sanctuary, the pride of your realm, and the desire of your eyes, and the dread of your soul. Your sons and your daughters, whom you have forsaken, will fall by the sword.’

22 And so, you shall do just as I have done. You shall not cover your faces, and you shall not eat the food of those who mourn.

23 You shall have crowns on your heads, and shoes on your feet. You shall not lament, and you shall not weep. Instead, you will waste away in your iniquities, and each one will groan to his brother.

24 ‘And Ezekiel shall be a portent for you. In accord with all that he has done, so shall you do, when this will happen. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

25 “And as for you, son of man, behold, in the day when I will take away from them their strength, and the joy of their dignity, and the desire of their eyes, in which their souls find rest: their sons and their daughters,

26 in that day, when one who is fleeing will come to you, so that he may report to you,

27 in that day, I say, your mouth shall be opened to him who has fled. And you shall speak, and you shall no longer be silent. And you shall be for them a portent. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”

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

2 “Son of man, set your face against the sons of Ammon, and you shall prophesy about them.

3 And you shall say to the sons of Ammon: Listen to the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God: Because you have said, ‘Well, well!’ over my sanctuary, when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel, when it was desolated, and over the house of Judah, when they were led into captivity,

4 therefore, I will deliver you to the sons of the East, as an inheritance. And they will arrange their fences within you, and they will place their tents within you. They will eat your crops, and they will drink your milk.

5 And I will make Rabbah into the habitation of camels, and the sons of Ammon into the resting place of cattle. And you shall know that I am the Lord.

6 For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stomped your foot, and have rejoiced with all your heart against the land of Israel,

7 therefore, behold, I will extend my hand over you, and I will deliver you as a spoil of the Gentiles. And I will destroy you from the peoples, and I will perish you from the lands, and I will crush you. And you shall know that I am the Lord.

8 Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir have said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the Gentiles!’

9 therefore, behold, I will open the shoulder of Moab from the cities, from his cities, I say, and from his borders, the famous cities of the land of Beth-Jesimoth, and Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim,

10 with the sons of Ammon, to the sons of the East, and I will give it to them as an inheritance, so that there may no longer be a remembrance of the sons of Ammon among the Gentiles.

11 And I will execute judgments in Moab. And they shall know that I am the Lord.

12 Thus says the Lord God: Because Idumea has taken vengeance, so as to vindicate herself against the sons of Judah, and has sinned grievously, and has sought revenge against them,

13 therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will extend my hand over Idumea, and I will take from it both man and beast, and I will make it desolate from the south. And those who are in Dedan will fall by the sword.

14 And I will issue my vengeance upon Idumea, by the hand of my people, Israel. And they shall act in Idumea in accord with my wrath and my fury. And they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord God.

15 Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines have taken vengeance, and have revenged themselves with all their soul, destroying, and fulfilling ancient hostilities,

16 because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will extend my hand over the Philistines, and I will destroy those who destroy, and I will perish the remnant of the maritime regions.

17 And I will execute great vengeance against them, reproving them in fury. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will send my vengeance upon them.”

1 And it happened that, in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 “Son of man, because Tyre has said about Jerusalem: ‘It is Well! The gates of the peoples have been broken! She has been turned toward me. I will be filled. She will be deserted!’

3 because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to rise up against you, just as the waves of the sea rise up.

4 And they will break apart the walls of Tyre, and they will destroy its towers. And I will scrape her dust from her, and I will make her into the barest rock.

5 She will be a drying place for nets from the midst of the sea. For I have spoken, says the Lord God. And she will be a spoil for the Gentiles.

6 Likewise, her daughters who are in the field will be slain by the sword. And they shall know that I am the Lord.

7 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lead into Tyre: Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, a king among kings, from the north, with horses, and chariots, and horsemen, and companies, and a great people.

8 Your daughters who are in the field, he will kill with the sword. And he will surround you with fortifications, and he will put together a rampart on all sides. And he will lift up a shield against you.

9 And he will combine moveable shelters and battering rams before your walls, and he will destroy your towers with his armaments.

10 He will cover you with the inundation of his horses and with their dust. Your walls will shake at the sound of horsemen and wheels and chariots, when they will have entered your gates, as if through the entrance of a city that has been broken open.

11 With the hoofs of his horses, he will trample all your streets. He will cut down your people with the sword, and your noble statues will fall to the ground.

12 They will lay waste to your wealth. They will despoil your businesses. And they will tear down your walls and overturn your eminent houses. And they will put your stones and your timber and your dust into the midst of the waters.

13 And I will cause the multitude of your songs to cease. And the sound of your stringed instruments will no longer be heard.

14 And I will make you like the barest rock; you will be a drying place for nets. And you will no longer be built up. For I have spoken, says the Lord God.”

15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: “Will not the islands shake at the sound of your ruin and at the groans of your slain, when they will have been cut down in your midst?

16 And all the leaders of the sea will descend from their thrones. And they will cast aside their outer garments and their colorful clothing, and they will be clothed in stupor. They will sit on the ground, and they will wonder with astonishment at your sudden downfall.

