# BIBLE

BIBLETEXT:
Their camels shall become plunder, their herds of livestock a spoil. I will scatter to every wind those who cut the corners of their hair, and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals, an everlasting waste; no man shall dwell there; no man shall sojourn in her."


BIBLETEXT:
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come.


BIBLETEXT:
I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the LORD. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them,


BIBLETEXT:
and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
The word that the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet:


BIBLETEXT:
"Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: 'Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.'


BIBLETEXT:
"For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it; both man and beast shall flee away.


BIBLETEXT:
"In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the LORD their God.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, 'Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.'


BIBLETEXT:
"My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.


BIBLETEXT:
All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, 'We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.'


BIBLETEXT:
"Flee from the midst of Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock.


BIBLETEXT:
For behold, I am stirring up and bringing against Babylon a gathering of great nations, from the north country. And they shall array themselves against her. From there she shall be taken. Their arrows are like a skilled warrior who does not return empty-handed.


BIBLETEXT:
Chaldea shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Though you rejoice, though you exult, O plunderers of my heritage, though you frolic like a heifer in the pasture, and neigh like stallions,


BIBLETEXT:
your mother shall be utterly shamed, and she who bore you shall be disgraced. Behold, she shall be the last of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.


BIBLETEXT:
Because of the wrath of the LORD she shall not be inhabited but shall be an utter desolation; everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled, and hiss because of all her wounds.


BIBLETEXT:
Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around, all you who bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she has sinned against the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Raise a shout against her all around; she has surrendered; her bulwarks have fallen; her walls are thrown down. For this is the vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done.


BIBLETEXT:
Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the one who handles the sickle in time of harvest; because of the sword of the oppressor, every one shall turn to his own people, and every one shall flee to his own land.


BIBLETEXT:
"Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria.


BIBLETEXT:
I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.


BIBLETEXT:
In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.


BIBLETEXT:
"Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the inhabitants of Pekod. Kill, and devote them to destruction, declares the LORD, and do all that I have commanded you.


BIBLETEXT:
The noise of battle is in the land, and great destruction!


BIBLETEXT:
How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and broken! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations!


BIBLETEXT:
I set a snare for you and you were taken, O Babylon, and you did not know it; you were found and caught, because you opposed the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD has opened his armory and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Lord GOD of hosts has a work to do in the land of the Chaldeans.


BIBLETEXT:
Come against her from every quarter; open her granaries; pile her up like heaps of grain, and devote her to destruction; let nothing be left of her.


BIBLETEXT:
Kill all her bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come, the time of their punishment.


BIBLETEXT:
"A voice! They flee and escape from the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, vengeance for his temple.


BIBLETEXT:
"Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, I am against you, O proud one, declares the Lord GOD of hosts, for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.


BIBLETEXT:
The proud one shall stumble and fall, with none to raise him up, and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all that is around him.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and the people of Judah with them. All who took them captive have held them fast; they refuse to let them go.


BIBLETEXT:
Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
"A sword against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her officials and her wise men!


BIBLETEXT:
A sword against the diviners, that they may become fools! A sword against her warriors, that they may be destroyed!


BIBLETEXT:
A sword against her horses and against her chariots, and against all the foreign troops in her midst, that they may become women! A sword against all her treasures, that they may be plundered!


BIBLETEXT:
A drought against her waters, that they may be dried up! For it is a land of images, and they are mad over idols.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations.


BIBLETEXT:
As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the LORD, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, a people comes from the north; a mighty nation and many kings are stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
They lay hold of bow and spear; they are cruel and have no mercy. The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea; they ride on horses, arrayed as a man for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon!


BIBLETEXT:
"The king of Babylon heard the report of them, and his hands fell helpless; anguish seized him, pain as of a woman in labor.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, like a lion coming up from the thicket of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make them run away from her, and I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore hear the plan that the LORD has made against Babylon, and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of their flock shall be dragged away; surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate.


BIBLETEXT:
At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, against the inhabitants of Leb-kamai,


BIBLETEXT:
and I will send to Babylon winnowers, and they shall winnow her, and they shall empty her land, when they come against her from every side on the day of trouble.


BIBLETEXT:
Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not stand up in his armor. Spare not her young men; devote to destruction all her army.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall fall down slain in the land of the Chaldeans, and wounded in her streets.


BIBLETEXT:
For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the LORD of hosts, but the land of the Chaldeans is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
"Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her.


BIBLETEXT:
Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD's hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.


BIBLETEXT:
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed.


BIBLETEXT:
We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her, and let us go each to his own country, for her judgment has reached up to heaven and has been lifted up even to the skies.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD has brought about our vindication; come, let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.


BIBLETEXT:
"Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because his purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it, for that is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance for his temple.


BIBLETEXT:
"Set up a standard against the walls of Babylon; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the LORD has both planned and done what he spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself: Surely I will fill you with men, as many as locusts, and they shall raise the shout of victory over you.


BIBLETEXT:
"It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.


BIBLETEXT:
When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.


BIBLETEXT:
"You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms;


BIBLETEXT:
with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;


BIBLETEXT:
with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman;


BIBLETEXT:
with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.


BIBLETEXT:
"I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the LORD, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain.


BIBLETEXT:
No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Set up a standard on the earth; blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her; summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like bristling locusts.


BIBLETEXT:
Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of the Medes, with their governors and deputies, and every land under their dominion.


BIBLETEXT:
The land trembles and writhes in pain, for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.


