Bible in 90 Days

²¹ The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²² “Son of man, what is this saying you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are long and every special dream comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “I will make this saying come to an end, so that they will no longer use it as a saying in Israel.’” But tell them, ‘The days are near when all the special dreams from God will come true. ²⁴ For there will be no more false dreams or good sounding words that do not come true. ²⁵ For I the Lord will speak, and whatever I say will be done. It will no longer be held back. For in your days, O sinful people, I will speak the word and do it,’ says the Lord God.”

²⁶ Again the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁷ “Son of man, the people of Israel are saying, ‘The special dream he sees will not come to pass for many years. He is speaking of times far in the future.’ ²⁸ So tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “None of My words will be held back any longer. Whatever I say will be done,’” says the Lord God.”

Word against False Preachers

13 Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, speak against those of Israel who speak false words in My name. Say to those who tell what is going to happen in the future out of their own minds, ‘Listen to the Word of the Lord! ³ The Lord God says, “It is bad for the foolish people who tell what is going to happen by following their own spirit and have seen nothing. ⁴ O Israel, your men who speak in My name are of no more worth than foxes in destroyed cities. ⁵ You have not gone up to the broken places to build the wall around the people of Israel so that it will stand in the battle on the day of the Lord. ⁶ They have lied and have spoken false words using their secret ways, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says,’ when the Lord has not sent them. Yet they hope that what they say will come true. ⁷ Did you not see a false dream and tell a lie using your secret ways when you said, ‘This is what the Lord says,’ when I have not spoken?”’”

⁸ So the Lord God says: “Because you have spoken false words and seen a lie, I am against you,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “My hand will be against those who see false dreams and speak false words. They will have no place in the gathering of My wise people. Their names will not be written down with the people of Israel. And they will not go into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God. ¹⁰ Because they have led My people the wrong way by saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when anyone builds a bad wall, they cover it with whitewash, ¹¹ tell those who cover it with whitewash that it will fall! A flood of rain will come, and large hailstones will fall. And a strong wind will break out. ¹² When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, ‘Where is the covering you used to cover the wall?’” ¹³ So the Lord God says, “I will make a strong wind break out in My anger. There will also be a flood of rain in My anger, and large hailstones to destroy that wall. ¹⁴ I will break down the wall that you covered with whitewash. I will bring it down to the ground so that its base will be showing. And when it falls, you will be destroyed with it. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ I will send My anger upon the wall and upon those who have covered it with whitewash. And I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone and the ones who covered it are gone. ¹⁶ There are no more people of Israel who speak false words to Jerusalem in My name, and who see dreams of peace for her when there is no peace,’ says the Lord God.

¹⁷ “Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are telling what will happen from their own minds. Speak against them, ¹⁸ and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “It is bad for the women who sew objects with secret powers to wear on their arms, and make coverings for the heads to trap people. Will you go after the lives of My people, but save the lives of others for yourselves? ¹⁹ You have used Me in a sinful way among My people for hands full of barley and for pieces of bread. You have killed people who should not die, and have kept others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

²⁰ So the Lord God says, “I am against your objects with secret powers that you wear on your arms with which you trap people like birds. I will tear them from your arms. And I will let the people go that you trap like birds. ²¹ I will also tear off your head-coverings and save My people from you. They will no longer be trapped by your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ²² You have made My good people sad because of your lies whom I did not want to hurt. But you have helped the sinful man, so that he does not turn from his sinful way and save his life. ²³ So you women will no longer see false dreams or use your secret ways to learn the future. I will save My people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Worshipers of False Gods

14 Then some leaders of Israel came and sat down in front of me. ² And the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have taken false gods into their hearts. They have put in front of their faces the sin which is the cause of their fall. Should I let Myself be asked questions by them at all? ⁴ So speak to them and tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “Every man of Israel who has given his heart to false gods and lets them lead him into sin and then comes to the man of God, I the Lord will answer him, the answer that his many false gods should get, ⁵ that I may again have the hearts of the people of Israel who have left Me for their false gods.”’

⁶ “So tell the people of Israel, ‘The Lord God says, “Be sorry for your sins and turn away from your false gods. Turn your faces away from all your sinful ways. ⁷ If a man of Israel or a stranger living in Israel who turns away from Me and gives his heart to false gods, and worships them, and if he then comes to the man of God to get answers from Me, I the Lord will answer him Myself. ⁸ I will set My face against that man and make him something special to see and to speak against. I will cut him off from among My people. And you will know that I am the Lord. ⁹ But if the man who speaks in My name is given a false answer, it is I, the Lord, Who has caused him to speak. And I will put out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. ¹⁰ They will suffer the punishment of their sin. The man who asks the question and the man who speaks to him in My name will both be punished in the same way. ¹¹ This is so that the people of Israel may no longer turn away from Me, and no longer make themselves sinful with all their wrong-doing. They will be My people and I will be their God,”’ says the Lord God.”

