Jeremiah 51 - Ezekiel 18

Complete Jewish Bible

⁵⁹ This is the order which Yirmeyahu the prophet gave to S’rayah the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, when he went to Bavel with Tzidkiyahu the king of Y’hudah in the fourth year of his reign. S’rayah was quartermaster. ⁶⁰ Yirmeyahu had written on a separate scroll all the above words describing the disaster that was to befall Bavel. ⁶¹ Yirmeyahu said to S’rayah, “See to it that when you arrive in Bavel you read all these words aloud. Then say, ⁶² ‘Adonai, you have promised to destroy this place, that no one will live here, neither human nor animal, but that it will be desolate forever.’ ⁶³ When you finish reading this scroll, tie a rock to it, throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, ⁶⁴ and say, ‘Like this, Bavel will sink, never to rise again, because of the disaster I am bringing on her; and they will grow weary.’”

(Up to here, these have been the words of Yirmeyahu.)

52 Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for eleven years in Yerushalayim. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Yirmeyahu, from Livnah. ² He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, following the example of everything Y’hoyakim had done. ³ And it was because of Adonai’s anger that all these things happened to Yerushalayim and Y’hudah, until he had thrown them out of his presence.

Tzidkiyahu rebelled against the king of Bavel; ⁴ so in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel marched against Yerushalayim with his entire army. He set up camp against it and built siege towers against it on every side. ⁵ The city remained under siege into the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu.

⁶ On the ninth day of the fourth month, when the famine in the city was so severe that there was no food for the people of the land, ⁷ they broke through into the city. All the soldiers fled and left the city by night through the gate between the two walls, near the king’s garden. Because the Kasdim were surrounding the city, they took the route through the ‘Aravah. ⁸ But the army of the Kasdim went in pursuit of the king and overtook Tzidkiyahu on the plains near Yericho; all his troops deserted him. ⁹ Then they took the king and brought him up to the king of Bavel in Rivlah, in the land of Hamat, where he passed judgment on him. ¹⁰ The king of Bavel slaughtered his sons before his eyes; he also slaughtered all the leading men of Y’hudah in Rivlah. ¹¹ Then the king of Bavel put out Tzidkiyahu’s eyes, bound him in chains, carried him off to Bavel and kept him in prison until the day of his death.

¹² In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was also the nineteenth year of King N’vukhadretzar, king of Bavel, N’vuzar’adan, the commander of the guard and a close associate of the king of Bavel, entered Yerushalayim. ¹³ He burned down the house of Adonai, the royal palace and all the houses in Yerushalayim — every notable person’s house he burned to the ground. ¹⁴ The whole army of the Kasdim, who were with the commander of the guard, broke down all the walls of Yerushalayim on every side. ¹⁵ N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard then deported some of the poor people, the remaining population of the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Bavel and the rest of the common people. ¹⁶ But N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard left behind some of the poor people of the land to be vineyard-workers and farmers.

¹⁷ The Kasdim smashed the bronze columns of the house of Adonai, also the trolleys and bronze Sea that were in the house of Adonai, and carried their bronze to Bavel. ¹⁸ They also took away the pots, shovels, snuffers, basins, pans, and all the bronze articles they had used in worship. ¹⁹ The commander of the guard took the cups, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, menorahs, pans and bowls — everything made of gold and everything made of silver. ²⁰ The bronze in the two columns, the one Sea, and the twelve bronze bulls under the bases, all of which Shlomo had made for the house of Adonai, was more than could be weighed. ²¹ As for the columns, the height of one column was thirty-one-and-a-half feet; it took a twenty-one-foot measuring line to go around it; and its thickness was four fingers — it was hollow. ²² On it was a capital of brass eight-and-three quarters feet high, with netting and pomegranates all around the capital, all of bronze; the second column was similar, also with pomegranates. ²³ There were ninety-six pomegranates on the outside; while the total number of pomegranates in the netting was one hundred.

²⁴ The commander of the guard took [prisoner] S’rayah the chief cohen, Tz’fanyah the second-ranking cohen, and three doorkeepers. ²⁵ From the city he took an official in charge of the soldiers, seven close associates of the king who had been found in the city, the army commander’s secretary in charge of military conscription, and sixty of the common people found inside the city. ²⁶ N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Bavel in Rivlah. ²⁷ There in Rivlah, in the land of Hamat, the king of Bavel had them put to death. Thus Y’hudah was carried away captive out of his land.

²⁸ The numbers of people deported by N’vukhadretzar were as follows: in the seventh year, 3,023 persons from Y’hudah; ²⁹ in the eighteenth year of N’vukhadretzar, 832 persons from Yerushalayim; ³⁰ and in the twenty-third year of N’vukhadretzar, N’vuzar’adan the commander of the guard deported 745 persons from Y’hudah; the total comes to 4,600 persons.

³¹ In the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Y’hoyakhin king of Y’hudah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Eveel-M’rodakh began his reign as king of Bavel; and in his first year, he commuted the sentence of Y’hoyakhin king of Y’hudah and released him from prison. ³² He treated him with kindness and gave him a throne higher than those of the other kings there with him in Bavel. ³³ So Y’hoyakhin no longer had to wear prison clothes; moreover, he was provided with food as long as he lived, ³⁴ and he was granted a daily allowance by the king of Bavel to spend on his other needs for as long as he lived, until the day of his death.

1 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the K’var River, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth day of the month, which was during the fifth year of King Y’hoyakhin’s exile, ³ the word of Adonai came to the cohen Yechezk’el son of Buzi, in the land of the Kasdim by the K’var River; there the hand of Adonai was on him.

⁴ I looked and saw a windy storm approaching from the north and a huge cloud with flashing fire, glowing brightly all around with the color of gleaming amber from within the fire. ⁵ Inside, there appeared to be four living creatures that looked like human beings; ⁶ but each one had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight, with feet like calves’ hoofs. They glittered like burnished bronze. ⁸ Beneath their wings they had human hands on their four sides. The four of them had faces and wings as follows: ⁹ they touched one another with their wings; they did not turn when they moved, but each one moved straight forward; ¹⁰ as for the appearance of their faces, they had human faces [in front], each of the four had a lion’s face on the right, each of the four had a bull’s face on the left, and each of the four had an eagle’s face [toward the rear] — ¹¹ thus their faces. As for their wings, each had two that stretched upward and joined those of others, and two more that covered their bodies. ¹² Each [living creature] moved in the direction of any of its faces; in whichever direction the spirit wanted to go, they went, without turning as they moved — ¹³ thus the appearance of the living creatures.