BIBLETEXT:
The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women; her dwellings are on fire; her bars are broken.


BIBLETEXT:
One runner runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every side;


BIBLETEXT:
the fords have been seized, the marshes are burned with fire, and the soldiers are in panic.


BIBLETEXT:
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while and the time of her harvest will come."


BIBLETEXT:
"Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he has filled his stomach with my delicacies; he has rinsed me out.


BIBLETEXT:
The violence done to me and to my kinsmen be upon Babylon," let the inhabitant of Zion say. "My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea," let Jerusalem say.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will plead your cause and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea and make her fountain dry,


BIBLETEXT:
and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant.


BIBLETEXT:
"They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions' cubs.


BIBLETEXT:
While they are inflamed I will prepare them a feast and make them drunk, that they may become merry, then sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams and male goats.


BIBLETEXT:
"How Babylon is taken, the praise of the whole earth seized! How Babylon has become a horror among the nations!


BIBLETEXT:
The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves.


BIBLETEXT:
Her cities have become a horror, a land of drought and a desert, a land in which no one dwells, and through which no son of man passes.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and take out of his mouth what he has swallowed. The nations shall no longer flow to him; the wall of Babylon has fallen.


BIBLETEXT:
"Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the LORD!


BIBLETEXT:
Let not your heart faint, and be not fearful at the report heard in the land, when a report comes in one year and afterward a report in another year, and violence is in the land, and ruler is against ruler.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore, behold, the days are coming when I will punish the images of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, shall sing for joy over Babylon, for the destroyers shall come against them out of the north, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as for Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
"You who have escaped from the sword, go, do not stand still! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come into your mind:


BIBLETEXT:
'We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; dishonor has covered our face, for foreigners have come into the holy places of the LORD's house.'


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will execute judgment upon her images, and through all her land the wounded shall groan.


BIBLETEXT:
Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify her strong height, yet destroyers would come from me against her, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"A voice! A cry from Babylon! The noise of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!


BIBLETEXT:
For the LORD is laying Babylon waste and stilling her mighty voice. Their waves roar like many waters; the noise of their voice is raised,


BIBLETEXT:
for a destroyer has come upon her, upon Babylon; her warriors are taken; their bows are broken in pieces, for the LORD is a God of recompense; he will surely repay.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make drunk her officials and her wise men, her governors, her commanders, and her warriors; they shall sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: The broad wall of Babylon shall be leveled to the ground, and her high gates shall be burned with fire. The peoples labor for nothing, and the nations weary themselves only for fire."


BIBLETEXT:
The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. Seraiah was the quartermaster.


BIBLETEXT:
Jeremiah wrote in a book all the disaster that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: "When you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words,


BIBLETEXT:
and say, 'O LORD, you have said concerning this place that you will cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, and it shall be desolate forever.'


BIBLETEXT:
When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates,


BIBLETEXT:
and say, 'Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.'" Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.


BIBLETEXT:
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.


BIBLETEXT:
For because of the anger of the LORD things came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.


BIBLETEXT:
Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled and went out from the city by night by the way of a gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, while the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah.


BIBLETEXT:
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And all his army was scattered from him.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.


BIBLETEXT:
The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and also slaughtered all the officials of Judah at Riblah.


BIBLETEXT:
He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.


BIBLETEXT:
In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month--that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon--Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
And he burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down.


BIBLETEXT:
And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls around Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans.


BIBLETEXT:
But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.


BIBLETEXT:
And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and carried all the bronze to Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the basins and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service;


BIBLETEXT:
also the small bowls and the fire pans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the dishes for incense and the bowls for drink offerings. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the two pillars, the one sea, the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which Solomon the king had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these things was beyond weight.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, its circumference was twelve cubits, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow.


BIBLETEXT:
On it was a capital of bronze. The height of the one capital was five cubits. A network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with pomegranates.


BIBLETEXT:
There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network all around.


BIBLETEXT:
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold;


BIBLETEXT:
and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and seven men of the king's council, who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city.


BIBLETEXT:
And the king of Babylon struck them down, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.


BIBLETEXT:
This is the number of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans;


BIBLETEXT:
in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem 832 persons;


BIBLETEXT:
in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Judeans 745 persons; all the persons were 4,600.


BIBLETEXT:
And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison.


BIBLETEXT:
And he spoke kindly to him, and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king according to his daily need, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.


BIBLETEXT:
How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave.


BIBLETEXT:
She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies.


BIBLETEXT:
Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.


BIBLETEXT:
The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival; all her gates are desolate; her priests groan; her virgins have been afflicted, and she herself suffers bitterly.


BIBLETEXT:
Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper, because the LORD has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.


BIBLETEXT:
From the daughter of Zion all her majesty has departed. Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.


BIBLETEXT:
Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old. When her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her, her foes gloated over her; they mocked at her downfall.


BIBLETEXT:
Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away.


BIBLETEXT:
Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. "O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!"


BIBLETEXT:
The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things; for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom you forbade to enter your congregation.


BIBLETEXT:
All her people groan as they search for bread; they trade their treasures for food to revive their strength. "Look, O LORD, and see, for I am despised."


BIBLETEXT:
"Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the LORD inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.


BIBLETEXT:
"From on high he sent fire; into my bones he made it descend; he spread a net for my feet; he turned me back; he has left me stunned, faint all the day long.


BIBLETEXT:
"My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; they were set upon my neck; he caused my strength to fail; the Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand.


BIBLETEXT:
"The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst; he summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah.