Those Not Faithful Are Judged

¹² Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹³ “Son of man, if a country sins against Me by not being faithful, I will put out My hand against it. I will destroy its store of bread, and send hunger against it, and take away both man and animal from it. ¹⁴ For even if these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job, were in this country, they would save only their own lives by being right and good,” says the Lord God. ¹⁵ “If I sent wild animals to pass through the land to kill its people and destroy it so that no one would go through it because of the wild animals, ¹⁶ even if these three men were in the land, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they could not save their sons or their daughters. They alone would be saved, but the country would be laid waste. ¹⁷ If I bring a sword against that country and say, ‘Let the sword pass through the country and cut off man and animal from it,’ ¹⁸ even if these three men were in the land, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they could not save their sons or their daughters. They alone would be saved. ¹⁹ Or if I send a disease against that country and show My anger by killing, to take away man and animal from it, ²⁰ even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in the land, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they could not save their son or daughter. They would save only themselves by being right and good.

²¹ “For the Lord God says, ‘How much worse will it be when I send my four worst punishments against Jerusalem! I will send the sword, hunger, wild animals, and disease, to take away man and animal from it! ²² Yet there will be some people and their children left alive in it who will be brought out. When they come to you, see how sinful they are. Then you will know that all the trouble I brought upon Jerusalem was right. ²³ It will help you when you see how they act. Then you will know that there was a good reason for everything I did,’ says the Lord God.”

Jerusalem—a Vine of No Worth

15 Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any wood of a branch among the trees? ³ Can wood be taken from it to make anything? Or can men take a piece of wood from it on which to hang a pot? ⁴ If it has been put into the fire to burn, and the fire has burned up both of its ends, and the center of it is black from the fire, can it then be used for anything? ⁵ See, if it is not used for anything while it is whole, how much less can it ever be used for anything when the fire has burned it up and it has turned black! ⁶ So the Lord God says, ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees, which I have given to be burned in the fire, so will I give up the people of Jerusalem. ⁷ I will set My face against them. Even if they get away from the fire, the fire will yet destroy them. Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them. ⁸ I will lay waste the land, because they have not been faithful,’” says the Lord God.

Jerusalem—Not Faithful

16 The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her hated sins. ³ Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: “Your beginning and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite. Your father was an Amorite and your mother was a Hittite. ⁴ On the day you were born the cord between you and your mother was not cut. You were not washed with water to make you clean. You were not rubbed with salt or even covered with cloth. ⁵ No one looked with pity on you or did any of these things for you out of loving-kindness. Instead you were thrown out into the open field, for you were hated on the day you were born.

⁶ “When I passed by you and saw you rolling about in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ ⁷ I made you become many, like plants of the field. Then you grew up and became tall. You grew into a beautiful woman. You had breasts and your hair had grown. Yet you were not covered and your body could be seen. ⁸ Then I passed by you and saw that you were old enough for love. So I spread my clothing over you and covered your body. I gave you my promise and made an agreement with you so that you became Mine,” says the Lord God. ⁹ “Then I washed you with water, washed the blood from you, and poured oil on you. ¹⁰ I dressed you with beautiful cloth, and put leather shoes on your feet. I dressed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I put on you objects of beauty. I put beautiful objects on your arms and around your neck. ¹² I put rings in your nose and in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you were dressed with gold and silver. Your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and beautiful cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. So you were very beautiful, and you became a queen. ¹⁴ Your name became known among the nations because of your beauty. For it was perfect because of My shining-greatness which I had given to you,” says the Lord God.

¹⁵ “But you trusted in your beauty. Because your name was well-known, you acted like a woman who sells the use of her body. And you did sex sins with anyone who passed by. ¹⁶ You took some of your clothes of many colors and made for yourself places of worship. There you acted like a woman who sells the use of her body. Such things should never happen or come to pass. ¹⁷ You also took your objects of beauty made of My gold and silver, which I had given you. And you used them to make things that looked like men, that you might play with them as a woman who sells the use of her body. ¹⁸ Then you took your beautiful cloth and covered them, and set My oil and My special perfume in front of them. ¹⁹ You also set in front of them My bread which I gave you, the fine flour, oil and honey I gave you to eat. You gave it all to them as a special perfume. So it was,” says the Lord God. ²⁰ “You even took your sons and daughters whom you had given birth for Me, and gave them to the false gods to be destroyed. Were your sex sins too little? ²¹ You killed My children and gave them as burnt gifts to false gods. ²² And in all your hated acts and sex sins you did not remember the days when you were young. You did not remember when you were without clothing or covering, and when you rolled about in your blood.

