Day 245: Ezekiel 33 - 35

Chapter 33



1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 O Mortal, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one of their number as their sentinel;
3 and if the sentinel sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people;
4 then if any who hear the sound of the trumpet do not take warning, and the sword comes and takes them away, their blood shall be upon their own heads.
5 They heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; their blood shall be upon themselves. But if they had taken warning, they would have saved their lives.
6 But if the sentinel sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any of them, they are taken away in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at the sentinel's hand.
7 So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
8 If I say to the wicked, "O wicked ones, you shall surely die," and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand.
9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
10 Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: "Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?"
11 Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?
12 And you, mortal, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not save them when they transgress; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, it shall not make them stumble when they turn from their wickedness; and the righteous shall not be able to live by their righteousness when they sin.
13 Though I say to the righteous that they shall surely live, yet if they trust in their righteousness and commit iniquity, none of their righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in the iniquity that they have committed they shall die.
14 Again, though I say to the wicked, "You shall surely die," yet if they turn from their sin and do what is lawful and right -
15 if the wicked restore the pledge, give back what they have taken by robbery, and walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity - they shall surely live, they shall not die.
16 None of the sins that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they have done what is lawful and right, they shall surely live.
17 Yet your people say, "The way of the Lord is not just," when it is their own way that is not just.
18 When the righteous turn from their righteousness, and commit iniquity, they shall die for it.
19 And when the wicked turn from their wickedness, and do what is lawful and right, they shall live by it.
20 Yet you say, "The way of the Lord is not just." O house of Israel, I will judge all of you according to your ways!
21 In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, someone who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has fallen."
22 Now the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; but he had opened my mouth by the time the fugitive came to me in the morning; so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer unable to speak.
23 The word of the Lord came to me:
24 Mortal, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, "Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess."
25 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: You eat flesh with the blood, and lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood; shall you then possess the land?
26 You depend on your swords, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land?
27 Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and those who are in the open field I will give to the wild animals to be devoured; and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.
28 I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and its proud might shall come to an end; and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.
29 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.
30 As for you, mortal, your people who talk together about you by the walls, and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to a neighbor, "Come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord."
31 They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they will not obey them. For flattery is on their lips, but their heart is set on their gain.
32 To them you are like a singer of love songs, one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; they hear what you say, but they will not do it.
33 When this comes - and come it will! - Then they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

Chapter 34



1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them - to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.
4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.
5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals.
6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
8 As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep;
9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
10 Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.
11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land.
14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God.
16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
17 As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats:
18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet?
19 And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide,
22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
25 I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely.
26 I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.
27 The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them.
28 They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid.
29 I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations.
30 They shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord God.
31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord God.

Chapter 35



1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
3 and say to it, thus says the Lord God: I am against you, Mount Seir; I stretch out my hand against you to make you a desolation and a waste.
4 I lay your towns in ruins; you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord.
5 Because you cherished an ancient enmity, and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment;
6 therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed shall pursue you.
7 I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation; and I will cut off from it all who come and go.
8 I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses those killed with the sword shall fall.
9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall never be inhabited. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
10 Because you said, "These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will take possession of them," - although the Lord was there -
11 therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, I will deal with you according to the anger and envy that you showed because of your hatred against them; and I will make myself known among you, when I judge you.
12 You shall know that I, the Lord, have heard all the abusive speech that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, "They are laid desolate, they are given us to devour."
13 And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it.
14 Thus says the Lord God: As the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.
15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Day 244: Ezekiel 29 - 32

Chapter 29



1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt;
3 speak, and say, Thus says the Lord God: I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon sprawling in the midst of its channels, saying, "My Nile is my own; I made it for myself."
4 I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your channels stick to your scales. I will draw you up from your channels, with all the fish of your channels sticking to your scales.
5 I will fling you into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your channels; you shall fall in the open field, and not be gathered and buried. To the animals of the earth and to the birds of the air I have given you as food.
6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord because you were a staff of reed to the house of Israel;
7 when they grasped you with the hand, you broke, and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke, and made all their legs unsteady.
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you human being and animal;
9 and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. Because you said, "The Nile is mine, and I made it,"
10 therefore, I am against you, and against your channels, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia.
11 No human foot shall pass through it, and no animal foot shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.
12 I will make the land of Egypt a desolation among desolated countries; and her cities shall be a desolation forty years among cities that are laid waste. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the countries.
13 Further, thus says the Lord God: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered;
14 and I will restore the fortunes of Egypt, and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin; and there they shall be a lowly kingdom.
15 It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations; and I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations.
16 The Egyptians shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel; they will recall their iniquity, when they turned to them for aid. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.
17 In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
18 Mortal, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare; yet neither he nor his army got anything from Tyre to pay for the labor that he had expended against it.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will give the land of Egypt to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army.
20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, says the Lord God.
21 On that day I will cause a horn to sprout up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 30



