Holman Christian Standard Bible (250 page)

39
 “As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord
God
says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols. 
40
 For on My holy mountain, Israel's high mountain” — the declaration of the Lord
God
 — “there the entire house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your contributions and choicest gifts, all your holy offerings.
41
 When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will demonstrate My holiness through you in the sight of the nations. 
42
 When I lead you into the land of Israel, the land I swore to give your fathers, you will know that I am Yahweh. 
43
 There you will remember your ways and all your deeds that you have defiled yourselves with, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil things you have done. 
44
 You will know that I am Yahweh, house of Israel, when I have dealt with you because of My name rather than according to your evil ways and corrupt acts.” This is the declaration of the Lord
God
.

Fire in the South

45
 The word of the
Lord
came to me:
46
 “Son of man, face the south and preach against it. Prophesy against the forest land in the
•Negev
, 
47
 and say to the forest there: Hear the word of the
Lord
! This is what the Lord
God
says: I am about to ignite a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The blazing flame will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be scorched by it.
48
 Then all people will see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it. It will not be extinguished.”

49
 Then I said, “Oh, Lord
God
, they are saying of me, ‘Isn't he just posing riddles? ' ” 

Ezekiel

Chapter 21 

God's Sword of Judgment

1
The word of the
Lord
came to me again:
2
 “Son of man, turn your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel,
3
 and say to it: This is what the
Lord
says: I am against you. I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off both the righteous and the wicked from you.
4
 Since I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will therefore come out of its sheath against everyone from the south to the north. 
5
 So all the people will know that I,
•Yahweh
, have taken My sword from its sheath — it will not be sheathed again. 

6
 “But you, son of man, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart right before their eyes.
7
 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?' then say: Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will become weak. Every spirit will be discouraged, and every knee will turn to water. Yes, it is coming and it will happen.” This is the declaration of the Lord
God
.

8
 The word of the
Lord
came to me:
9
 “Son of man, prophesy: This is what the Lord says! You are to proclaim:

This is the declaration of the Lord 
God
.

18
 Then the word of the
Lord
came to me:
19
 “Now you, son of man, mark out two roads that the sword of Babylon's king can take. Both of them should originate from the same land. And make a signpost at the fork in the road to each city.
20
 Mark out a road that the sword can take to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
21
 For the king of Babylon stands at the split in the road, at the fork of the two roads, to practice
•divination
: he shakes the arrows, consults the idols, and observes the liver.
22
 The answer marked Jerusalem appears in his right hand, indicating that he should set up battering rams, give the order to slaughter, raise a battle cry, set battering rams against the gates, build a ramp, and construct a siege wall.
23
 It will seem like false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn an oath to the Babylonians, but it will draw attention to their
•guilt
so that they will be captured.

24
 “Therefore, this is what the Lord
God
says: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your actions, since you have done this, you will be captured by them.

26
 This is what the Lord
God
says:

28
 “Now prophesy, son of man, and say: This is what the Lord
God
says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt. You are to proclaim:

Ezekiel

Indictment of Sinful Jerusalem

22
The word of the
Lord
came to me:
2
 “As for you, son of man, will you pass judgment? Will you pass judgment against the city of blood? Then explain all her detestable practices to her. 
3
 You are to say: This is what the Lord
God
says: A city that sheds blood within her walls so that her time of judgment has come and who makes idols for herself so that she is defiled!
4
 You are
•guilty
of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled from the idols you have made. You have brought your judgment days near and have come to your years of punishment. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.
5
 Those who are near and those far away from you will mock you, you infamous one full of turmoil.

6
 “Look, every prince of Israel within you has used his strength to shed blood.
7
 Father and mother are treated with contempt, and the foreign resident is exploited within you. The fatherless and widow are oppressed in you. 
8
 You despise My holy things and profane My Sabbaths. 
9
 There are men within you who slander in order to shed blood. People who live in you eat at the mountain shrines; they commit immoral acts within you.
10
 Men within you have sexual intercourse with their father's wife and violate women during their menstrual impurity. 
11
 One man within you commits a detestable act with his neighbor's wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his father's daughter. 
12
 People who live in you accept bribes in order to shed blood. You take interest and profit on a loan and brutally extort your neighbors. You have forgotten Me.” This is the declaration of the Lord
God
.

13
 “Now look, I clap My hands together against the dishonest profit you have made and against the blood shed among you.
14
 Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the days when I deal with you? I,
•Yahweh
, have spoken, and I will act. 
15
 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you among the countries; I will purge your uncleanness. 
16
 You will be profaned in the sight of the nations. Then you will know that I am Yahweh.” 

Jerusalem as God's Furnace

17
 The word of the
Lord
came to me:
18
 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are the dross of silver.
19
 Therefore, this is what the Lord
God
says: Because all of you have become dross, I am about to gather you into Jerusalem.
20
 Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to blow fire on them and melt them, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, put you inside, and melt you.
21
 Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My fury, and you will be melted within the city.
22
 As silver is melted inside a furnace, so you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out My wrath on you.” 

Indictment of a Sinful Land

23
 The word of the
Lord
came to me:
24
 “Son of man, say to her: You are a land that has not been cleansed, that has not received rain in the day of indignation.
25
 The conspiracy of her prophets within her is like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they devour people, seize wealth and valuables, and multiply the widows within her.
26
 Her priests do violence to My instruction and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they do not explain the difference between the
•clean
and the
•unclean
. They disregard My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

27
 “Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make profit dishonestly.
28
 Her prophets plaster with whitewash for them by seeing false visions and lying
•divinations
, and they say, ‘This is what the Lord
God
says,' when the
Lord
has not spoken.
29
 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and unlawfully exploited the foreign resident.
30
 I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.
31
 So I have poured out My indignation on them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their actions down on their own heads.” This is the declaration of the Lord
God
.

Ezekiel

The Two Immoral Sisters

23
The word of the
Lord
came to me again:
2
 “Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother,
3
 who acted like prostitutes in Egypt, behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed.
4
 The older one was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They became Mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah represents Samaria and Oholibah represents Jerusalem.