²³ “It is bad for you!” says the Lord God. “After all your sinful acts, ²⁴ you built a place of worship for yourself, and a high place in every street. ²⁵ You built yourself a high place at the beginning of every street and made your beauty a hated thing. You gave yourself to anyone who passed by, to make your sex sins many. ²⁶ You also gave the use of your body to the Egyptians, your neighbors who have much desire for sex sins. And you sinned many times to make Me angry. ²⁷ So I have raised My hand to punish you and have made your share smaller. I have given you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your sinful actions. ²⁸ You also gave the use of your body to the Assyrians because you had not had enough. Yes, you even gave the use of your body to them and still thought you had not had enough. ²⁹ You did many sex sins with Babylon, the land of those who trade. Yet even this was not enough for you.

³⁰ “How sinful your heart is,” says the Lord God, “that you do all these things, the actions of a sinful woman, and show no shame. ³¹ You built your places of worship at the beginning of every street and made your high place at every crossing. But you were not like a woman who sells the use of her body, because you did not want pay. ³² You are like a wife who is not faithful and has strangers instead of her husband! ³³ Men give gifts to all women who sell the use of their body. But you give your gifts to all your lovers. You pay them to come to you from everywhere for your sex sins. ³⁴ You are different from other women in your sex sins. You go after men; they do not come to you. You pay men instead of them giving pay to you. Yes, you are different.”

God Judges Jerusalem

³⁵ So, sinful woman, hear the Word of the Lord. ³⁶ The Lord God says, “Your shame was poured out and your clothing was taken off because of your sex sins with your lovers and with all your hated false gods. And you killed your children and gave them to false gods. Because of these things, ³⁷ I will gather all your lovers who pleased you. I will gather all those whom you loved and all those whom you hated. I will gather them against you from every side, and take off your covering so that they may see all your shame. ³⁸ I will punish you as I punish women who are not faithful in marriage, or women who kill. I will do it in My anger and jealousy. ³⁹ And I will give you over to your lovers. They will tear down your places of worship and destroy your high places. They will take all of your clothes and your beautiful objects, and will leave you without any covering. ⁴⁰ They will bring up a group of people against you, and they will kill you with stones and cut you to pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ They will burn your houses with fire and punish you as many women watch. Then I will stop you from acting like a woman who sells the use of her body, and you will no longer pay your lovers. ⁴² Then I will take away My anger from you, and My jealousy will leave you. I will be at peace, and will not be angry any more. ⁴³ You have not remembered the days when you were young, but have made Me angry with all these things. So I will punish you for what you have done,” says the Lord God. “Did you not add these sex sins to all your other hated sins?

More Sinful Than Samaria and Sodom

⁴⁴ “Every one who uses sayings will use this saying about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ ⁴⁵ You are the daughter of your mother, who hated her husband and her children. You are also a sister of your sisters who hated their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters. And your younger sister is Sodom, who lives south of you with her daughters. ⁴⁷ Yet you have walked in their ways and done their hated acts. As if that were too little, you acted worse in all your ways than they. ⁴⁸ As I live,” says the Lord God, “your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. ⁴⁹ Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had pride, much food, and too much rest, but she did not help those who were poor and in need. ⁵⁰ They were proud and did hated sins in front of Me. So I took them away when I saw it. ⁵¹ Samaria has not done half of your sins. You have done more sins than they. So you have made your sisters look right and good by all the hated sins which you have done. ⁵² Take your shame upon you, for you have made Me show favor to them in their punishment. Because of your sins in which you acted worse than they, they are more in the right than you. So then be ashamed and take your shame upon you, for you have made your sisters look right and good.

⁵³ “I will return them to their land, both Sodom and her daughters, and Samaria and her daughters. With them I will return you to your land. ⁵⁴ This is so you will take your shame upon you, and feel ashamed for all that you have done in becoming a comfort to them. ⁵⁵ Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to the land they had before. And you with your daughters will return to your land also. ⁵⁶ You did not speak against your sister Sodom in the days of your pride, ⁵⁷ before your sinful acts were seen. Now you have become like her, an object of shame for the daughters of Edom and all her neighbors, and for the daughters of the Philistines. All those around you who hate you now look on you with shame. ⁵⁸ The penalty of your sex sins and other hated sins has come upon you,” says the Lord. ⁵⁹ For the Lord God says, “I will do with you as you have done, because you have hated your promise by breaking the agreement.

An Agreement That Lasts Forever

⁶⁰ “But I will remember My agreement which I made with you when you were young. And I will make an agreement with you that lasts forever. ⁶¹ Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older one and younger one. I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your agreement with Me. ⁶² So I will make My agreement with you, and you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶³ Then you will remember and be ashamed. You will never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” says the Lord God.

The Picture-Story of the Eagles and the Vine

17 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, give the people of Israel this picture-story to think about. ³ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “A large eagle with big wings and long feathers of many colors came to Lebanon and took away the top of the cedar tree. ⁴ He broke off the very top of its young branches and brought it to a land of traders. He placed it in a city of people who buy and sell. ⁵ Then he took some of the seed of the land and planted it in good ground for growing. He planted it like a willow tree where there was much water to make it grow. ⁶ And it grew and became a low spreading vine. Its branches grew toward him, but its roots stayed under it. So it became a vine, and branches and leaves grew out from it.