1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God: Wail, "Alas for the day!"
3 For a day is near, the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
4 A sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain fall in Egypt, and its wealth is carried away, and its foundations are torn down.
5 Ethiopia, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the allied land shall fall with them by the sword.
6 Thus says the Lord: Those who support Egypt shall fall, and its proud might shall come down; from Migdol to Syene they shall fall within it by the sword, says the Lord God.
7 They shall be desolated among other desolated countries, and their cities shall lie among cities laid waste.
8 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have set fire to Egypt, and all who help it are broken.
9 On that day, messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting Ethiopians; and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom; for it is coming!
10 Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to the hordes of Egypt, by the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon.
11 He and his people with him, the most terrible of the nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land; and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
12 I will dry up the channels, and will sell the land into the hand of evildoers; I will bring desolation upon the land and everything in it by the hand of foreigners; I the Lord have spoken.
13 Thus says the Lord God: I will destroy the idols and put an end to the images in Memphis; there shall no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt; so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
14 I will make Pathros a desolation, and will set fire to Zoan, and will execute acts of judgment on Thebes.
15 I will pour my wrath upon Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the hordes of Thebes.
16 I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall be in great agony; Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis face adversaries by day.
17 The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword; and the cities themselves shall go into captivity.
18 At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark, when I break there the dominion of Egypt, and its proud might shall come to an end; the city shall be covered by a cloud, and its daughter-towns shall go into captivity.
19 Thus I will execute acts of judgment on Egypt. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
20 In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
21 Mortal, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword.
22 Therefore thus says the Lord God: I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, both the strong arm and the one that was broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand.
23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them throughout the lands.
24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand; but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him with the groans of one mortally wounded.
25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall stretch it out against the land of Egypt,
26 and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

Chapter 31



1 In the eleventh year, in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:

2 Mortal, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes: Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Consider Assyria, a cedar of Lebanon, with fair branches and forest shade, and of great height, its top among the clouds.
4 The waters nourished it, the deep made it grow tall, making its rivers flow around the place it was planted, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field.
5 So it towered high above all the trees of the field; its boughs grew large and its branches long, from abundant water in its shoots.
6 All the birds of the air made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth to their young; and in its shade all great nations lived.
7 It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant water.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor the fir trees equal its boughs; the plane trees were as nothing compared with its branches; no tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with its mass of branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God.
10 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because it towered high and set its top among the clouds, and its heart was proud of its height,
11 I gave it into the hand of the prince of the nations; he has dealt with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out.
12 Foreigners from the most terrible of the nations have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in all the watercourses of the land; and all the peoples of the earth went away from its shade and left it.
13 On its fallen trunk settle all the birds of the air, and among its boughs lodge all the wild animals.
14 All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to lofty height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For all of them are handed over to death, to the world below; along with all mortals, with those who go down to the Pit.
15 Thus says the Lord God: On the day it went down to Sheol I closed the deep over it and covered it; I restrained its rivers, and its mighty waters were checked. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.
16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who go down to the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that were well watered, were consoled in the world below.
17 They also went down to Sheol with it, to those killed by the sword, along with its allies, those who lived in its shade among the nations.
18 Which among the trees of Eden was like you in glory and in greatness? Now you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below; you shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde, says the Lord God.