With them was something that looked like fiery coals burning the way torches do, with the fire flashing here and there between the living creatures; the fire had a brilliance, and out of the fire went lightning. ¹⁴ The living creatures kept speeding here and there like flashes of lightning.

¹⁵ As I gazed at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground, one next to each of the four-faced living creatures. ¹⁶ All four wheels looked the same: their inner parts gleamed like beryl, and their structure seemed to be that of a wheel inside a wheel. ¹⁷ When they moved, they could go in any of the four directions without turning as they moved. ¹⁸ Their rims were tall and fearsome, because the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. ¹⁹ When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved along with them; and when the creatures were lifted off the ground, the wheels went with them. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, in the direction the spirit wanted to go. The wheels were lifted up next to them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When [the living creatures] moved, [the wheels] moved; when the former stood still, the latter stood still; and when the former were lifted off the ground, the wheels were lifted up next to them; because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²² Over the heads of the living creatures was what appeared to be a dome glittering like ice; it was awesome, spread out over their heads, above them. ²³ Under the dome each had a pair of wings spread out straight toward those of others, and each had a pair which covered his body. ²⁴ I heard the sound of their wings when they moved; it was like the sound of rushing water, like the voice of Shaddai, like the noise of a tumultuous crowd or army. When they stopped, they lowered their wings. ²⁵ Whenever there was a sound from above the dome over their heads, they stopped and lowered their wings.

²⁶ Above the dome that was over their heads was something like a throne that looked like a sapphire. On it, above it, was what appeared to be a person. ²⁷ I saw what looked like gleaming, amber-colored fire radiating from what appeared to be his waist upward. Downward from what appeared to be his waist, I saw what looked like fire, giving a brilliant light all around him. ²⁸ This brilliance around him looked like a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was how the appearance of the glory of Adonai looked. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.

2 He said to me, “Human being! Stand up! I want to speak with you!” ² As he spoke to me, a spirit entered me and put me on my feet, and I heard him who was speaking to me. ³ He said, “Human being! I am sending you to the people of Isra’el, that nation of rebels who have rebelled against me — they and their ancestors have been transgressing against me to this very day. ⁴ Because they are defiant, hardhearted children, I am sending you; and you are to tell them, ‘Here is what Adonai Elohim says.’ ⁵ Whether they listen or not, this rebellious house will still know that a prophet has been among them!

⁶ “As for you, human being, don’t be afraid of them or their words, even if briars and thorns surround you, and you sit among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words or be upset by their looks, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷ You are to speak my words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are very rebellious. ⁸ But you, human being, hear what I am telling you: don’t you be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth, and eat what I am about to give you.”

⁹ When I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, holding a scroll. ¹⁰ He spread it out in front of me, and it was covered with writing front and back. Written on it were laments, dirges and woes.

3 He said to me, “Human being, eat what you see in front of you; eat this scroll. Then go and speak to the house of Isra’el.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat, ³ as he said, “Human being, eat this scroll I am giving you; fill your insides with it.” When I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey.

⁴ “Human being,” he said to me, “go to the house of Isra’el, and speak my words to them. ⁵ For you are not being sent to a people with a difficult language and unintelligible speech, but to the house of Isra’el — ⁶ not to many peoples with difficult languages and unintelligible speech, whose words you can’t understand when you hear them. Without doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you. ⁷ But the house of Isra’el will not be willing to listen to you, because they aren’t willing to listen to me; since all the house of Isra’el are obstinate and hardhearted. ⁸ However, I am making you as defiant and obstinate as they are. ⁹ Yes, I am making your resoluteness harder than flint, as hard as a diamond. So don’t be afraid of them or depressed by how they look at you, because they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰ Then he said to me, “Human being, receive in your heart and hear with your ears all my words that I speak to you. ¹¹ Then go to the exiles, to your countrymen; and speak to them. Tell them, ‘Here is what Adonai Elohim, says,’ whether they listen or not.”

¹² A spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a very loud sound — blessed be the glory of Adonai from his place! ¹³ It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they beat against each other, and the sound of the wheels next to them, a very loud sound. ¹⁴ So a spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness and the heat of my spirit, with the hand of Adonai strong on me.

¹⁵ I went to the exiles who were living in Tel-Aviv, by the K’var River and stayed with them there in a stupefied state for seven days. ¹⁶ After seven days the word of Adonai came to me: ¹⁷ “Human being, I have appointed you to be a watchman for the house of Isra’el. When you hear a word from my mouth, you are to warn them for me. ¹⁸ If I say to a wicked person, ‘You will certainly die’; and you fail to warn him, to speak and warn the wicked person to leave his wicked way and save his life; then that wicked person will die guilty; and I will hold you responsible for his death. ¹⁹ On the other hand, if you warn the wicked person, and he doesn’t turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, then he will still die guilty; but you will have saved your own life. ²⁰ Similarly, when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and commits wickedness, I will place a stumblingblock before him — he will die; because you failed to warn him, he will die in his sin; his righteous acts which he did will not be remembered; and I will hold you responsible for his death. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous person that a righteous person should not sin, and he doesn’t sin; then he will certainly live, because he took the warning; and you too will have saved your life.”

²² The hand of Adonai came on me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the valley, and I will speak with you there.” ²³ So I got up and went out to the valley. The glory of Adonai was there, like the glory I had seen by the K’var River; and I fell on my face. ²⁴ A spirit entered me and put me on my feet. Then he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ²⁵ Human being, you are going to be bound with ropes, unable to go out among the people. ²⁶ I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, so that you will be mute, unable to reprove them; for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth; and you will say to them, ‘This is what Adonai Elohim says.’ Whoever is inclined to listen will listen, and whoever is inclined to refuse will refuse, because they are a rebellious house.

4 “As for you, human being, take a clay slab, lay it down in front of you, and draw on it the city of Yerushalayim. ² Show it under siege — build towers against it, raise earthworks against it, set up camps against it, and surround it with battering rams. ³ Then take an iron griddle and put it in place as a wall of iron between yourself and the city, and fix your gaze on it — the city is under siege, and you are the one besieging it. This will be a sign for the house of Isra’el.