BIBLETEXT:
"For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed."


BIBLETEXT:
Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her; the LORD has commanded against Jacob that his neighbors should be his foes; Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.


BIBLETEXT:
"The LORD is in the right, for I have rebelled against his word; but hear, all you peoples, and see my suffering; my young women and my young men have gone into captivity.


BIBLETEXT:
"I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; my priests and elders perished in the city, while they sought food to revive their strength.


BIBLETEXT:
"Look, O LORD, for I am in distress; my stomach churns; my heart is wrung within me, because I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword bereaves; in the house it is like death.


BIBLETEXT:
"They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that you have done it. You have brought the day you announced; now let them be as I am.


BIBLETEXT:
"Let all their evildoing come before you, and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint."


BIBLETEXT:
How the Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud! He has cast down from heaven to earth the splendor of Israel; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.


BIBLETEXT:
The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has brought down to the ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers.


BIBLETEXT:
He has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel; he has withdrawn from them his right hand in the face of the enemy; he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around.


BIBLETEXT:
He has bent his bow like an enemy, with his right hand set like a foe; and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes in the tent of the daughter of Zion; he has poured out his fury like fire.


BIBLETEXT:
The Lord has become like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel; he has swallowed up all its palaces; he has laid in ruins its strongholds, and he has multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation.


BIBLETEXT:
He has laid waste his booth like a garden, laid in ruins his meeting place; the LORD has made Zion forget festival and Sabbath, and in his fierce indignation has spurned king and priest.


BIBLETEXT:
The Lord has scorned his altar, disowned his sanctuary; he has delivered into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they raised a clamor in the house of the LORD as on the day of festival.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out the measuring line; he did not restrain his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to lament; they languished together.


BIBLETEXT:
Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars; her king and princes are among the nations; the law is no more, and her prophets find no vision from the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.


BIBLETEXT:
My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city.


BIBLETEXT:
They cry to their mothers, "Where is bread and wine?" as they faint like a wounded man in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out on their mothers' bosom.


BIBLETEXT:
What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is vast as the sea; who can heal you?


BIBLETEXT:
Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading.


BIBLETEXT:
All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?"


BIBLETEXT:
All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry: "We have swallowed her! Ah, this is the day we longed for; now we have it; we see it!"


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes.


BIBLETEXT:
Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite!


BIBLETEXT:
"Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street."


BIBLETEXT:
Look, O LORD, and see! With whom have you dealt thus? Should women eat the fruit of their womb, the children of their tender care? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?


BIBLETEXT:
In the dust of the streets lie the young and the old; my young women and my young men have fallen by the sword; you have killed them in the day of your anger, slaughtering without pity.


BIBLETEXT:
You summoned as if to a festival day my terrors on every side, and on the day of the anger of the LORD no one escaped or survived; those whom I held and raised my enemy destroyed.


BIBLETEXT:
I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;


BIBLETEXT:
he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light;


BIBLETEXT:
surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long.


BIBLETEXT:
He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones;


BIBLETEXT:
he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation;


BIBLETEXT:
he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.


BIBLETEXT:
He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy;


BIBLETEXT:
though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer;


BIBLETEXT:
he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked.


BIBLETEXT:
He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding;


BIBLETEXT:
he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate;


BIBLETEXT:
he bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow.


BIBLETEXT:
He drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver;


BIBLETEXT:
I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long.


BIBLETEXT:
He has filled me with bitterness; he has sated me with wormwood.


BIBLETEXT:
He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes;


BIBLETEXT:
my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is;


BIBLETEXT:
so I say, "My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!


BIBLETEXT:
My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.


BIBLETEXT:
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:


BIBLETEXT:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;


BIBLETEXT:
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.


BIBLETEXT:
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.


BIBLETEXT:
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.


BIBLETEXT:
Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;


BIBLETEXT:
let him put his mouth in the dust-- there may yet be hope;


BIBLETEXT:
let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.


BIBLETEXT:
but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;


BIBLETEXT:
for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.


BIBLETEXT:
To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth,


BIBLETEXT:
to deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High,


BIBLETEXT:
to subvert a man in his lawsuit, the Lord does not approve.


BIBLETEXT:
Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?


BIBLETEXT:
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?


BIBLETEXT:
Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?


BIBLETEXT:
Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!


BIBLETEXT:
Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:


BIBLETEXT:
"We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven.


BIBLETEXT:
"You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity;


BIBLETEXT:
you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.


BIBLETEXT:
You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples.


BIBLETEXT:
"All our enemies open their mouths against us;


BIBLETEXT:
panic and pitfall have come upon us, devastation and destruction;


BIBLETEXT:
my eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.


BIBLETEXT:
"My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite,


BIBLETEXT:
until the LORD from heaven looks down and sees;


BIBLETEXT:
my eyes cause me grief at the fate of all the daughters of my city.


BIBLETEXT:
"I have been hunted like a bird by those who were my enemies without cause;


BIBLETEXT:
they flung me alive into the pit and cast stones on me;


BIBLETEXT:
water closed over my head; I said, 'I am lost.'


BIBLETEXT:
"I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit;


BIBLETEXT:
you heard my plea, 'Do not close your ear to my cry for help!'


BIBLETEXT:
You came near when I called on you; you said, 'Do not fear!'


BIBLETEXT:
"You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.


BIBLETEXT:
You have seen the wrong done to me, O LORD; judge my cause.


BIBLETEXT:
You have seen all their vengeance, all their plots against me.