Chapter 32



1 In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: You consider yourself a lion among the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, trouble the water with your feet, and foul your streams.
3 Thus says the Lord God: In an assembly of many peoples I will throw my net over you; and I will haul you up in my dragnet.
4 I will throw you on the ground, on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the air to settle on you, and I will let the wild animals of the whole earth gorge themselves with you.
5 I will strew your flesh on the mountains, and fill the valleys with your carcass.
6 I will drench the land with your flowing blood up to the mountains, and the watercourses will be filled with you.
7 When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens, and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
8 All the shining lights of the heavens I will darken above you, and put darkness on your land, says the Lord God.
9 I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, as I carry you captive among the nations, into countries you have not known.
10 I will make many peoples appalled at you; their kings shall shudder because of you. When I brandish my sword before them, they shall tremble every moment for their lives, each one of them, on the day of your downfall.
11 For thus says the Lord God: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come against you.
12 I will cause your hordes to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most terrible among the nations. They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt, and all its hordes shall perish.
13 I will destroy all its livestock from beside abundant waters; and no human foot shall trouble them any more, nor shall the hoofs of cattle trouble them.
14 Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their streams to run like oil, says the Lord God.
15 When I make the land of Egypt desolate and when the land is stripped of all that fills it, when I strike down all who live in it, then they shall know that I am the Lord.
16 This is a lamentation; it shall be chanted. The women of the nations shall chant it. Over Egypt and all its hordes they shall chant it, says the Lord God.
17 In the twelfth year, in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
18 Mortal, wail over the hordes of Egypt, and send them down, with Egypt and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, with those who go down to the Pit.
19 "Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down! Be laid to rest with the uncircumcised!"
20 They shall fall among those who are killed by the sword. Egypt has been handed over to the sword; carry away both it and its hordes.
21 The mighty chiefs shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: "They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, killed by the sword."
22 Assyria is there, and all its company, their graves all around it, all of them killed, fallen by the sword.
23 Their graves are set in the uttermost parts of the Pit. Its company is all around its grave, all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.
24 Elam is there, and all its hordes around its grave; all of them killed, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
25 They have made Elam a bed among the slain with all its hordes, their graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword; for terror of them was spread in the land of the living, and they bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit; they are placed among the slain.
26 Meshech and Tubal are there, and all their multitude, their graves all around them, all of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword; for they spread terror in the land of the living.
27 And they do not lie with the fallen warriors of long ago who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose shields are upon their bones; for the terror of the warriors was in the land of the living.
28 So you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are killed by the sword.
29 Edom is there, its kings and all its princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword; they lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down to the Pit.
30 The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who have gone down in shame with the slain, for all the terror that they caused by their might; they lie uncircumcised with those who are killed by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the Pit.
31 When Pharaoh sees them, he will be consoled for all his hordes - Pharaoh and all his army, killed by the sword, says the Lord God.
32 For he spread terror in the land of the living; therefore he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword - Pharaoh and all his multitude, says the Lord God.

Day 243: Ezekiel 25 - 28

Chapter 25


1 The word of the Lord came to me:

2 Mortal, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.
3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God, because you said, "Aha!" over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when it went into exile;
4 therefore I am handing you over to the people of the east for a possession. They shall set their encampments among you and pitch their tents in your midst; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk.
5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
6 For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within you against the land of Israel,
7 therefore I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
8 Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab said, The house of Judah is like all the other nations,
9 therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the towns on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.
10 I will give it along with Ammon to the people of the east as a possession. Thus Ammon shall be remembered no more among the nations,
11 and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
12 Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance upon them,
13 therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and cut off from it humans and animals, and I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.
14 I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel; and they shall act in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath; and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord God.
15 Thus says the Lord God: Because with unending hostilities the Philistines acted in vengeance, and with malice of heart took revenge in destruction;
16 therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the rest of the seacoast.
17 I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful punishments. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance on them.