⁷ “But there was another large eagle with big wings and many feathers. And the vine turned its roots and branches toward him from where it was planted, that he might water it. ⁸ It had been planted in good ground beside much water, that it might grow branches and give fruit and become a beautiful vine.”’ ⁹ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “Will it live and grow? Will not its roots be pulled up and its fruit be cut off so that its leaves that started to grow dry up? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it up by the roots. ¹⁰ Even if it is planted again, will it live and grow? Will it not dry up when the east wind hits it? Will it not dry up in the place where it grew?”’”

¹¹ Then the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹² “Now tell these sinful people, ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘See, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem. He took its king and the king’s sons, and brought them back with him to Babylon. ¹³ He took one of the king’s family and made an agreement with him. And he made him promise to keep it. He also took away the strong leaders of the land, ¹⁴ so that the nation would be under his power and not become strong again. It could only last by keeping his agreement. ¹⁵ But the king of Judah turned against him by sending his men to Egypt to get horses and a large army for him. Will it go well for him? Can he get away with that? Can he break the agreement and not be punished? ¹⁶ As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘he will die in the land of the king who put him on the throne, whose promise he hated, and whose agreement he broke. He will die in Babylon. ¹⁷ Pharaoh with his powerful army of many men will not help him in the war, when battle-walls are put up so that many people are killed. ¹⁸ He hated the promise and broke the agreement. Because he had given his promise and then did all these things, he will not get away from being punished.’” ¹⁹ So the Lord God says, “As I live, I will punish him for hating My promise and for breaking My agreement. ²⁰ I will spread My net over him and he will be caught in My trap. Then I will bring him to Babylon and punish him there for not being faithful to Me. ²¹ And all the best of his soldiers will be killed by the sword, and those left alive will be thrown to the wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.”

God’s Promise of Hope

²² The Lord God says, “I will also take a young branch from the very top of the cedar tree and plant it. I will break a soft new one from the very top of its young branches, and plant it on a high mountain. ²³ I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel. It will grow branches and give fruit and become a beautiful cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it. They will nest in the shadow of its branches. ²⁴ Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord. I bring down the high tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree become green. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say.”

18 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “What do you mean by using this saying about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers eat the sour grapes, but the children get the sour taste’? ³ As I live,” says the Lord God, “you will never use this saying in Israel again. ⁴ For all souls belong to Me. Both the soul of the father and the soul of the son are Mine. The soul who sins will die. ⁵ But if a man is right and good and does what is right and good, ⁶ he does not eat at the altars on the mountains or look up to the false gods of Israel. He does not sin with his neighbor’s wife or go near a woman during the time she is unclean. ⁷ He does not make it hard for anyone. He keeps his promise to pay back what he owes. He does not steal, but gives his bread to the hungry, and gives clothing to those who have none. ⁸ He does not make others pay back more than they owe him. He keeps away from sin, and is an honest judge when men argue. ⁹ He walks in My Laws and is careful to obey them. This man is right and good, and will live for sure,” says the Lord God.

¹⁰ “But he may have a son who acts in anger and kills another man, or does any of these other things ¹¹ that the father never did. He eats at the altars on the mountains, and sins with his neighbor’s wife. ¹² He makes it hard for the poor and those in need, and he steals. He does not keep his promise to pay back what he owes. He looks up to false gods, and does sinful acts. ¹³ And he makes people pay back more than they owe him. Will this man live? He will not live! He has done all these sinful acts, and for sure he will die. He will be guilty for his own death.

¹⁴ “Now this man may have a son who has seen all the sins his father has done, but does not do the same. ¹⁵ He does not eat at the altars on the mountains or look to the false gods of Israel. He does not sin with his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶ or make it hard for anyone. He does not keep what another man has given him in trust for a promise. He does not steal, but he gives his bread to the hungry and clothing to those who have none. ¹⁷ He keeps away from sin. He does not make a person pay back more than he owes him. But he walks in My Laws and obeys them. This man will not die for his father’s sin. He will live for sure. ¹⁸ As for his father, because he used his power to rob his brother, and did what was wrong among his people, he will die for his sin.

¹⁹ “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer for the father’s sin?’ Since the son has done what is right and good, and has kept and obeyed all My Laws, he will live for sure. ²⁰ The person who sins will die. The son will not be punished for the father’s sin. And the father will not be punished for the son’s sin. The right and good man will receive good, and the sinful man will suffer for his sin.

²¹ “But if the sinful man turns from all the sins he has done and obeys all My Laws and does what is right and good, he will live for sure. He will not die. ²² None of the sins he has done will be remembered against him. Because of the right and good things he has done, he will live. ²³ Am I pleased with the death of a sinful man?” says the Lord God. “No, instead I would like him to turn from his sinful ways and live.