⁴ “Next, you are to lie on your left side, and have it bear the guilt of the house of Isra’el — for as many days as you lie on your side, you will bear their guilt. ⁵ For I am assigning you one day for each year of their guilt; thus you are to bear the guilt of the house of Isra’el for 390 days. ⁶ Then, when you have finished that, you are to lie on your right side and bear the guilt of the house of Y’hudah for forty days, each day corresponding to a year; this is what I am assigning you. ⁷ You are to fix your gaze on the siege of Yerushalayim, and, with your arm bared, prophesy against it. ⁸ I am tying you down with ropes, and you are not to turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.

⁹ “Take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and buckwheat; put them together in one bowl; and make bread from it. For as long as you lie on your side, 390 days, this is what you are to eat. ¹⁰ Each day the food you eat must weigh only three-quarters of a pound; you may eat it from time to time [during the day]. ¹¹ You are also to drink a limited amount of water, two-thirds of a quart; you may drink it from time to time [during the day]. ¹² [The bread] you eat is to be baked like barley cakes; you are to bake it before their eyes, using human dung as fuel.” ¹³ Adonai said, “This is how the people of Isra’el will eat their food — unclean — in the nations where I am driving them.” ¹⁴ I objected: “No, Adonai Elohim! I have never defiled myself — from my youth until now I have never eaten anything that died by itself or was killed by wild animals; no such disgusting food has ever entered my mouth.” ¹⁵ He answered, “All right, I will give you cow dung to use instead of human dung, and you can prepare your bread on it.”

¹⁶ He then said to me, “Human being, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Yerushalayim, so that they will anxiously weigh out bread to eat, and, horrified, ration water to drink. ¹⁷ Finally, due to lack of bread and water, they will stare at each other in shock, wasting away because of their guilt.”

5 “Now you, human being, take a sharp sword; and use it like a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard. Then weigh the hair on a balance-scale, and divide it up. ² A third of it you are to burn in the city when the days of the siege are over. Take another third, and hit it with your sword all around the city. Scatter the last third to the wind, and I will pursue them with drawn sword. ³ Also take a few hairs and tie them up in the folds of your garment. ⁴ Again, of these take some; throw them in the fire, and burn them up; from there a fire will come out against the entire house of Isra’el.

⁵ “Here is what Adonai Elohim, says:

⁷ “Therefore here is what Adonai Elohim, says: ‘Because you have outdone the nations around you by not living according to my laws or following my rulings or even following the rules of the nations around you,’ ⁸ therefore here is what Adonai Elohim, says: ‘I too am against you, yes, I; and I will execute judgments among you while all the nations look on. ⁹ Moreover, because of all your disgusting practices, I will do things to you that I have never done before; and I will never do such things again. ¹⁰ Parents among you will eat their children, and children will eat their parents! I will execute judgments among you and scatter to all the winds those of you who remain. ¹¹ For, as I live,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘because you defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and disgusting practices, therefore I swear that I will cut you off — my eye will not spare, I will have no pity. ¹² A third of you will die from plague or be consumed by famine inside [Yerushalayim]; a third will fall by the sword all around [Yerushalayim]; and a third I will scatter to all the winds and pursue with the sword.’ ¹³ In this way my anger will spend itself, my fury against them will die down, and I will be satisfied. Then, when I have spent my fury on them, they will know that I, Adonai, have spoken out of my zeal. ¹⁴ ‘I will make you a ruin and an object of reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all passing by. ¹⁵ When I execute judgments and furious punishments among you in anger and fury, [Yerushalayim] will be an object of reproach, derision and horror, and a lesson to warn the nations around you. I, Adonai, have announced it. ¹⁶ I will send upon them the deadly, destructive arrows of famine, which I will send to destroy you. I will make the famine worse for you by cutting off your food supply. ¹⁷ Yes, I will send famine and savage beasts upon you to leave you without children; plague and bloodshed will sweep through you; and I will bring the sword upon you. I, Adonai, have spoken it.’”

6 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, face toward the mountains of Isra’el, and prophesy against them: ³ ‘Mountains of Isra’el, hear the word of Adonai Elohim: here is what Adonai Elohim says about the mountains, hills, ravines and valleys: “I myself will bring a sword against you and destroy your high places. ⁴ Your altars will be wrecked and your pillars for sun-worship broken, and I will throw down your slain ones in front of your idols. ⁵ I will lay the corpses of the people of Isra’el in front of their idols and scatter your bones all around your altars. ⁶ Everywhere you live, the cities will be destroyed and the high places wrecked; so that your altars can be destroyed and wrecked, your idols broken and abolished, your pillars for sun-worship cut down and the things you have made wiped out. ⁷ The slain will fall among you; then you will know that I am Adonai.

⁸ “‘“Nevertheless, I will leave a remnant, some who will escape the sword among the nations, when you have been scattered throughout the countries. ⁹ Those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they have been exiled. How broken I have been over their whoring hearts that left me, and over their eyes that went whoring after their idols! They are going to loathe themselves for all the evils they committed in their disgusting practices. ¹⁰ Then they will know that I am Adonai; it isn’t for nothing that I said I would bring this calamity upon them.”’

¹¹ “Here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and bemoan all the terrible disgusting practices of the house of Isra’el. For they will fall by sword, famine and plague. ¹² Those far away will die from the plague, those nearby will fall by the sword, and whoever stays and is besieged will die from famine. This is how I will spend my fury on them. ¹³ You will know that I am Adonai when their slain men are lying among their idols around their altars on every high hill, on every mountaintop, under every green tree, under every thick pistachio tree, wherever they offered sweet-smelling sacrifices to appease their idols. ¹⁴ I will stretch out my hand over them and make the land wherever they live into a desolate waste worse than the Divlah Desert. Then they will know that I am Adonai.’”

7 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “As for you, human being, here is what Adonai Elohim says about the land of Isra’el:

8 On the fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year, as I was sitting in my house, and the leaders of Y’hudah were sitting there with me, the hand of Adonai Elohim fell on me. ² I looked and saw what seemed like a man made of fire. From what appeared to be his waist downward was fire, and from his waist upward was what appeared to be a gleaming amber-colored brilliance. ³ The form of a hand was put out, which took me by a lock of my hair; and a spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me, in these visions from God, to Yerushalayim, to the entrance of the inner [courtyard] gate that faces north. There stood the idol that [arouses God’s] jealousy and provokes [his] zealous indignation. ⁴ There before me was the glory of the God of Isra’el, as in the vision I had seen in the valley.