Chapter 26



1 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, "Aha, broken is the gateway of the peoples; it has swung open to me; I shall be replenished, now that it is wasted,"
3 therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I am against you, O Tyre! I will hurl many nations against you, as the sea hurls its waves.
4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down its towers. I will scrape its soil from it and make it a bare rock.
5 It shall become, in the midst of the sea, a place for spreading nets. I have spoken, says the Lord God. It shall become plunder for the nations,
6 and its daughter-towns in the country shall be killed by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
7 For thus says the Lord God: I will bring against Tyre from the north King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, king of kings, together with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a great and powerful army.
8 Your daughter-towns in the country he shall put to the sword. He shall set up a siege wall against you, cast up a ramp against you, and raise a roof of shields against you.
9 He shall direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls and break down your towers with his axes.
10 His horses shall be so many that their dust shall cover you. At the noise of cavalry, wheels, and chariots your very walls shall shake, when he enters your gates like those entering a breached city.
11 With the hoofs of his horses he shall trample all your streets. He shall put your people to the sword, and your strong pillars shall fall to the ground.
12 They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise; they shall break down your walls and destroy your fine houses. Your stones and timber and soil they shall cast into the water.
13 I will silence the music of your songs; the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.
14 I will make you a bare rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets. You shall never again be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken, says the Lord God.
15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter goes on within you?
16 Then all the princes of the sea shall step down from their thrones; they shall remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling, and shall sit on the ground; they shall tremble every moment, and be appalled at you.
17 And they shall raise a lamentation over you, and say to you: How you have vanished from the seas, O city renowned, once mighty on the sea, you and your inhabitants, who imposed your terror on all the mainland!
18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the coastlands by the sea are dismayed at your passing.
19 For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you,
20 then I will thrust you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of long ago, and I will make you live in the world below, among primeval ruins, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you will not be inhabited or have a place in the land of the living.
21 I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more; though sought for, you will never be found again, says the Lord God.

Chapter 27



1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Now you, mortal, raise a lamentation over Tyre,
3 and say to Tyre, which sits at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, Thus says the Lord God: O Tyre, you have said, "I am perfect in beauty."
4 Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders made perfect your beauty.
5 They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6 From oaks of Bashan they made your oars; they made your deck of pines from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory.
7 Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail, serving as your ensign; blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was your awning.
8 The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; skilled men of Zemer were within you, they were your pilots.
9 The elders of Gebal and its artisans were within you, caulking your seams; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were within you, to barter for your wares.
10 Paras and Lud and Put were in your army, your mighty warriors; they hung shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor.
11 Men of Arvad and Helech were on your walls all around; men of Gamad were at your towers. They hung their quivers all around your walls; they made perfect your beauty.
12 Tarshish did business with you out of the abundance of your great wealth; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares.
13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
14 Beth-togarmah exchanged for your wares horses, war horses, and mules.
15 The Rhodians traded with you; many coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony.
16 Edom did business with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies.
17 Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat from Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm.
18 Damascus traded with you for your abundant goods - because of your great wealth of every kind - wine of Helbon, and white wool.
19 Vedan and Javan from Uzal entered into trade for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and sweet cane were bartered for your merchandise.
20 Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding.
21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they did business with you.
22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; they exchanged for your wares the best of all kinds of spices, and all precious stones, and gold.
23 Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.
24 These traded with you in choice garments, in clothes of blue and embroidered work, and in carpets of colored material, bound with cords and made secure; in these they traded with you.
25 The ships of Tarshish traveled for you in your trade. So you were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas.
26 Your rowers have brought you into the high seas. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.
27 Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your warriors within you, with all the company that is with you, sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your ruin.
28 At the sound of the cry of your pilots the countryside shakes,
29 and down from their ships come all that handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea stand on the shore
30 and wail aloud over you, and cry bitterly. They throw dust on their heads and wallow in ashes;
31 they make themselves bald for you, and put on sackcloth, and they weep over you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning.
32 In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you, and lament over you: "Who was ever destroyed like Tyre in the midst of the sea?
33 When your wares came from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.
34 Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your crew have sunk with you.
35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you; and their kings are horribly afraid, their faces are convulsed.
36 The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever."

Chapter 28


1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is proud and you have said, "I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas," yet you are but a mortal, and no god, though you compare your mind with the mind of a god.