BIBLETEXT:
"You have heard their taunts, O LORD, all their plots against me.


BIBLETEXT:
The lips and thoughts of my assailants are against me all the day long.


BIBLETEXT:
Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts.


BIBLETEXT:
"You will repay them, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.


BIBLETEXT:
You will give them dullness of heart; your curse will be on them.


BIBLETEXT:
You will pursue them in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, O LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street.


BIBLETEXT:
The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter's hands!


BIBLETEXT:
Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.


BIBLETEXT:
The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them.


BIBLETEXT:
Those who once feasted on delicacies perish in the streets; those who were brought up in purple embrace ash heaps.


BIBLETEXT:
For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater than the punishment of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands were wrung for her.


BIBLETEXT:
Her princes were purer than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than coral, the beauty of their form was like sapphire.


BIBLETEXT:
Now their face is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as wood.


BIBLETEXT:
Happier were the victims of the sword than the victims of hunger, who wasted away, pierced by lack of the fruits of the field.


BIBLETEXT:
The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations.


BIBLETEXT:
The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
This was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed in the midst of her the blood of the righteous.


BIBLETEXT:
They wandered, blind, through the streets; they were so defiled with blood that no one was able to touch their garments.


BIBLETEXT:
"Away! Unclean!" people cried at them. "Away! Away! Do not touch!" So they became fugitives and wanderers; people said among the nations, "They shall stay with us no longer."


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders.


BIBLETEXT:
Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save.


BIBLETEXT:
They dogged our steps so that we could not walk in our streets; our end drew near; our days were numbered, for our end had come.


BIBLETEXT:
Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles in the heavens; they chased us on the mountains; they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.


BIBLETEXT:
The breath of our nostrils, the LORD's anointed, was captured in their pits, of whom we said, "Under his shadow we shall live among the nations."


BIBLETEXT:
Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.


BIBLETEXT:
The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished; he will keep you in exile no longer; but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish; he will uncover your sins.


BIBLETEXT:
Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace!


BIBLETEXT:
Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to foreigners.


BIBLETEXT:
We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows.


BIBLETEXT:
We must pay for the water we drink; the wood we get must be bought.


BIBLETEXT:
Our pursuers are at our necks; we are weary; we are given no rest.


BIBLETEXT:
We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to get bread enough.


BIBLETEXT:
Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities.


BIBLETEXT:
Slaves rule over us; there is none to deliver us from their hand.


BIBLETEXT:
We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.


BIBLETEXT:
Our skin is hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine.


BIBLETEXT:
Women are raped in Zion, young women in the towns of Judah.


BIBLETEXT:
Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders.


BIBLETEXT:
Young men are compelled to grind at the mill, and boys stagger under loads of wood.


BIBLETEXT:
The old men have left the city gate, the young men their music.


BIBLETEXT:
The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning.


BIBLETEXT:
The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned!


BIBLETEXT:
For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim,


BIBLETEXT:
for Mount Zion which lies desolate; jackals prowl over it.


BIBLETEXT:
But you, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.


BIBLETEXT:
Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?


BIBLETEXT:
Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old--


BIBLETEXT:
unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.


BIBLETEXT:
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.


BIBLETEXT:
On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin),


BIBLETEXT:
the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.


BIBLETEXT:
As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.


BIBLETEXT:
And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness,


BIBLETEXT:
but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.


BIBLETEXT:
Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze.


BIBLETEXT:
Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus:


BIBLETEXT:
their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.


BIBLETEXT:
Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.


BIBLETEXT:
And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.


BIBLETEXT:
And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.


BIBLETEXT:
Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel.


BIBLETEXT:
When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went.


BIBLETEXT:
And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.


BIBLETEXT:
And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.


BIBLETEXT:
Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.


BIBLETEXT:
When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.


BIBLETEXT:
Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads.


BIBLETEXT:
And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body.


BIBLETEXT:
And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings.


BIBLETEXT:
And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.


BIBLETEXT:
And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.


BIBLETEXT:
And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him.


BIBLETEXT:
Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you."


BIBLETEXT:
And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.


BIBLETEXT:
The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'


BIBLETEXT:
And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.


BIBLETEXT:
And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.


BIBLETEXT:
"But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."


BIBLETEXT:
And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.


BIBLETEXT:
And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel."


BIBLETEXT:
So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it." Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them.


BIBLETEXT:
For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel--


BIBLETEXT:
not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you.


BIBLETEXT:
But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart.


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.


BIBLETEXT:
Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house."


BIBLETEXT:
Moreover, he said to me, "Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears.


BIBLETEXT:
And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear or refuse to hear."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: "Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!"


BIBLETEXT:
It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake.


BIBLETEXT:
The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.


BIBLETEXT:
And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.


BIBLETEXT:
And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.


BIBLETEXT:
If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.


BIBLETEXT:
But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.


BIBLETEXT:
Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand.


BIBLETEXT:
But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul."


BIBLETEXT:
And the hand of the LORD was upon me there. And he said to me, "Arise, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you."


BIBLETEXT:
So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I fell on my face.


BIBLETEXT:
But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, "Go, shut yourself within your house.


BIBLETEXT:
And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house.


BIBLETEXT:
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
And put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around.


BIBLETEXT:
And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
"Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment.


BIBLETEXT:
For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for each year.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city.


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege.


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer, and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it.


BIBLETEXT:
And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from day to day you shall eat it.


BIBLETEXT:
And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from day to day you shall drink.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung."