⁵ Then he said to me, “Human being, raise your eyes toward the north.” I raised my eyes toward the north and saw, north of the Altar Gate, this image that [arouses God’s] jealousy in the entryway. ⁶ He asked me, “Human being, do you see what they are doing, the horribly disgusting practices that the house of Isra’el is committing here, so that I must distance myself from my own sanctuary? But you will see even worse abominations.”

⁷ He brought me to the entrance of the courtyard; and when I looked, I saw a hole in the wall. ⁸ He said to me, “Human being, dig into the wall.” After digging in the wall, I saw a door. ⁹ “Go in,” he said, “and see the wicked practices they are engaged in here.” ¹⁰ So I went in and looked, and there, carved on the walls all around, were every kind of reptile and repulsive animal, along with all the idols of the house of Isra’el. ¹¹ Standing in front of them were seventy of the leading men of the house of Isra’el — in the center stood Ya’azanyahu the son of Shafan. Each man had his incense-burner in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then he said to me, “Human being, did you see what the leaders of the house of Isra’el are doing in the dark, each one in the room of his own carved image, because they say, ‘Adonai can’t see us; Adonai has left the land.’?” ¹³ He also said to me, “You will see even worse abominations that they are doing.”

¹⁴ He brought me to the entrance of the north gate to Adonai’s house; and there before me were women weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ “Human being,” he asked me, “have you seen this? You will see practices even more disgusting than these.” ¹⁶ He brought me into the inner courtyard of Adonai’s house; and there, at the entrance to the temple of Adonai, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of Adonai and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ He asked me, “Human being, have you seen this? Does the house of Y’hudah consider it a casual matter that they commit the disgusting practices they are committing here, thus filling the land with violence, provoking me still more? Look! They are even putting the branch to their nose! ¹⁸ Therefore I will act in fury, my eye will not spare, I will have no pity. Even if they cry loudly right in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

9 Then he cried loudly right in my ears: “Summon the commanders of the city, each holding his weapon of destruction.” ² At once, six men approached on the path from the upper gate, to the north, each man holding his weapon of destruction. Among them was a man clothed in linen, with a scribe’s writing equipment at his waist. They entered and stood by the bronze altar. ³ Then the glory of the God of Isra’el was made to go up from over the keruv, where it had been, to the threshold of the house. He called to the man clothed in linen, who had the scribe’s writing equipment at his waist. ⁴ Adonai said to him, “Go throughout the city, through all Yerushalayim, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who are sighing and crying over all the disgusting practices that are being committed in it.” ⁵ To the others I heard him say, “Go through the city after him and strike! Don’t let your eye spare; have no pity! ⁶ Kill old men, young men, girls, little children, women — slaughter them all! But don’t go near anyone with the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” They began with the leaders in front of the house. ⁷ Then he said to them, “Defile the house! Fill the courtyards with corpses! Get going!” So they went out, spreading death in the city.

⁸ While the killing was going on, I was left alone. I fell on my face, cried, and said, “Oh, Adonai Elohim! In pouring out your fury on Yerushalayim, are you going to destroy everyone left in Isra’el?” ⁹ Then he said to me, “The wickedness of the house of Isra’el and Y’hudah is enormous, the land is full of blood, and the city is full of justice denied; because they say, ‘Adonai has left the land, Adonai doesn’t see.’ ¹⁰ But as far as I am concerned, my eye will not spare, and I will have no pity, but I will bring [the consequences of] their ways on their own heads.”

¹¹ At this point the man clothed in linen with the writing equipment at his waist returned and reported, “I have done everything you ordered me to do.”

10 Then I looked, and suddenly, on the dome over the heads of the k’ruvim, there appeared above them something like sapphire that seemed to take the form of a throne. ² He spoke to the man clothed in linen; he said, “Go in between the wheels under the k’ruvim, fill both your hands with fiery coals from between the k’ruvim, and throw them on the city.” As I watched, he went. ³ Now the k’ruvim were standing to the right of the house when the man entered, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. ⁴ The glory of Adonai rose from above the keruv to the threshold of the house, leaving the house filled with the cloud and the courtyard full of the brilliance of Adonai’s glory. ⁵ The sound of the wings of the k’ruvim could be heard even in the outer courtyard sounding like the voice of God, Shaddai, when he speaks.

⁶ When he ordered the man clothed in linen to take fire from between the wheels, from between the k’ruvim, he went in and stood next to a wheel; ⁷ and a keruv put out his hand from between the k’ruvim into the fire between the k’ruvim, took some of it, and put it in the hands of the one clothed in linen, who took it and went out.

⁸ Now there appeared among the k’ruvim the form of a man’s hand under their wings. ⁹ I looked and saw four wheels next to the k’ruvim, one wheel next to one keruv and another wheel next to another keruv: the wheels had the color of beryl. ¹⁰ Their shape was the same for all four, like a wheel inside a wheel. ¹¹ When they moved, they could go in any of the four directions without turning as they moved; rather, wherever the head looked, they followed without turning as they moved. ¹² Their whole bodies, including their backs, hands and wings, and also the wheels, were full of eyes all around — even the wheels of the four k’ruvim. ¹³ As for the wheels, I heard them called “the wheel apparatus.” ¹⁴ Every one [of the k’ruvim] had four faces: the first face was the face of a keruv, the second face was the face of a man, the third the face of a lion and the fourth the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ Then the k’ruvim rose. These were the living creatures I had seen by the K’var River. ¹⁶ When the k’ruvim moved, the wheels went with them; and when the k’ruvim lifted their wings to rise off the ground, these wheels did not stop going with them. ¹⁷ When [the k’ruvim] stood still, [the wheels] stood still; and when the former rose, the latter rose with them; because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

¹⁸ Now the glory of Adonai left the threshold of the house and halted above the k’ruvim. ¹⁹ The k’ruvim lifted their wings and rose off the earth — I was watching as they went off with the wheels next to them. They paused at the entrance to the east gate of Adonai’s house, with the glory of the God of Isra’el over them, from above.

²⁰ This was the living creature I had seen beneath the God of Isra’el by the K’var River, so I knew they were k’ruvim. ²¹ Each of the four had four faces, and each had four wings, and what looked like a man’s hands was under their wings. ²² As for how their faces looked, they were the faces I had seen by the K’var River, identical in appearance. Each one moved straight ahead.