²⁴ “But when a right and good man turns away from doing what is right and good, and sins, doing all the bad things that a sinful man does, will he live? None of the right and good things he has done will be remembered. Because he has not been faithful and has sinned, he will die. ²⁵ Yet you say, ‘The Lord is not doing what is right.’ Listen, O people of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? ²⁶ When a right and good man turns away from doing what is right and good, and sins, and dies because of it, he dies because of the sin he has done. ²⁷ But when a sinful man turns away from his sin and does what is right and good, he will save his life. ²⁸ Because he thought about it and turned away from all the sins he had done, he will live for sure. He will not die. ²⁹ But the people of Israel say, ‘The Lord is not doing what is right.’ Are My ways not right, O people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not right?

³⁰ “So I will judge you, O people of Israel, each of you by what he has done,” says the Lord God. “Be sorry for all your sins and turn away from them, so sin will not destroy you. ³¹ Turn away from all the sins you have done, and get a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O people of Israel? ³² For I am not pleased with the death of anyone who dies,” says the Lord God. “So be sorry for your sins and turn away from them, and live.”

A Song of Sorrow for Israel’s Leaders

19 “As for you, sing a song of sorrow for the leaders of Israel, ² and say: ‘What was your mother? A female lion among lions! She lay down with young lions. She raised her young ones. ³ She brought up one of her little ones, and he became a lion. He learned to catch his food. He ate men. ⁴ The nations heard about him, and he was caught in their trap. And they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt. ⁵ Your mother waited until she saw that her hope was lost. Then she took another of her little ones and made him a young lion. ⁶ He walked up and down among the lions. He became a young lion and learned to catch his food. He ate men. ⁷ He wrecked their strong towers and destroyed their cities. The land and all who were in it were filled with fear because of the loud noise he made. ⁸ Then the nations came against him from their lands all around. They spread their net over him, and he was caught in their trap. ⁹ They put him in a prison with chains and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison so that his voice would never be heard again on the mountains of Israel.

¹⁰ Your mother was like a vine in your grape-field, planted by the water. It gave much fruit and was full of branches because there was much water. ¹¹ Its branches were strong enough to be made into sticks held by rulers to show their power. It grew as high as the clouds. Everyone saw how high it was and that it had many branches. ¹² But it was pulled up by the roots in anger and thrown down to the ground. The east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branch was torn off so that it dried up. And fire destroyed it. ¹³ Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land. ¹⁴ Fire has spread from its largest branch and has destroyed its young branches and its fruit. No strong branch is left on it to be made into a stick for a ruler.’ This is a song of sorrow, and is to be used as a death song.”

Israel Fights against God

20 On the tenth day of the fifth month in the seventh year, some of the leaders of Israel came to ask the Lord’s will, and they sat down in front of me. ² The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ³ “Son of man, speak to the leaders of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “Have you come to ask My will? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will not let you ask me anything.”’ ⁴ Will you judge them, son of man? Will you judge them? Make known to them the sinful things their fathers did. ⁵ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “On the day I chose Israel, I raised My hand and made a promise to the children of the family of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I made a promise to them, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God.’ ⁶ On that day I promised to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land I had chosen for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. ⁷ I said to them, ‘Each of you get rid of the sinful things you have looked upon. Do not make yourselves sinful with the false gods of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸ But they turned against Me and would not listen to Me. They did not get rid of the sinful things they had looked upon. And they did not turn away from the false gods of Egypt.

“Then I said that I would be angry with them. I would send My anger against them in the land of Egypt. ⁹ But I acted for the good of My name. I did what would keep My name clean in the eyes of the nations they lived among, in whose eyes I made Myself known to them by bringing My people out of Egypt. ¹⁰ So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the desert. ¹¹ I gave them My Laws and made known to them My Words, which bring life to anyone who obeys them. ¹² I gave them My Days of Rest to be something special to see between Me and them, so they would know that I am the Lord Who makes them holy. ¹³ But the people of Israel turned against Me in the desert. They did not obey My Laws, and they turned away from My Words which bring life to anyone who obeys them. They made My Days of Rest very sinful. Then I said that I would be angry with them in the desert and destroy them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the good of My name. I did what would keep My name clean in the eyes of the nations who saw Me bring them out of Egypt. ¹⁵ So I promised them in the desert that I would not bring them into the land I had given them, the land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. ¹⁶ This was because they turned away from My Laws and did not obey My Words. They did not keep My Days of Rest holy, for they followed after their false gods with all their heart. ¹⁷ Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them. I did not make an end of them in the desert.