3 You are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you;
4 by your wisdom and your understanding you have amassed wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries.
5 By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth.
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you compare your mind with the mind of a god,
7 therefore, I will bring strangers against you, the most terrible of the nations; they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor.
8 They shall thrust you down to the Pit, and you shall die a violent death in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you still say, "I am a god," in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a mortal, and no god, in the hands of those who wound you?
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, says the Lord God.
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me:
12 Mortal, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, carnelian, chrysolite, and moonstone, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; and worked in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
14 With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the stones of fire.
15 You were blameless in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you.
16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and the guardian cherub drove you out from among the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries. So I brought out fire from within you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.
20 The word of the Lord came to me:
21 Mortal, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against it,
22 and say, Thus says the Lord God: I am against you, O Sidon, and I will gain glory in your midst. They shall know that I am the Lord when I execute judgments in it, and manifest my holiness in it;
23 for I will send pestilence into it, and bloodshed into its streets; and the dead shall fall in its midst, by the sword that is against it on every side. And they shall know that I am the Lord.
24 The house of Israel shall no longer find a pricking brier or a piercing thorn among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.
25 Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall settle on their own soil that I gave to my servant Jacob.
26 They shall live in safety in it, and shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall live in safety, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God.

Day 242: Ezekiel 22 - 24

Chapter 22

1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 You, mortal, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to it all its abominable deeds.
3 You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city! Shedding blood within itself; its time has come; making its idols, defiling itself.
4 You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made; you have brought your day near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a disgrace before the nations, and a mockery to all the countries.
5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you infamous one, full of tumult.
6 The princes of Israel in you, everyone according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.
7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you.
8 You have despised my holy things, and profaned my sabbaths.
9 In you are those who slander to shed blood, those in you who eat upon the mountains, who commit lewdness in your midst.
10 In you they uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women in their menstrual periods.
11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you defiles his sister, his father's daughter.
12 In you, they take bribes to shed blood; you take both advance interest and accrued interest, and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; and you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.
13 See, I strike my hands together at the dishonest gain you have made, and at the blood that has been shed within you.
14 Can your courage endure, or can your hands remain strong in the days when I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.
15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will purge your filthiness out of you.
16 And I shall be profaned through you in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am the Lord.
17 The word of the Lord came to me:
18 Mortal, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them, silver, bronze, tin, iron, and lead. In the smelter they have become dross.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
20 As one gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into a smelter, to blow the fire upon them in order to melt them; so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.
21 I will gather you and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted within it.
22 As silver is melted in a smelter, so you shall be melted in it; and you shall know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you.
23 The word of the Lord came to me:
24 Mortal, say to it: You are a land that is not cleansed, not rained upon in the day of indignation.
25 Its princes within it are like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows within it.
26 Its priests have done violence to my teaching and have profaned my holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27 Its officials within it are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
28 Its prophets have smeared whitewash on their behalf, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, "Thus says the Lord God," 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 have extorted from the alien without redress.
30 And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.
31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath; I have returned their conduct upon their heads, says the Lord God.

Chapter 23

1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, there were two women, the daughters of one mother;
3 they played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; their breasts were caressed there, and their virgin bosoms were fondled.
4 Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem
5 Oholah played the whore while she was mine; she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors
6 clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, mounted horsemen.
7 She bestowed her favors upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them; and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone for whom she lusted.
8 She did not give up her whorings that she had practiced since Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and fondled her virgin bosom and poured out their lust upon her.
9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.
10 These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and they killed her with the sword. Judgment was executed upon her, and she became a byword among women.
11 Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet she was more corrupt than she in her lusting and in her whorings, which were worse than those of her sister.
12 She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, mounted horsemen, all of them handsome young men.
13 And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way.
14 But she carried her whorings further; she saw male figures carved on the wall, images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion
15 with belts around their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers - a picture of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.
16 When she saw them she lusted after them, and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.
17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust; and after she defiled herself with them, she turned from them in disgust.
18 When she carried on her whorings so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned from her sister.
19 Yet she increased her whorings, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egyp
20 and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose emission was like that of stallions.
21 Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians fondled your bosom and caressed your young breasts
22 Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: I will rouse against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:
23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and warriors, all of them riding on horses.
24 They shall come against you from the north with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples; they shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet, and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their ordinances.
25 I will direct my indignation against you, in order that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire.
26 They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your fine jewels.
27 So I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring brought from the land of Egypt; you shall not long for them, or remember Egypt any more.
28 For thus says the Lord God: I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust;
29 and they shall deal with you in hatred, and take away all the fruit of your labor, and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whorings shall be exposed. Your lewdness and your whorings
30 have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations, and polluted yourself with their idols.
31 You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.
32 Thus says the Lord God: You shall drink your sister's cup, deep and wide; you shall be scorned and derided, it holds so much.
33 You shall be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of horror and desolation is the cup of your sister Samaria;
34 you shall drink it and drain it out, and gnaw its sherds, and tear out your breasts; for I have spoken, says the Lord God.
35 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, therefore bear the consequences of your lewdness and whorings.
36 The Lord said to me: Mortal, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds
37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands; with their idols they have committed adultery; and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.
38 Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my sabbaths
39 For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. This is what they did in my house.
40 They even sent for men to come from far away, to whom a messenger was sent, and they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and decked yourself with ornaments;
41 you sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.
42 The sound of a raucous multitude was around her, with many of the rabble brought in drunken from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the arms of the women, and beautiful crowns upon their heads.
43 Then I said, Ah, she is worn out with adulteries, but they carry on their sexual acts with her.
44 For they have gone in to her, as one goes in to a whore. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, wanton women.
45 But righteous judges shall declare them guilty of adultery and of bloodshed; because they are adulteresses and blood is on their hands.
46 For thus says the Lord God: Bring up an assembly against them, and make them an object of terror and of plunder.
47 The assembly shall stone them and with their swords they shall cut them down; they shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses.
48 Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, so that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done.
49 They shall repay you for your lewdness, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry; and you shall know that I am the Lord God.