11 Then a spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of Adonai’s house, the gate that faces eastward. At the entrance of the gate I saw twenty-five men; among them were Ya’azanyah the son of ‘Azur and P’latyahu the son of B’nayahu, leaders of the people. ² He said to me, “Human being, these are the men who make evil plans and give wicked advice in this city. ³ They say, ‘The time hasn’t come to build houses. This city is the cooking pot, and we’re the meat!’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them, human being, prophesy!” ⁵ The Spirit of Adonai fell on me, and he said to me, “Say, ‘Here is what Adonai says: “What you are saying is correct, house of Isra’el; because I know how your minds work. ⁶ You have killed many in this city, you have filled its streets with the dead.” ⁷ Therefore Adonai Elohim says this: “Those you have killed and strewn all over it, they are the meat; and this city is indeed the cooking pot; but you will be removed from it. ⁸ You are afraid of the sword, but I will bring the sword upon you,” says Adonai Elohim. ⁹ “I will bring you out of it, hand you over to foreigners and execute judgments among you. ¹⁰ You will die by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Isra’el; and you will know that I am Adonai. ¹¹ This city will not be your cooking pot, but you will be the meat in it — I will judge you at Isra’el’s frontier; ¹² and you will know that I am Adonai. For you have not lived by my laws or obeyed my rulings but have acted according to the rules of the nations surrounding you.”’”

¹³ As I was prophesying, P’latyahu the son of B’nayah died. I fell down on my face and cried out, “Oh, Adonai Elohim! Are you going to destroy completely those of Isra’el who are left?” ¹⁴ Then the word of Adonai came to me: ¹⁵ “Human being, it is to your kinsmen — your brothers, your relatives and the whole house of Isra’el — that the people living in Yerushalayim have said, ‘Get away from Adonai! This land has been given to us to possess!’ ¹⁶ Therefore, say that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘True, I removed them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries; nevertheless, I have been a little sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, say that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘“I will gather you from the peoples and collect you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give the land of Isra’el to you.” ¹⁸ Then they will go there and remove all its loathsome things and disgusting practices, ¹⁹ and I will give them unity of heart. “I will put a new spirit among you.” I will remove from their bodies the hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh; ²⁰ so that they will live by my regulations, obey my rulings and act by them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts go after the heart of their loathsome things and disgusting practices, I will bring [the consequences of] their ways on their own heads,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

²² The k’ruvim lifted their wings, and the wheels were next to them, with the glory of the God of Isra’el over them, above. ²³ Next, the glory of Adonai rose from within the city and stood over the mountain which is on the east side of the city. ²⁴ Then a spirit lifted me up and brought me, in the vision, by the Spirit of God, to the exiles in the land of the Kasdim; after which the vision I had seen left me. ²⁵ So I told the exiles everything Adonai had shown me.

12 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes that can see, but they don’t take notice; and they have ears that can hear, but they don’t pay attention; because they are a rebellious people. ³ So you, human being, prepare supplies for exile; and during the daytime, as they watch, go away as if you were going into exile — leave your place, and go somewhere else as they watch. Perhaps they will take notice, even though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ Bring out your belongings during the day while they watch, as supplies for exile; and you yourself, while they watch, are to leave as people do who are going into exile. ⁵ Dig a hole through the wall while they watch, and carry [your belongings] out through it. ⁶ While they watch, you are to shoulder your pack and carry it out into the dark, with your face covered, so that you can’t see the ground; for I am making you a sign for the house of Isra’el.”

⁷ So I did as I had been ordered — I brought out my belongings during the day as supplies for exile, and in the evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand; then I carried my pack out on my shoulder in the dark as they watched.

⁸ In the morning the word of Adonai came to me: ⁹ “Human being, the house of Isra’el, that rebellious house, has asked you what you are doing. ¹⁰ Tell them that Adonai Elohim says this prophecy concerns the prince in Yerushalayim and all the house of Isra’el there. ¹¹ Say: ‘I am a sign for you. As I have done, so will it be done to them — they will go into exile, into captivity. ¹² The prince who is with them will shoulder his pack and leave in the dark. They will dig holes through the wall to carry out their supplies. He will cover his face, so that he won’t be able to see the ground with his eyes. ¹³ I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. Then I will bring him to Bavel, to the land of the Kasdim. But he will not see it, even though he is going to die there. ¹⁴ I will scatter to every wind all who are in attendance on him to help him, along with all his troops; and I will pursue them with the sword. ¹⁵ They will know that I am Adonai when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the countries. ¹⁶ But I will spare a few of them from sword, famine and plague; so that they can tell about all their disgusting practices among the nations where they go; thus they too will know that I am Adonai.’”

¹⁷ The word of Adonai came to me: ¹⁸ “Human being, shake as you eat your food; tremble anxiously as you drink your water; ¹⁹ and say to the people of the land, ‘Here is what Adonai Elohim says concerning those living in Yerushalayim in the land of Isra’el: “They will eat their bread in anxiety and drink their water in horror; because the land will be desolated from everything that fills it, due to the violence of those living there. ²⁰ The inhabited cities will be laid waste, the land will be desolate, and you will know that I am Adonai.”’”

²¹ The word of Adonai came to me: ²² “Human being, don’t you have this proverb in the land of Isra’el, ‘Time keeps passing, and none of the visions are fulfilled’? ²³ Therefore tell them that Adonai Elohim says, ‘I will put an end to that proverb; never again will they use it as a proverb in Isra’el.’ Tell them, ‘The time has come for the fulfillment of every vision. ²⁴ There will no longer be empty visions or falsely optimistic divinations in the house of Isra’el, ²⁵ because I am Adonai. I will speak; and whatever statement I make, it will be accomplished. It will no longer be delayed; for in your days, you rebellious house, I will speak the word and accomplish it,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

²⁶ Again, the word of Adonai came to me: ²⁷ “Human being, look! People from the house of Isra’el are saying, ‘The vision he sees concerns the distant future; he is prophesying about a time far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore, say to them that Adonai Elohim says, ‘None of my words will be delayed any more, but the word that I speak will be accomplished,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

13 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, prophesy against the prophets of Isra’el who prophesy. Tell those prophesying out of their own thoughts, ‘Listen to what Adonai says! ³ Adonai Elohim says: “Woe to the vile prophets who follow their own spirits and things which they have not seen! ⁴ Isra’el, your prophets have been like jackals among ruins. ⁵ You [prophets] have not gone up to the breaks in the barricade or repaired it for the house of Isra’el, so that they can stand fast in battle on the day of Adonai. ⁶ Their visions are futile and their divination is false; they say, ‘Adonai says,’ when Adonai has not sent them; yet they hope that the word will be confirmed. ⁷ Haven’t you had a futile vision and spoken a false divination when you say, ‘Adonai says,’ and I have not spoken? ⁸ Therefore here is what Adonai Elohim does say: ‘Because you have spoken futilities and seen falsehoods, therefore I am against you,’ says Adonai Elohim.