¹⁸ “And I said to their children in the desert, ‘Do not keep the laws of your fathers, or follow their ways, or make yourselves sinful with their false gods. ¹⁹ I am the Lord your God. Keep My Laws and obey My Words. ²⁰ Keep My Days of Rest holy, and they will be something special to see between Me and you. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ²¹ But the children turned against Me. They did not keep My Laws or obey My Words which bring life to anyone who obeys them. They did not keep My Days of Rest holy. So I said I would be angry with them. I would send My anger against them in the desert. ²² But I held My hand back, and acted for the good of My name, to keep it clean in the eyes of the nations who saw Me bring them out of Egypt. ²³ And I promised them in the desert that I would send them everywhere among the nations and spread them out among the lands. ²⁴ This is because they had not obeyed My Words. They had turned away from My Laws and did not keep My Days of Rest holy. And they worshiped the false gods of their fathers. ²⁵ Then I gave them laws that were not good, and words they could not live by. ²⁶ And I let them become sinful because of their gifts. I let them give all their first-born sons as burnt gifts. This was to punish them and show them that I am the Lord.”’

²⁷ “So, son of man, speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “This is another way that your fathers have brought shame to My name by not being faithful to Me. ²⁸ I brought them into the land I promised to give them. And when they saw all the high hills and trees with many leaves, they gave their gifts on all of them and made Me angry. They also burned special perfume there, and poured out their drink gifts. ²⁹ Then I said to them, ‘What is this high place you go to?’ So it is called Bamah to this day.”’ ³⁰ So tell the people of Israel, ‘The Lord God says, “Will you make yourselves sinful in the same way your fathers did, and go after their sinful things? ³¹ When you give your gifts and make your sons go through the fire, you are making yourselves sinful with all your false gods to this day. Am I to let you question Me, O people of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will not let you ask Me anything. ³² You say, ‘We will be like the nations, like the people of the lands, who serve wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.

Israel Will Come Back to God

³³ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will be King over you, and will rule with a powerful hand, a strong arm, and with anger. ³⁴ I will bring you out of the nations and countries where you have been divided. I will gather you together with a powerful hand, a strong arm, and with anger. ³⁵ I will bring you into the desert of the nations, and there I will punish you face to face. ³⁶ As I punished your fathers in the desert of Egypt, so I will punish you,” says the Lord God. ³⁷ “I will hold power over you and make you obey the agreement. ³⁸ I will take away from among you all those who sin or who turn against Me. I will bring them out of the land where they are living, but they will not go into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ³⁹ As for you, O people of Israel,” the Lord God says, “Go and serve your false gods, every one of you, now and later if you will not listen to Me. Do not ever again bring shame to My holy name with your gifts and your false gods. ⁴⁰ For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel,” says the Lord God, “all the people of Israel will serve Me in the land. There I will receive them. And there I will ask for the best of your gifts, with all your holy things. ⁴¹ I will receive you as the pleasing smell of special perfume, when I bring you out of the nations and gather you from the different lands where you have been sent. And I will prove Myself holy among you in the eyes of the nations. ⁴² Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I promised to give to your fathers. ⁴³ There you will remember your ways and all the bad things you did to make yourselves sinful. And you will hate yourselves in your own eyes for all the sinful things you have done. ⁴⁴ You will know that I am the Lord when I honor My name by being good to you even though your ways have been sinful and you have done many sinful things, O people of Israel,” says the Lord God.’”

Words against the South

⁴⁵ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁴⁶ “Son of man, look toward the south. And speak out against the south and against the land of many trees in the Negev. ⁴⁷ Say to the land of trees in the Negev, ‘Hear the Word of the Lord. The Lord God says, “See, I am about to start a fire that will destroy all of your green trees and all of your dry trees. The hot fire will not be put out, and every face from south to north will be burned by it. ⁴⁸ Everyone will see that I, the Lord, have made the fire. It will not be put out.”’” ⁴⁹ Then I said, “O Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling picture-stories?’”

Babylon Is God’s Sword

21 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward Jerusalem and speak against the holy places. Speak against the land of Israel. ³ Tell the land of Israel, ‘The Lord says, “See, I am against you. I will take My sword out of its holder and destroy from you both the good and the sinful. ⁴ Because I will destroy from you both the good and the sinful, My sword will go out against everyone from south to north. ⁵ Then all people will know that I, the Lord, have taken out My sword. It will not be put back into its holder again.”’ ⁶ As for you, son of man, cry in sorrow in front of them, as if your heart is breaking. ⁷ And when they ask you, ‘Why are you crying?’ tell them, ‘Because of the news that is coming, every heart will melt and all hands will be weak. Every spirit will lose its strength, and all knees will be as weak as water. It is coming, and it will happen,’ says the Lord God.”

⁸ Again the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁹ “Son of man, speak in My name and tell them, ‘The Lord says, “A sword, a sharp and shining sword! ¹⁰ It is made sharp to kill, and shined to look like lightning! Shall we have joy? It hates the special stick of My son, as it does all wood. ¹¹ The sword is being shined to make it ready to use. It is made sharp and shiny, to be put into the hand of the killer. ¹² Cry out in a loud voice, son of man, for the sword is against My people. It is against all the leaders of Israel. They are going to be killed with My people, so beat your upper leg in sorrow. ¹³ They will be put to the test. If they do not turn from their sinful ways, these things will happen,” says the Lord God.’