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said, "Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them."


BIBLETEXT:
Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread."


BIBLETEXT:
Moreover, he said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.


BIBLETEXT:
I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and rot away because of their punishment.


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber's razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair.


BIBLETEXT:
A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe.


BIBLETEXT:
And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.


BIBLETEXT:
And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, and have not even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations.


BIBLETEXT:
And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. And I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity.


BIBLETEXT:
A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I am the LORD--that I have spoken in my jealousy--when I spend my fury upon them.


BIBLETEXT:
Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations all around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and with furious rebukes--I am the LORD; I have spoken--


BIBLETEXT:
when I send against you the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you and break your supply of bread.


BIBLETEXT:
I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the LORD; I have spoken."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,


BIBLETEXT:
and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.


BIBLETEXT:
Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars.


BIBLETEXT:
Wherever you dwell, the cities shall be waste and the high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined, your idols broken and destroyed, your incense altars cut down, and your works wiped out.


BIBLETEXT:
And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries,


BIBLETEXT:
then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
And they shall know that I am the LORD. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD: "Clap your hands and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.


BIBLETEXT:
He who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land desolate and waste, in all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to Riblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.


BIBLETEXT:
Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes.


BIBLETEXT:
An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes.


BIBLETEXT:
Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains.


BIBLETEXT:
Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who strikes.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has blossomed; pride has budded.


BIBLETEXT:
Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them.


BIBLETEXT:
The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude.


BIBLETEXT:
For the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. For the vision concerns all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life.


BIBLETEXT:
"They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude.


BIBLETEXT:
The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour.


BIBLETEXT:
And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity.


BIBLETEXT:
All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water.


BIBLETEXT:
They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads.


BIBLETEXT:
They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.


BIBLETEXT:
His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and they shall profane it.


BIBLETEXT:
I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.


BIBLETEXT:
"Forge a chain! For the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence.


BIBLETEXT:
I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their holy places shall be profaned.


BIBLETEXT:
When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none.


BIBLETEXT:
Disaster comes upon disaster; rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders.


BIBLETEXT:
The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I looked, and behold, a form that had the appearance of a man. Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.


BIBLETEXT:
He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north." So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations."


BIBLETEXT:
And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Son of man, dig in the wall." So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here."


BIBLETEXT:
So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, 'The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.'"


BIBLETEXT:
He said also to me, "You will see still greater abominations that they commit."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these."


BIBLETEXT:
And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, "Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand."


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.


BIBLETEXT:
Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist.


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said to him, "Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it."


BIBLETEXT:
And to the others he said in my hearing, "Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.


BIBLETEXT:
Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the house.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to them, "Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out." So they went out and struck in the city.


BIBLETEXT:
And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, "Ah, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?"


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, 'The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.'


BIBLETEXT:
As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds upon their heads."


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, "I have done as you commanded me."


BIBLETEXT:
Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to the man clothed in linen, "Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city." And he went in before my eyes.


BIBLETEXT:
Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.


BIBLETEXT:
And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.


BIBLETEXT:
And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, "Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim," he went in and stood beside a wheel.


BIBLETEXT:
And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.


BIBLETEXT:
The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings.


BIBLETEXT:
And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling beryl.


BIBLETEXT:
And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel.


BIBLETEXT:
When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without turning as they went.


BIBLETEXT:
And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around--the wheels that the four of them had.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing "the whirling wheels."


BIBLETEXT:
And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.


BIBLETEXT:
And the cherubim mounted up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the Chebar canal.


BIBLETEXT:
And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them.


BIBLETEXT:
When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim.


BIBLETEXT:
And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.


BIBLETEXT:
These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim.


BIBLETEXT:
Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings the likeness of human hands.


BIBLETEXT:
And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. Each one of them went straight forward.


BIBLETEXT:
The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the LORD, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city;


BIBLETEXT:
who say, 'The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.'


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man."


BIBLETEXT:
And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and he said to me, "Say, Thus says the LORD: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind.


BIBLETEXT:
You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it.


BIBLETEXT:
You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel,


BIBLETEXT:
and you shall know that I am the LORD. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you."


BIBLETEXT:
And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?"


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Go far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.'


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.'


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.'


BIBLETEXT:
And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,


BIBLETEXT:
that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.


BIBLETEXT:
But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.


BIBLETEXT:
And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city.


BIBLETEXT:
And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me.


BIBLETEXT:
And I told the exiles all the things that the LORD had shown me.


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.


BIBLETEXT:
As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile.


BIBLETEXT:
In their sight dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it.


BIBLETEXT:
In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel."


BIBLETEXT:
And I did as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.


BIBLETEXT:
In the morning the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, 'What are you doing?'


BIBLETEXT:
Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.'


BIBLETEXT:
Say, 'I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.'


BIBLETEXT:
And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, and I will unsheathe the sword after them.


BIBLETEXT:
And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries.


BIBLETEXT:
But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety.


BIBLETEXT:
And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with anxiety, and drink water in dismay. In this way her land will be stripped of all it contains, on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it.


BIBLETEXT:
And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, 'The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing'?


BIBLETEXT:
Tell them therefore, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.' But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision.


BIBLETEXT:
For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, 'The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.'


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: 'Hear the word of the LORD!'


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!


BIBLETEXT:
Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, 'Declares the LORD,' when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word.


BIBLETEXT:
Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, 'Declares the LORD,' although I have not spoken?"