⁹ “‘“My hand will be against the prophets who have futile visions and produce false divinations; they will not be allowed into the council of my people, or be written in the register of the house of Isra’el, or enter the land of Isra’el. Then you will know that I am Adonai Elohim. ¹⁰ They deserve this, because they have led my people astray by saying there is peace when there is no peace. If someone builds a wall without mortar, they ‘plaster’ it with whitewash [to make it appear strong]. ¹¹ Tell these ‘plasterers’ that a cloudburst is coming, with huge hailstones and gale-force winds; ¹² and the wall will fall down. Then people will ask you, ‘Where is the whitewash you used to “plaster” it?’” ¹³ Therefore Adonai Elohim says: “In my rage I will cause gale-force winds to break out, and in my anger there will come a cloudburst, with huge hailstones to consume it in fury. ¹⁴ This is how I will break down the wall you covered with whitewash — I will smash it to the ground, so that its foundation will be revealed. The wall will fall down, and you will be consumed with it. Then you will know that I am Adonai. ¹⁵ In this way I will spend my fury on the wall and on those who covered it with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone, and so are those who “plastered” it,’ ¹⁶ that is, the prophets of Isra’el who prophesy about Yerushalayim and see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,” says Adonai Elohim.’

¹⁷ “You, human being, turn your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own thoughts. Prophesy against them; ¹⁸ tell them that Adonai Elohim says, ‘Woe to the women who sew magic pads for all arm joints and put veils over people of all sizes, in order to hunt human lives! Will you hunt down the lives of my people while you keep your own lives safe? ¹⁹ You dishonor me before my people for a few handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread, killing people who should not die and sparing those who should not live, by your lying to my people, who love hearing lies.’ ²⁰ Therefore here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘I am against your pads, with which you hunt human lives like birds; I will tear them from your arms and let the lives go, yes, the human lives that you hunt like birds. ²¹ I will also tear your veils and rescue my people from your clutches, so that they will no longer be in your power for you to hunt. Then you will know that I am Adonai. ²² Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies when I was not trying to cause them pain and have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their wicked ways and thus be saved, ²³ therefore you will have no more futile visions, and you will produce no more divinations. I will rescue my people from your clutches, and you will know that I am Adonai.’”

14 Then certain of Isra’el’s leaders came to me; and while they were sitting with me, ² the word of Adonai came to me: ³ “Human being, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, thus setting in front of themselves the stumblingblock that leads to sin. Should I let them consult me at all? ⁴ Therefore speak to them, and tell them that Adonai Elohim says, ‘Everyone in the house of Isra’el who takes his idols into his heart, thus setting in front of himself the stumblingblock that leads to sin, and then comes to the prophet, I myself, Adonai, will answer him in a manner suited to his many idols, ⁵ in order to grab hold of the house of Isra’el in their hearts; since, through their idols, they have all fallen away from me.’

⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Isra’el that Adonai Elohim says, ‘Repent! Turn yourselves away from your idols, turn your faces away from all your disgusting practices! ⁷ For everyone, whether from the house of Isra’el or a foreigner living in Isra’el, who separates himself from me and takes his idols into his heart, thus setting in front of himself the stumblingblock that leads to sin, and then comes to the prophet, asking him to consult me for him, I myself, Adonai, will answer him. ⁸ I will set my face against that person, make him a warning sign and an example, and cut him off from my people. Then you will know that I am Adonai.

⁹ “‘Now, whenever a prophet is enticed into speaking a word, it will be I, Adonai, who will have enticed that prophet. I will stretch out my hand over him and destroy him from among my people Isra’el. ¹⁰ The prophets will bear the guilt for their sins — the sin of the prophet will be the same as the sin of the inquirer — ¹¹ so that the house of Isra’el will no longer wander away from me or defile themselves with all their crimes; rather, they will be my people and I will be their God,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

¹² The word of Adonai came to me: ¹³ “Human being, when a land sins against me by dealing treacherously with me, so that I stretch out my hand over it and break off its food supply, sending it famine and eliminating both its humans and its animals; ¹⁴ even if these three men were in it — Noach, Dani’el and Iyov — they would by their righteousness save only themselves,” says Adonai Elohim.

¹⁵ “If I unleash wild beasts on the land, and they kill its children and desolate it, so that no one can pass through because of the animals; ¹⁶ even if these three men were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither sons nor daughters; only they themselves would be saved, and the land would remain barren.

¹⁷ “Or if I bring the sword down on that land, saying, ‘Let the sword pass through the land,’ so that I eliminate both its humans and its animals; ¹⁸ even if these three men were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither sons nor daughters; only they themselves would be saved.

¹⁹ “Or if I bring a plague into that land and pour out my fury on it in bloodshed, so that I eliminate both its humans and its animals; ²⁰ even if Noach, Dani’el and Iyov were in it, as I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “they would save neither a son nor a daughter; they would save only themselves by their righteousness.”

²¹ For here is what Adonai Elohim says: “Even if I inflict my four dreadful judgments on Yerushalayim — sword, famine, wild animals and plagues — to eliminate both its humans and its animals; ²² there will still be left a remnant in it to be brought out, including both sons and daughters. When they come out to you, and you see their way of life and how they act, then you will be consoled over the calamity I have brought upon Yerushalayim, over everything I have done to it. ²³ Yes, they will console you when you see their way of life and how they act; and you will understand that it was not without good reason that I did what I did in [Yerushalayim],” says Adonai Elohim.

15 The word of Adonai came to me:

16 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, make Yerushalayim realize how disgusting her practices are. ³ Say that Adonai Elohim is telling Yerushalayim, ‘By origin and birth you are of the land of the Kena‘ani — your father was an Emori, and your mother was a Hitti. ⁴ As for your birth — on the day you were born nobody cut your umbilical cord, washed you in water to clean you off, rubbed salt on you or wrapped you in cloth. ⁵ No one seeing you had enough pity on you to do any of these things for you — no one had any compassion on you. Instead, you were thrown into an open field in your own filth on the day you were born.