¹⁴ “So speak in My name, son of man, and clap your hands together. Let the sword that kills hit two, even three times. It is the sword that kills and is all around them, ¹⁵ so that they will lose their strength of heart, and many will be killed at all their gates. I have sent the shining sword. It is made to shine like lightning, and is ready to kill. ¹⁶ O sharp sword, cut to the left and to the right. Cut wherever you have been sent. ¹⁷ I will also clap My hands, and My anger will be gone. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

¹⁸ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁹ “Son of man, make two ways for the king of Babylon to come with his sword. Both of them will come from the same land. Mark the way where the road divides and goes to the city. ²⁰ Mark a way for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah into the strong city of Jerusalem. ²¹ For the king of Babylon stands where the road divides in two to use strange secret powers. He shakes the arrows and speaks with false gods, and looks at the liver. ²² In his right hand is the arrow marked for Jerusalem. It tells him to set up objects to knock down the city walls, to call out the battle cry, to set up objects to break down the gates, and to build a wall of dirt and battle towers. ²³ The people who promised to obey him will not believe this. But he will make them remember their guilt so that they may be taken. ²⁴ So the Lord God says, ‘You have made your guilt to be remembered. Your sins are no longer covered, and everyone has seen the bad things you have done and remembers them. So you will be taken in battle. ²⁵ And you, O bad and sinful one, the leader of Israel, the day of your punishment has come. Your sin will end.’ ²⁶ The Lord God says, ‘Take off the head-covering. Take off the crown. Things will not stay as they are. Honor that which is low. And bring down that which is honored. ²⁷ A waste, a waste. I will lay the city waste. It will be no more, until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’

²⁸ “And you, son of man, speak in My name and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says about the sons of Ammon and about their shame.’ Tell them, ‘A sword is pulled out ready to kill! It is made to shine like lightning! ²⁹ Even with the false dreams about you, and the lies spoken about you by using secret ways, you will be laid on the necks of the sinful who are killed, whose day has come for their last punishment. ³⁰ Put your sword back into its holder. I will punish you in the place where you were made, in the land of your birth. ³¹ I will be angry with you. I will blow on you with the fire of My anger. And I will give you over to men who show no pity, who have been taught to destroy. ³² You will be destroyed by fire. You will be killed in your land, and you will not be remembered. For I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

Jerusalem’s Sins

22 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, will you judge? Will you judge this city of blood? Then tell the people about all their sinful acts. ³ Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “O city, because you have killed your own people and have made yourselves false gods to add to your sins, your time will come! ⁴ You have become guilty by killing your people, and sinful by the false gods you have made. You have brought the day of your punishment near. The end of your years has come. So I have made you a shame to the nations. All the countries laugh at you. ⁵ People both near and far will make fun of you, you who are full of shame and trouble. ⁶ See, each of the rulers of Israel who are in you has used his power to kill. ⁷ They have not honored father and mother within you. They have made it hard for the stranger living among you. They have done wrong to those in you who have lost their father or husband. ⁸ You have hated My holy things and have not kept My Days of Rest holy. ⁹ There are men in you who have lied about others to cause them to be put to death. Some have eaten at the altars on the mountains, and have done sex sins there. ¹⁰ Men have done sex sins with their fathers’ wives. Men have put women to shame during their time of the month when they are unclean. ¹¹ One has done sex sins with his neighbor’s wife. Another has done sex sins with his daughter-in-law. And another has put his own sister to shame, his father’s daughter. ¹² In you they have taken pay to kill people. You have made others pay back more than they owe you. You have hurt your neighbors by making it hard for them to pay you. And you have forgotten Me,” says the Lord God.

¹³ “I will bring My hand down hard upon the money you have made by your sinful ways, and for the blood of those you have killed among you. ¹⁴ Can your strength of heart last? Or can your hands be strong, in the days that I punish you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say. ¹⁵ I will divide you among the nations and spread you out through the lands. I will take away from you all that is unclean. ¹⁶ You will become sinful in the eyes of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.”’”

¹⁷ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the people of Israel have become waste to Me. They are like brass, tin, iron, and lead in the fire and have become waste that is left after silver has gone through the fire. ¹⁹ So the Lord God says, ‘Because you have all become waste, I am going to gather you together in Jerusalem. ²⁰ As men gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the stove to blow fire on it and melt it, so I will gather you in My anger. I will put you in the city and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My anger, and you will be melted within it. ²² As silver is melted in the hot stove, so you will be melted in Jerusalem. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My anger upon you.’”