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash,


BIBLETEXT:
say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out.


BIBLETEXT:
And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, 'Where is the coating with which you smeared it?'


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it,


BIBLETEXT:
the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own minds. Prophesy against them


BIBLETEXT:
and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?


BIBLETEXT:
You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds.


BIBLETEXT:
Your veils also I will tear off and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols,


BIBLETEXT:
that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the LORD will answer him myself.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
And they shall bear their punishment--the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike--


BIBLETEXT:
that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast,


BIBLETEXT:
even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, and it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts,


BIBLETEXT:
even if these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.


BIBLETEXT:
"Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, and I cut off from it man and beast,


BIBLETEXT:
though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.


BIBLETEXT:
"Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast,


BIBLETEXT:
even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.


BIBLETEXT:
"For thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!


BIBLETEXT:
But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it.


BIBLETEXT:
They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest?


BIBLETEXT:
Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it?


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything?


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything!


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations,


BIBLETEXT:
and say, Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.


BIBLETEXT:
And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.


BIBLETEXT:
No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.


BIBLETEXT:
"And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, 'Live!' I said to you in your blood, 'Live!'


BIBLETEXT:
I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.


BIBLETEXT:
"When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.


BIBLETEXT:
I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.


BIBLETEXT:
And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck.


BIBLETEXT:
And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.


BIBLETEXT:
And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.


BIBLETEXT:
You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.


BIBLETEXT:
You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore.


BIBLETEXT:
And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them.


BIBLETEXT:
Also my bread that I gave you--I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey--you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter


BIBLETEXT:
that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them?


BIBLETEXT:
And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.


BIBLETEXT:
"And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord GOD),


BIBLETEXT:
you built yourself a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square.


BIBLETEXT:
At the head of every street you built your lofty place and made your beauty an abomination, offering yourself to any passerby and multiplying your whoring.


BIBLETEXT:
You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger.


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you and diminished your allotted portion and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.


BIBLETEXT:
You played the whore also with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied.


BIBLETEXT:
You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.


BIBLETEXT:
"How sick is your heart, declares the Lord GOD, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute,


BIBLETEXT:
building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment.


BIBLETEXT:
Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!


BIBLETEXT:
Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings.


BIBLETEXT:
So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the LORD:


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.


BIBLETEXT:
And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more.


BIBLETEXT:
So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry.


BIBLETEXT:
Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: 'Like mother, like daughter.'


BIBLETEXT:
You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.


BIBLETEXT:
And your elder sister is Samaria, who lived with her daughters to the north of you; and your younger sister, who lived to the south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.


BIBLETEXT:
Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.


BIBLETEXT:
As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done.


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.


BIBLETEXT:
They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.


BIBLETEXT:
Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.


BIBLETEXT:
Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.


BIBLETEXT:
"I will restore their fortunes, both the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in their midst,


BIBLETEXT:
that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all that you have done, becoming a consolation to them.


BIBLETEXT:
As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters shall return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former state, and you and your daughters shall return to your former state.


BIBLETEXT:
Was not your sister Sodom a byword in your mouth in the day of your pride,


BIBLETEXT:
before your wickedness was uncovered? Now you have become an object of reproach for the daughters of Syria and all those around her, and for the daughters of the Philistines, those all around who despise you.


BIBLETEXT:
You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"For thus says the Lord GOD: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant,


BIBLETEXT:
yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant.


BIBLETEXT:
Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you.


BIBLETEXT:
I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD,


BIBLETEXT:
that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;


BIBLETEXT:
say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.


BIBLETEXT:
He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig,


BIBLETEXT:
and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.


BIBLETEXT:
"And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it.


BIBLETEXT:
It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.


BIBLETEXT:
"Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots.


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it--wither away on the bed where it sprouted?"


BIBLETEXT:
"Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
And he took one of the royal offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the chief men of the land he had taken away),


BIBLETEXT:
that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand.


BIBLETEXT:
But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape?


BIBLETEXT:
"As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die.


BIBLETEXT:
Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives.


BIBLETEXT:
He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely it is My oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head.


BIBLETEXT:
I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against me.


BIBLETEXT:
And 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 am the LORD; I have spoken."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD: "I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.


BIBLETEXT:
On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.


BIBLETEXT:
And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it."


BIBLETEXT:
"What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'?


BIBLETEXT:
As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.


BIBLETEXT:
"If a man is righteous and does what is just and right--


BIBLETEXT:
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 in her time of menstrual impurity,


BIBLETEXT:
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,


BIBLETEXT:
does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man,


BIBLETEXT:
walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully--he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things


BIBLETEXT:
(though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife,


BIBLETEXT:
oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination,


BIBLETEXT:
lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.


BIBLETEXT:
"Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise:


BIBLETEXT:
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,


BIBLETEXT:
does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,


BIBLETEXT:
withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; he shall surely live.


BIBLETEXT:
As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.


BIBLETEXT:
"Yet you say, 'Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?' When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.


BIBLETEXT:
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.


BIBLETEXT:
"But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.


BIBLETEXT:
The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you; they were your pilots.


BIBLETEXT:
The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you, caulking your seams; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to barter for your wares.


BIBLETEXT:
"Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor.


BIBLETEXT:
Men of Arvad and Helech were on your walls all around, and men of Gamad were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they made perfect your beauty.


BIBLETEXT:
"Tarshish did business with you because of your great wealth of every kind; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares.


BIBLETEXT:
Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.