⁶ “‘I passed by and saw you there, wallowing in your own blood; and as you lay in your blood I said to you, “Live!” Yes, I said to you, as you lay in your blood, “Live! ⁷ I will increase your numbers just like plants growing in the field.” And you did increase, you developed, you reached puberty, your breasts appeared, and your hair grew long; but you were naked and exposed.

⁸ “‘Again I passed by you, looked at you and saw that your time had come, the time for love. So I spread my cloak over you to cover your private parts and entered into a covenant with you,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘and you became mine. ⁹ Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with oil. ¹⁰ I also clothed you with an embroidered gown, gave you fine leather sandals to wear, put a fine linen headband on your head and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I gave you jewelry to wear, bracelets for your hands, a necklace for your neck, ¹² a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears and a beautiful crown for your head. ¹³ Thus you were decked out in gold and silver; your clothing was of fine linen, silk and richly embroidered cloth; you ate the finest flour, honey and olive oil. You grew increasingly beautiful — you were fit to be queen. ¹⁴ Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, because it was perfect, due to my having bestowed my own splendor on you’ says Adonai Elohim.

¹⁵ “‘But you put your trust in your own beauty and began prostituting yourself because of your fame, soliciting everyone passing by and accepting all comers. ¹⁶ You took your clothes and used them to decorate with bright colors the high places you made for yourself, and there you continued prostituting yourself. Such things shouldn’t happen, and in the future they won’t. ¹⁷ You also took your beautiful jewels made of my gold and my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images, with which you continued to prostitute yourself. ¹⁸ You took your embroidered clothing and covered them; you set my olive oil and my incense in front of them; ¹⁹ and you took my food, which I had given you — my fine flour, olive oil and honey, that I had given you to eat — and set it in front of them to give a pleasant aroma. That is how it was,’ says Adonai Elohim.

²⁰ “‘Moreover, your sons and daughters, whom you bore me, you took and sacrificed for them to devour. Were these fornications of yours a casual matter? — ²¹ killing my children, handing them over and setting them apart for [these idols]? ²² In all your disgusting practices and fornications you never remembered the condition you were in when you were young — naked, exposed and wallowing in your own blood.

²³ “‘So, after all this wickedness of yours — woe, woe to you!’ says Adonai Elohim — ²⁴ ‘you built platforms and made yourself high places in every open space. ²⁵ You built your high places at every streetcorner, turning your beauty into an abomination, spreading your legs for every passer-by, and multiplying your acts of fornication. ²⁶ You had sex with your big-membered Egyptian neighbors and engaged in fornication over and over, just to provoke me. ²⁷ So now I have stretched out my hand over you, diminished your ration of food and put you at the mercy of those who hate you, the daughters of the P’lishtim, who find your lewd behavior revolting.

²⁸ “‘Still unsatisfied, you acted like a whore also with the people of Ashur; yes, you fornicated with them and were still not satisfied. ²⁹ You multiplied your acts of fornication with the land of traders, the Kasdim, and still weren’t satisfied.

³⁰ “‘You are so weak-willed!’ says Adonai Elohim. ‘You do all these things, behaving like a shameless whore, ³¹ building your platforms on every streetcorner, making your high places in every open space — and yet you aren’t like a whore, because you scorn getting paid. ³² Here is a wife who commits adultery, who goes to bed with strangers instead of her husband; ³³ but also instead of receiving gifts like every other prostitute, you give gifts to all your lovers, you bribe them to come to you from all over the place and have sex with you! ³⁴ You are the opposite of other women — you solicit the fornication, you aren’t solicited; and you pay them, they don’t pay you — you’re the opposite!

³⁵ “‘All right, you whore, listen to the word of Adonai!’ ³⁶ Adonai Elohim says: ‘Because your filth has been poured out and your privates exposed through your acts of fornication with your lovers, and because of all the idols of your disgusting practices, and because of the blood of your children, which you gave them, ³⁷ therefore, look! I am going to gather all your lovers, to whom you have been so very nice, all the ones you hate right along with all the ones you love — I will gather them against you from all over the place and expose your private parts to them, so that they will see you completely naked. ³⁸ I will pronounce on you the sentence that applies to women who commit adultery and murder; I will bring on you the death [decreed for] furious jealousy. ³⁹ Yes, I will hand you over to them; and they will make a ruin of your platforms, tear down your high places, strip you of your clothes, take away your jewels, and leave you naked and exposed. ⁴⁰ They will also bring up a mob against you, who will stone you to death and hack you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ They will burn your houses to the ground and execute judgments against you in the presence of many women. I will make you stop fornicating, and you will never again pay for a lover.

⁴² “‘Yes, I will satisfy my fury against you. But after that, my jealousy will leave you; and I will calm down and no longer be angry.

⁴³ “‘Because you didn’t remember the condition you were in when you were young, but enraged me with all these things, therefore I will bring [the consequences of] your ways on your own head’ says Adonai Elohim.

“‘You committed these obscenities in addition to all your other disgusting practices! ⁴⁴ Everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb against you, “Like mother, like daughter.” ⁴⁵ Yes, you are your mother’s daughter, who despises her husband and children; you are the sister of your sisters, who despise their husbands and children; your mother was a Hitti and your father an Emori. ⁴⁶ Moreover, your older sister is Shomron, who lives at your left, she and her daughters; and your younger sister, living at your right, is S’dom with her daughters. ⁴⁷ You didn’t merely live by their ways and act according to their disgusting practices, but in a very short time you acted more corruptly than they in all your ways.

⁴⁸ “‘As I live’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘your sister S’dom has not done, neither she nor her daughters, [as much evil] as you have done, you and your daughters. ⁴⁹ The crimes of your sister S’dom were pride and gluttony; she and her daughters were careless and complacent, so that they did nothing to help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ They were arrogant and committed disgusting acts before me; so that when I saw it, I swept them away. ⁵¹ Shomron did not commit even half as many sins as you did. You committed many more disgusting acts than your sisters; in fact, in comparison with all the disgusting acts you have committed, they seem innocent! ⁵² But you too must bear your disgrace; for by your passing judgment that your sisters were innocent, through your having committed sins worse than theirs, they are shown to be more righteous than you. So be ashamed, and bear the disgrace you deserve for making your [guilty] sisters seem innocent!