²³ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, tell Israel, ‘You are a land that is not made clean or rained on in the day of anger.’ ²⁵ Israel’s false religious leaders are making plans within her. They are like a lion making noise over the food it has killed. They have taken human lives and also riches and things of much worth. They have made many women in Israel lose their husbands. ²⁶ Her religious leaders have broken My Law, and have made My holy things unclean. It makes no difference to them if something is holy or unclean. They have not taught the difference between what is clean and unclean. They hide their eyes from My Days of Rest, and I am not honored among them. ²⁷ Her leaders are like wolves tearing apart the animals they have killed. They kill and destroy lives to get things by doing wrong. ²⁸ Her men who speak in My name have covered these sins with whitewash for the people. They see false dreams and lie to them using their secret ways, saying, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have made it hard for others and have stolen. They have done wrong to the poor and those in need. And they have made it hard for the stranger who lives among them, taking away his rights. ³⁰ I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the place where it is broken, to stop Me from destroying the land, but I found no one. ³¹ So I have become angry with them. I have destroyed them with the fire of My anger. I am punishing them for what they have done,” says the Lord God.

Two Sinful Sisters

23 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. ³ They sold the use of their bodies in Egypt, and did so when they were young. Their breasts were lain upon in that land. Their breasts, which had never before been held by a man, were held. ⁴ The name of the older sister was Oholah, and her younger sister was Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

The Older Sister—Samaria

⁵ “Oholah sold the use of her body while she was Mine. She was full of desire for her lovers, the Assyrians who lived near her ⁶ who were dressed in purple. They were rulers and leaders, all of them good-looking young men who rode on horses. ⁷ She gave her body to them for sex. They were all the best men of Assyria. And she also sinned by worshiping the false gods of all the men she desired. ⁸ She did not turn away from her sex sins she had begun in Egypt. Men had lain with her since she was young. They had held her young breasts and used her to fill their desire. ⁹ So I gave her over to her lovers the Assyrians whom she desired. ¹⁰ They took off her clothes. They took her sons and daughters. But they killed her with the sword. So she became a saying among women, because she was punished.

The Younger Sister—Jerusalem

¹¹ “Her sister Oholibah saw this, but she was more sinful in her desire for sex than Oholah. Her sex sins were worse than those of her sister. ¹² She wanted to have the Assyrians, rulers and leaders, men who were well dressed, those who rode on horses, all those good looking young men. ¹³ And I saw that she was sinful. Both sisters went the same way. ¹⁴ But she did even more sex sins. She saw pictures of men on the wall, pictures of Babylonians drawn in bright red. ¹⁵ They had belts around them, and flowing head-coverings. All of them looked like Babylonian captains who were born in Chaldea. ¹⁶ And when she saw them, she had a desire for sex with them, and sent word to them in Chaldea. ¹⁷ The Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love. They made her sinful with their desire. And after she had had sex with them, she became sick of them. ¹⁸ When she let her sins and her body be seen, I turned away from her in anger, as I had turned from her sister. ¹⁹ Yet she did even more sex sins. She remembered when she was young, when she sold the use of her body in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ She was full of desire for lovers whose flesh was like those of donkeys, and whose flow was like that of horses. ²¹ Oholibah, you were filled with desire for the sex sins you did when you were young, when the Egyptians held your breasts.

Jerusalem Is Judged

²² “So, Oholibah, the Lord God says, ‘I will bring your lovers against you, those you turned away from. I will bring them against you from every side: ²³ Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, good looking young men, all of them rulers, leaders, captains, and men who are well-known, all of them riding on horses. ²⁴ They will come against you from the north, with war-wagons and an army of people. They will come against you on every side with battlecoverings and head-coverings. And I will let them punish you. They will punish you in their own way. ²⁵ Because of My jealous anger, I will let them act toward you in anger. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any people who are left will be killed by the sword. They will take your sons and daughters, and any yet left will be burned in the fire. ²⁶ They will take away your clothes and take away the beautiful objects you wear. ²⁷ So I will put an end to the sex sins you brought from the land of Egypt. You will never again look at these things with desire or remember Egypt.’ ²⁸ For the Lord God says, ‘I will give you over to those you hate, to the men you turned away from. ²⁹ And because they hate you, they will take away everything you own and leave you without clothing. Then your body without clothes will be seen as a sinful woman. ³⁰ These things will be done to you because you have sold the use of your body to the nations, and because you have made yourself sinful with their false gods. ³¹ You have followed the way of your sister, so I will give you the same cup of punishment to drink.’ ³² The Lord God says, ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, which is deep and wide. You will be laughed at and made fun of, for it holds much. ³³ You will become drunk and filled with sorrow, with the cup of fear and waste, with the cup of your sister Samaria. ³⁴ You will drink it until it is empty. Then you will chew its pieces and tear your breasts, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God. ³⁵ So the Lord God says, ‘Because you have forgotten Me and put Me behind your back, now suffer the punishment of your sex sins.’”

Both Sisters Are Judged

³⁶ The Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Make them know their sinful acts. ³⁷ For they have not been faithful to Me, and blood is on their hands. They have left Me for their false gods. And they gave their sons to these false gods as burnt gifts, the sons they had given to Me at birth. ³⁸ That is not all they did. At that same time they have not kept My holy place and My Days of Rest holy. ³⁹ When they had killed their children for their false gods, they went into My holy place on the same day to make it unclean. This is what they did within My house.