17 And taking up a lamentation over you, they will say to you: ‘How could you have perished, you who live in the sea, the famous city that was strong in the sea, with your inhabitants, of whom the whole world was in dread?’

18 Now the ships will be stupefied, in the day of your terror. And the islands of the sea will be disturbed, because no one goes out from you.

19 For thus says the Lord God: When I will have made you a desolate city, like the cities that are uninhabited, and when I will have led the abyss over you, and many waters will have covered you,

20 and when I will have dragged you down with those who descend into the pit to the everlasting people, and when I will have assembled you in the lowest parts of the earth, like the desolate places of antiquity, with those who have been brought down into the pit, so that you will be uninhabited, and moreover, when I will have given glory to the land of the living:

21 I will reduce you to nothing, and you shall not be, and if you are sought, you will no longer be found, in perpetuity, says the Lord God.”

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

2 “You, therefore, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre.

3 And you shall say to Tyre, which lives at the entrance to the sea, which is the marketplace of the peoples for the many islands: Thus says the Lord God: O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am of perfect beauty,

4 for I have been positioned at the heart of the sea!’ Your neighbors, who built you, have filled up your beauty.

5 They constructed you with spruce from Senir, with all the planks of the sea. They have taken cedars from Lebanon, so that they might make a mast for you.

6 They have formed your oars from the oaks of Bashan. And they have made your crossbeams from Indian ivory, and the pilothouse is from the islands of Italy.

7 Colorful fine linen from Egypt was woven for you as a sail to be placed upon the mast; hyacinth and purple from the islands of Elishah were made into your covering.

8 The inhabitants of Sidon and of Arwad were your rowers. Your wise ones, O Tyre, were your navigators.

9 The elders of Gebal and its experts were considered as sailors making use of your diverse equipment. All the ships of the sea and their sailors were your merchants among the people.

10 The Persians, and the Lydians, and the Libyans were your men of war in your army. They suspended shield and helmet within you for your adornment.

11 The sons of Arwad were with your army upon your walls all around. And even the Gammadim, who were in your towers, suspended their quivers on your walls on all sides; they completed your beauty.

12 The Carthaginians, your merchants, supplied your festivals with a multitude of diverse riches, with silver, iron, tin, and lead.

13 Greece, Tubal, and Meshech, these were your peddlers; they traveled to your people with slaves and with brass vessels.

14 From the house of Togarmah, they brought horses, and horsemen, and mules to your market.

15 The sons of Dedan were your merchants. The many islands were the marketplace of your hand. They traded teeth of ivory and of ebony for your price.

16 The Syrian was your merchant. Because of the multitude of your works, they offered jewels, and purple, and patterned cloth, and fine linen, and silk, and other valuables in your market.

17 Judah and the land of Israel, these were your peddlers of the best grain; they offered balsam, and honey, and oil, and resins at your festivals.

18 The Damascene was your trader in the multitude of your works, in greatly diverse wealth, in rich wine, in wool with the finest coloring.

19 Dan, and Greece, and Mosel have offered works made of iron at your festivals. Storax ointment and sweet flag were in your marketplace.

20 The men of Dedan were your peddlers of tapestries used as seats.

21 Arabia and all the leaders of Kedar, these were the merchants at your hand. Your merchants came to you with lambs, and rams, and young goats.

22 The vendors of Sheba and Raamah, these were your merchants, with all the finest aromatics, and precious stones, and gold, which they offered in your marketplace.

23 Haran, and Canneh, and Eden were your merchants. Sheba, Assur, and Chilmad were your sellers.

24 These were your merchants in many places, with windings of hyacinth and of colorful weavings, and with precious treasures, which were wrapped and bound with cords. Also, they had works of cedar among your merchandise.

25 The ships of the sea were important to your business dealings. For you were replenished and exceedingly glorified in the heart of the sea.

26 Your rowers have brought you into many waters. The south wind has worn you down in the heart of the sea.

27 Your riches, and your treasures, and your versatile equipment, your sailors and your navigators, who handle your goods and who were first among your people, likewise your men of war, who were among you, and your entire multitude that is in your midst: they will fall in the heart of the sea on the day of your ruin.

28 Your fleets will be disturbed by the sound of an outcry from your navigators.

29 And all who were handling the oar will descend from their ships; the sailors and all the navigators of the sea will stand upon the land.

30 And they will howl over you with a great voice, and they will cry out with bitterness. And they will cast dust upon their heads, and they will be sprinkled with ashes.

31 And they will shave their heads because of you, and they will be wrapped in haircloth. And they will weep for you with bitterness of soul, with a very bitter weeping.

32 And they will take up a mournful verse over you, and they will lament you: ‘What city is like Tyre, which has become mute in the midst of the sea?’

33 For by the going forth of your merchandise by sea, you supplied many peoples; by the multitude of your riches and of your people, you enriched the kings of the earth.

34 Now you have been worn away by the sea, your opulence is in the depths of the waters, and your entire multitude that was in your midst has fallen.

35 All the inhabitants of the islands have been stupefied over you; and all their kings, having been struck by the tempest, have changed their expression.

36 The merchants of the peoples have hissed over you. You have been reduced to nothing, and you shall not be again, even forever.”