⁵³ “‘I will end their exile — the exile of S’dom and her daughters, the exile of Shomron and her daughters, and the exile of your captives there among them; ⁵⁴ so that you can bear your own shame and experience the disgrace you deserve for all you have done to shield them from feeling their own guilt. ⁵⁵ Your sisters, S’dom with her daughters and Shomron with her daughters, will return to their previous condition; and you with your daughters will return to your previous condition. ⁵⁶ When you were so proud, you spoke with contempt about your sister S’dom, ⁵⁷ before your own wickedness was exposed. But now the daughters of Aram mock you, as do her neighbors; and the daughters of the P’lishtim on every side are repulsed by you. ⁵⁸ You have brought it all on yourself with your depravities and disgusting practices,’ says Adonai.

⁵⁹ “For here is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘I will do to you as you have done — you treated the oath with contempt by breaking the covenant. ⁶⁰ Nevertheless, I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl and will establish an everlasting covenant with you. ⁶¹ Then you will remember your behavior and be ashamed of it as you receive your older and younger sisters and make them your daughters, even though the covenant with you does not cover that; ⁶² and I will re-establish my covenant with you. Then you will know that I am Adonai; ⁶³ so that you will remember and be so ashamed that you will never open your mouth again, so ashamed will you be when I have forgiven you all that you have done,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

17 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Human being, propound this riddle, tell the house of Isra’el this allegory, ³ say that Adonai Elohim says this: ‘A big eagle having great wings and long pinions full of varicolored feathers came to the L’vanon and took over the top of the cedar. ⁴ He cropped off the topmost of its young twigs, carried them to a land of traders and set them down in a city of merchants. ⁵ He also took some of the seed in the land and planted it in fertile soil, placing it where there was abundant water, as one would a willow. ⁶ It grew to become a fruitful vine sprawling over the ground; its branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him — thus it became a vine, sprouting branches and putting forth shoots.

⁷ “‘There was another big eagle with great wings and many feathers; and the vine bent its roots toward him and put forth its branches toward him, so that he might water it more than in the bed where it was planted. ⁸ It had been planted in good soil, near plenty of water, so that it would produce branches, bear fruit and become a noble vine.’

⁹ “Say that Adonai Elohim asks: ‘Will it succeed? Won’t he pull it up by the roots and cut off its fruit; so that it dries up; and all its sprouting leaves wither? There will be no great power and few people there when it is plucked up by the roots. ¹⁰ Will it thrive just because it was planted? Won’t it wither altogether when the east wind strikes it? Yes, it will wither right there in the beds where it was growing.’”

¹¹ The word of Adonai came to me: ¹² “Say to the rebellious house: ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them: ‘Here, the king of Bavel came to Yerushalayim, took its king and princes and brought them to himself in Bavel. ¹³ Then he took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. He removed the powerful leaders of the land, ¹⁴ so that this kingdom of his would stay humble and not develop aspirations of its own; rather, it would keep his covenant and live accordingly. ¹⁵ But this man rebelled and sent representatives to Egypt, in order to obtain horses and a sizeable army. Can he succeed? Can someone who does such things escape punishment? Can he break the covenant and still escape punishment?

¹⁶ “‘As I live,’ says Adonai Elohim, ‘in the place where the king who gave him his throne lives, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, there with him in Bavel I swear that he will die. ¹⁷ Pharaoh with his mighty army and numerous troops will give him no help in the war, when they raise siege-works and build fortified towers to destroy many people; ¹⁸ because he despised the oath by breaking the covenant to which he had sworn allegiance; having done all these things, he will not escape unpunished.’ ¹⁹ Therefore Adonai Elohim says: ‘As I live, I swear that it is my oath he has despised and my covenant he has broken, and I will bring this on his own head. ²⁰ I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Bavel and bring him to judgment there for breaking faith with me. ²¹ The elite troops among his forces will die by the sword, and those who survive will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, Adonai, said it.’

²² “Adonai Elohim says, ‘From the top of this tall cedar, from its highest branch, I will take a shoot and plant it myself on a high and prominent mountain. ²³ I will plant it on the highest mountain in Isra’el, where it will put out branches, bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it will live all kinds of birds; winged creatures of every description will live there in the shadow of its branches. ²⁴ Then all the trees of the field will know that I, Adonai, bring down the tall tree and raise up the low tree, wither the green tree and make the withered tree bear fruit. I, Adonai, have spoken; and I will do it.’”

18 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “What does it mean, that you keep quoting this proverb in the land of Isra’el —

³ “As I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “I swear that you will never again quote this proverb in Isra’el. ⁴ Look, all lives belong to me — both the parent’s life and the child’s life are equally mine — so it is the person who sins, himself, who must die.

⁵ “Consider someone who is righteous, who does what is lawful and right. ⁶ He doesn’t eat on the mountains or raise his eyes toward the idols of the house of Isra’el; he doesn’t defile his neighbor’s wife or touch a woman during her time of menstrual impurity; ⁷ he doesn’t wrong anyone; he returns any pledged property a debtor has given as collateral for a loan; he takes nothing by robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and clothing to those who need it; ⁸ he neither demands nor accepts interest on a loan; he refrains from what is evil; and he judges honestly between one person and another. ⁹ In short, he lives according to my laws and observes my rulings, so as to act faithfully. Such a person is righteous, and he will certainly live,” says Adonai Elohim.

¹⁰ “Now suppose he is the father of a son who is a robber, a murderer, or who does any of these things to a brother — ¹¹ whereas the father himself does none of them. He eats on the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, ¹² wrongs the poor and needy, takes by robbery, doesn’t restore pledged property, raises his eyes toward the idols, engages in disgusting practices, ¹³ demands and accepts interest. Should he live? He will not live, because he has engaged in all these disgusting practices — he must be put to death; his blood is on him.

¹⁴ “But now suppose he has a son who sees all the sins his father committed, thinks about them, and behaves differently. ¹⁵ He doesn’t eat on the mountains, raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Isra’el, defile his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶ wrong others, keep pledged property or take by robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and clothing to those in need of it; ¹⁷ he refrains from oppressing the poor; and he neither demands nor accepts interest. He obeys my rulings and lives according to my laws. So he will not die for his father’s sins but will certainly live.