BIBLETEXT:
From Beth-togarmah they exchanged horses, war horses, and mules for your wares.


BIBLETEXT:
The men of Dedan traded with you. Many coastlands were your own special markets; they brought you in payment ivory tusks and ebony.


BIBLETEXT:
Syria did business with you because of your abundant goods; they exchanged for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and ruby.


BIBLETEXT:
Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, meal, honey, oil, and balm.


BIBLETEXT:
Damascus did business with you for your abundant goods, because of your great wealth of every kind; wine of Helbon and wool of Sahar


BIBLETEXT:
and casks of wine from Uzal they exchanged for your wares; wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were bartered for your merchandise.


BIBLETEXT:
Dedan traded with you in saddlecloths for riding.


BIBLETEXT:
Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your favored dealers in lambs, rams, and goats; in these they did business with you.


BIBLETEXT:
The traders 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.


BIBLETEXT:
Haran, Canneh, Eden, traders of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad traded with you.


BIBLETEXT:
In your market 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.


BIBLETEXT:
The ships of Tarshish traveled for you with your merchandise. So you were filled and heavily laden in the heart of the seas.


BIBLETEXT:
"Your rowers have brought you out into the high seas. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas.


BIBLETEXT:
Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you, with all your crew that is in your midst, sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall.


BIBLETEXT:
At the sound of the cry of your pilots the countryside shakes,


BIBLETEXT:
and down from their ships come all who handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea stand on the land


BIBLETEXT:
and shout aloud over you and cry out bitterly. They cast dust on their heads and wallow in ashes;


BIBLETEXT:
they make themselves bald for you and put sackcloth on their waist, and they weep over you in bitterness of soul, with bitter mourning.


BIBLETEXT:
In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you and lament over you: 'Who is like Tyre, like one destroyed in the midst of the sea?


BIBLETEXT:
When your wares came from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your crew in your midst have sunk with you.


BIBLETEXT:
All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you, and the hair of their kings bristles with horror; their faces are convulsed.


BIBLETEXT:
The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.'"


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, 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 man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god--


BIBLETEXT:
you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you;


BIBLETEXT:
by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;


BIBLETEXT:
by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth--


BIBLETEXT:
therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendor.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas.


BIBLETEXT:
Will you still say, 'I am a god,' in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you?


BIBLETEXT:
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, 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.


BIBLETEXT:
You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.


BIBLETEXT:
You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.


BIBLETEXT:
You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.


BIBLETEXT:
In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.


BIBLETEXT:
All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her


BIBLETEXT:
and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will manifest my glory in your midst. And they shall know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments in her and manifest my holiness in her;


BIBLETEXT:
for I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets; and the slain shall fall in her midst, by the sword that is against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"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 dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob.


BIBLETEXT:
And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God."


BIBLETEXT:
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt;


BIBLETEXT:
speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, 'My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.'


BIBLETEXT:
I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales; and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams, with all the fish of your streams that stick to your scales.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your streams; you shall fall on the open field, and not be brought together or gathered. To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens I give you as food.


BIBLETEXT:
Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD. "Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel,


BIBLETEXT:
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 loins to shake.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring a sword upon you, and will cut off from you man and beast,


BIBLETEXT:
and the land of Egypt shall be a desolation and a waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. "Because you said, 'The Nile is mine, and I made it,'


BIBLETEXT:
therefore, behold, I am against you and against your streams, and I will make the land of Egypt an utter waste and desolation, from Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Cush.


BIBLETEXT:
No foot of man shall pass through it, and no foot of beast shall pass through it; it shall be uninhabited forty years.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of 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 through the countries.


BIBLETEXT:
"For thus says the Lord GOD: At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered,


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
In the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king 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 performed against her.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army.


BIBLETEXT:
I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"On that day I will cause a horn to spring up for the house of Israel, and I will open your lips among them. Then they will know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Wail, 'Alas for the day!'


BIBLETEXT:
For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.


BIBLETEXT:
A sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Cush, when the slain fall in Egypt, and her wealth is carried away, and her foundations are torn down.


BIBLETEXT:
Cush, and Put, and Lud, and all Arabia, and Libya, and the people of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the LORD: Those who support Egypt shall fall, and her proud might shall come down; from Migdol to Syene they shall fall within her by the sword, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
And they shall be desolated in the midst of desolated countries, and their cities shall be in the midst of cities that are laid waste.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have set fire to Egypt, and all her helpers are broken.


BIBLETEXT:
"On that day messengers shall go out from me in ships to terrify the unsuspecting people of Cush, and anguish shall come upon them on the day of Egypt's doom; for, behold, it comes!


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live.


BIBLETEXT:
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?


BIBLETEXT:
But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.


BIBLETEXT:
"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?


BIBLETEXT:
When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die.


BIBLETEXT:
Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.


BIBLETEXT:
Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.


BIBLETEXT:
Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.


BIBLETEXT:
Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?


BIBLETEXT:
For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live."


BIBLETEXT:
And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,


BIBLETEXT:
and say: What was your mother? A lioness! Among lions she crouched; in the midst of young lions she reared her cubs.


BIBLETEXT:
And she brought up one of her cubs; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men.


BIBLETEXT:
The nations heard about him; he was caught in their pit, and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.


BIBLETEXT:
When she saw that she waited in vain, that her hope was lost, she took another of her cubs and made him a young lion.