Chapter 24

1 In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
3 And utter an allegory to the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Set on the pot, set it on, pour in water also;
4 put in it the pieces, all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with choice bones.
5 Take the choicest one of the flock, pile the logs under it; boil its pieces, seethe also its bones in it.
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, the pot whose rust is in it, whose rust has not gone out of it! Empty it piece by piece, making no choice at all.
7 For the blood she shed is inside it; she placed it on a bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground, to cover it with earth.
8 To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have placed the blood she shed on a bare rock, so that it may not be covered.
9 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! I will even make the pile great.
10 Heap up the logs, kindle the fire; boil the meat well, mix in the spices, let the bones be burned.
11 Stand it empty upon the coals, so that it may become hot, its copper glow, its filth melt in it, its rust be consumed.
12 In vain I have wearied myself; its thick rust does not depart. To the fire with its rust!
13 Yet, when I cleansed you in your filthy lewdness, you did not become clean from your filth; you shall not again be cleansed until I have satisfied my fury upon you.
14 I the Lord have spoken; the time is coming, I will act. I will not refrain, I will not spare, I will not relent. According to your ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord God.
15 The word of the Lord came to me:
16 Mortal, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.
17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.
18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.
19 Then the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting this way?"
20 Then I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me:
21 Say to the house of Israel Thus says the Lord God: I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and your heart's desire; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.
22 And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your upper lip or eat the bread of mourners.
23 Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and groan to one another.
24 Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; you shall do just as he has done. When this comes, then you shall know that I am the Lord God.
25 And you, mortal, on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their heart's affection, and also their sons and their daughters,
26 on that day, one who has escaped will come to you to report to you the news.
27 On that day your mouth shall be opened to the one who has escaped, and you shall speak and no longer be silent. So you shall be a sign to them; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Day 241: Ezekiel 20 - 21

Chapter 20

1 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain elders of Israel came to consult the Lord, and sat down before me.
2 And the word of the Lord came to me:
3 Mortal, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Why are you coming? To consult me? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be consulted by you.
4 Will you judge them, mortal, will you judge them? Then let them know the abominations of their ancestors,
5 and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: On the day when I chose Israel, I swore to the offspring of the house of Jacob - making myself known to them in the land of Egypt - I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God.
6 On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.
7 And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
8 But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; not one of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9 But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
10 So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.
11 I gave them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live.
12 Moreover I gave them my sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, so that they might know that I the Lord sanctify them.
13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness; they did not observe my statutes but rejected my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make an end of them.
14 But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
15 Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands,
16 because they rejected my ordinances and did not observe my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
17 Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make an end of them in the wilderness.
18 I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not follow the statutes of your parents, nor observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
19 I the Lord am your God; follow my statutes, and be careful to observe my ordinances,
20 and hallow my sabbaths that they may be a sign between me and you, so that you may know that I the Lord am your God.
21 But the children rebelled against me; they did not follow my statutes, and were not careful to observe my ordinances, by whose observance everyone shall live; they profaned my sabbaths. Then I thought I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.
22 But I withheld my hand, and acted for the sake of my name, so that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.
23 Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries,
24 because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their ancestors' idols.
25 Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live.
26 I defiled them through their very gifts, in their offering up all their firstborn, in order that I might horrify them, so that they might know that I am the Lord.
27 Therefore, mortal, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this again your ancestors blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me.
28 For when I had brought them into the land that I swore to give them, then wherever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing odors, and there they poured out their drink offerings.
29 (I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? So it is called Bamah to this day.)
30 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your ancestors and go astray after their detestable things?
31 When you offer your gifts and make your children pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be consulted by you.
32 What is in your mind shall never happen - the thought, "Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, and worship wood and stone."
33 As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will be king over you.
34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out;
35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.
36 As I entered into judgment with your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, says the Lord God.
37 I will make you pass under the staff, and will bring you within the bond of the covenant.
38 I will purge out the rebels among you, and those who transgress against me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside as aliens, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: Go serve your idols, everyone of you now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.
40 For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land; there I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred things.
41 As a pleasing odor I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations.
42 You shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that I swore to give to your ancestors.
43 There you shall remember your ways and all the deeds by which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed.
44 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, or corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, says the Lord God.
45 The word of the Lord came to me:
46 Mortal, set your face toward the south, preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb;
47 say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you and every dry tree; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it.
48 All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.
49 Then I said, "Ah Lord God! they are saying of me, "Is he not a maker of allegories?' "

Chapter 21

1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Mortal, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries; prophesy against the land of Israel
3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: I am coming against you, and will draw my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked.
4 Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north;
5 and all flesh shall know that I the Lord have drawn my sword out of its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.
6 Moan therefore, mortal; moan with breaking heart and bitter grief before their eyes.
7 And when they say to you, "Why do you moan?" you shall say, "Because of the news that has come. Every heart will melt and all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint and all knees will turn to water. See, it comes and it will be fulfilled," says the Lord God.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me:
9 Mortal, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord; Say: A sword, a sword is sharpened, it is also polished;
10 it is sharpened for slaughter, honed to flash like lightning! How can we make merry? You have despised the rod, and all discipline.
11 The sword is given to be polished, to be grasped in the hand; it is sharpened, the sword is polished, to be placed in the slayer's hand.
12 Cry and wail, O mortal, for it is against my people; it is against all Israel's princes; they are thrown to the sword, together with my people. Ah! Strike the thigh!
13 For consider: What! If you despise the rod, will it not happen? says the Lord God.
14 And you, mortal, prophesy; strike hand to hand. Let the sword fall twice, thrice; it is a sword for killing. A sword for great slaughter - it surrounds them;
15 therefore hearts melt and many stumble. At all their gates I have set the point of the sword. Ah! It is made for flashing, it is polished for slaughter.
16 Attack to the right! Engage to the left! - Wherever your edge is directed.
17 I too will strike hand to hand, I will satisfy my fury; I the Lord have spoken.
18 The word of the Lord came to me:
19 Mortal, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them shall issue from the same land. And make a signpost, make it for a fork in the road leading to a city;
20 mark out the road for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah and to Jerusalem the fortified.
21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the fork in the two roads, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the teraphim, he inspects the liver.
22 Into his right hand comes the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to call out for slaughter, for raising the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build siege towers.
23 But to them it will seem like a false divination; they have sworn solemn oaths; but he brings their guilt to remembrance, bringing about their capture.
24 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have brought your guilt to remembrance, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear - because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.
25 As for you, vile, wicked prince of Israel, you whose day has come, the time of final punishment,
26 thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban, take off the crown; things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, abase that which is high.
27 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin - I will make it! (Such has never occurred.) Until he comes whose right it is; to him I will give it.
28 As for you, mortal, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; say: A sword, a sword! Drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning.
29 Offering false visions for you, divining lies for you, they place you over the necks of the vile, wicked ones - those whose day has come, the time of final punishment.
30 Return it to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
31 I will pour out my indignation upon you, with the fire of my wrath I will blow upon you. I will deliver you into brutish hands, those skillful to destroy.
32 You shall be fuel for the fire, your blood shall enter the earth; you shall be remembered no more, for I the Lord have spoken.

Day 240: Ezekiel 17 - 19

Chapter 17

1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 O mortal, propound a riddle, and speak an allegory to the house of Israel.
3 Say: Thus says the Lord God: A great eagle, with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to the Lebanon. He took the top of the cedar,
4 broke off its topmost shoot; he carried it to a land of trade, set it in a city of merchants.
5 Then he took a seed from the land, placed it in fertile soil; a plant by abundant waters, he set it like a willow twig.
6 It sprouted and became a vine spreading out, but low; its branches turned toward him, its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine; it brought forth branches, put forth foliage.
7 There was another great eagle, with great wings and much plumage. And see! This vine stretched out its roots toward him; it shot out its branches toward him, so that he might water it. From the bed where it was planted
8 it was transplanted to good soil by abundant waters, so that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.
9 Say: Thus says the Lord God: Will it prosper? Will he not pull up its roots, cause its fruit to rot and wither, its fresh sprouting leaves to fade? No strong arm or mighty army will be needed to pull it from its roots.
10 When it is transplanted, will it thrive? When the east wind strikes it, will it not utterly wither, wither on the bed where it grew?
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me:
12 Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them: The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, took its king and its officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.
13 He took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (he had taken away the chief men of the land),
14 so that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and that by keeping his covenant it might stand.
15 But he rebelled against him by sending ambassadors to Egypt, in order that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?
16 As I live, says the Lord God, surely in the place where the king resides who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke - in Babylon he shall die.
17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when ramps are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives.
18 Because he despised the oath and broke the covenant, because he gave his hand and yet did all these things, he shall not escape.
19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, I will surely return upon his head my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke.
20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treason he has committed against me.
21 All the pick of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind; and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken.
22 Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind.
24 All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.

Chapter 18

1 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge"?
3 As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.
4 Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die.
5 If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right -
6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period,
7 does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,
8 does not take advance or accrued interest, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between contending parties,
9 follows my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances, acting faithfully - such a one is righteous; he shall surely live, says the Lord God.
10 If he has a son who is violent, a shedder of blood,
11 who does any of these things (though his father does none of them), who eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife,
12 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination,
13 takes advance or accrued interest; shall he then live? He shall not. He has done all these abominable things; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.
14 But if this man has a son who sees all the sins that his father has done, considers, and does not do likewise,
15 who does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife,
16 does not wrong anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,
17 withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no advance or accrued interest, observes my ordinances, and follows my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; he shall surely live.
18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, he dies for his iniquity.
19 Yet you say, "Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?" When the son has done what is lawful and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.
20 The person who sins shall die. A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own.
21 But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die.
22 None of the transgressions that they have committed shall be remembered against them; for the righteousness that they have done they shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?
24 But when the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity and do the same abominable things that the wicked do, shall they live? None of the righteous deeds that they have done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which they are guilty and the sin they have committed, they shall die.
25 Yet you say, "The way of the Lord is unfair." Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?
26 When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die.
27 Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life.
28 Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.
29 Yet the house of Israel says, "The way of the Lord is unfair." O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live.

Chapter 19

1 As for you, raise up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
2 and say: What a lioness was your mother among lions! She lay down among young lions, rearing her cubs.
3 She raised up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured humans.
4 The nations sounded an alarm against him; he was caught in their pit; and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5 When she saw that she was thwarted, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.
6 He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured people.
7 And he ravaged their strongholds, and laid waste their towns; the land was appalled, and all in it, at the sound of his roaring.
8 The nations set upon him from the provinces all around; they spread their net over him; he was caught in their pit.
9 With hooks they put him in a cage, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, so that his voice should be heard no more on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard transplanted by the water, fruitful and full of branches from abundant water.
11 Its strongest stem became a ruler's scepter; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it stood out in its height with its mass of branches.
12 But it was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried it up; its fruit was stripped off, its strong stem was withered; the fire consumed it.
13 Now it is transplanted into the wilderness, into a dry and thirsty land.
14 And fire has gone out from its stem, has consumed its branches and fruit, so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling. This is a lamentation, and it is used as a lamentation.