BIBLETEXT:
He prowled among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch prey; he devoured men,


BIBLETEXT:
and seized their widows. He laid waste their cities, and the land was appalled and all who were in it at the sound of his roaring.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the nations set against him from provinces on every side; they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.


BIBLETEXT:
With hooks they put him in a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into custody, that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard planted by the water, fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water.


BIBLETEXT:
Its strong stems became rulers' scepters; it towered aloft among the thick boughs; it was seen in its height with the mass of its branches.


BIBLETEXT:
But the vine was plucked up in fury, cast down to the ground; the east wind dried up its fruit; they were stripped off and withered. As for its strong stem, fire consumed it.


BIBLETEXT:
Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.


BIBLETEXT:
And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots, has consumed its fruit, so that there remains in it no strong stem, no scepter for ruling. This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.


BIBLETEXT:
In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD, Is it to inquire of me that you come? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.


BIBLETEXT:
Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Let them know the abominations of their fathers,


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.


BIBLETEXT:
I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live.


BIBLETEXT:
Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.


BIBLETEXT:
But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.


BIBLETEXT:
But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.


BIBLETEXT:
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,


BIBLETEXT:
because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.


BIBLETEXT:
Nevertheless, my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or make a full end of them in the wilderness.


BIBLETEXT:
"And I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols.


BIBLETEXT:
I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules,


BIBLETEXT:
and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.


BIBLETEXT:
But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness.


BIBLETEXT:
But I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.


BIBLETEXT:
Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries,


BIBLETEXT:
because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols.


BIBLETEXT:
Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life,


BIBLETEXT:
and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by dealing treacherously with me.


BIBLETEXT:
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 there they presented the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings.


BIBLETEXT:
(I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? So its name is called Bamah to this day.)


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go whoring after their detestable things?


BIBLETEXT:
When you present your gifts and offer up your children in fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.


BIBLETEXT:
"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.'


BIBLETEXT:
"As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.


BIBLETEXT:
As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.


BIBLETEXT:
I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord GOD: Go serve every one of you his idols, 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.


BIBLETEXT:
"For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares 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 offerings.


BIBLETEXT:
As a pleasing aroma 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.


BIBLETEXT:
And 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 fathers.


BIBLETEXT:
And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed.


BIBLETEXT:
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, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, set your face toward the southland; preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb.


BIBLETEXT:
Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, 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.


BIBLETEXT:
All flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it; it shall not be quenched."


BIBLETEXT:
Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! They are saying of me, 'Is he not a maker of parables?'"


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel


BIBLETEXT:
and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked.


BIBLETEXT:
Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.


BIBLETEXT:
And all flesh shall know that I am the LORD. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes.


BIBLETEXT:
And when they say to you, 'Why do you groan?' you shall say, 'Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,'" declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: "A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished,


BIBLETEXT:
sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! (Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.)


BIBLETEXT:
So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer.


BIBLETEXT:
Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh.


BIBLETEXT:
For it will not be a testing--what could it do if you despise the rod?" declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, three times, the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them,


BIBLETEXT:
that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; it is taken up for slaughter.


BIBLETEXT:
Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed.


BIBLETEXT:
I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the LORD have spoken."


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city.


BIBLETEXT:
Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified.


BIBLETEXT:
For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver.


BIBLETEXT:
Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers.


BIBLETEXT:
But to them it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, 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.


BIBLETEXT:
And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment,


BIBLETEXT:
thus says the Lord GOD: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted.


BIBLETEXT:
A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning--


BIBLETEXT:
while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you--to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.


BIBLETEXT:
Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I the LORD have spoken."


BIBLETEXT:
And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself!


BIBLETEXT:
You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries.


BIBLETEXT:
Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood.


BIBLETEXT:
Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.


BIBLETEXT:
You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths.


BIBLETEXT:
There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst.


BIBLETEXT:
In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity.


BIBLETEXT:
One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter.


BIBLETEXT:
In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst.


BIBLETEXT:
Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.


BIBLETEXT:
I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.


BIBLETEXT:
I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it.


BIBLETEXT:
As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD; I have poured out my wrath upon you."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation.


BIBLETEXT:
The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.


BIBLETEXT:
Her priests have done violence to my law 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.


BIBLETEXT:
Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.


BIBLETEXT:
And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken.


BIBLETEXT:
The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.


BIBLETEXT:
And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother.


BIBLETEXT:
They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
"Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors


BIBLETEXT:
clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.


BIBLETEXT:
She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted.


BIBLETEXT:
She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted.


BIBLETEXT:
These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women, when judgment had been executed on her.


BIBLETEXT:
"Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister.


BIBLETEXT:
She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.


BIBLETEXT:
And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way.


BIBLETEXT:
But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion,


BIBLETEXT:
wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea.


BIBLETEXT:
When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.


BIBLETEXT:
And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust.


BIBLETEXT:
When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister.


BIBLETEXT:
Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt


BIBLETEXT:
and lusted after her paramours there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts."


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side:


BIBLETEXT:
the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.


BIBLETEXT:
And 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 judgments.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will direct my jealousy against you, 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.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore.


BIBLETEXT:
"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust,


BIBLETEXT:
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 whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring


BIBLETEXT:
have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.


BIBLETEXT:
You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD: "You shall drink your sister's cup that is deep and large; you shall be laughed at and held in derision, for it contains much;


BIBLETEXT:
you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria;


BIBLETEXT:
you shall drink it and drain it out, and gnaw its shards, and tear your breasts; for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring."


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD said to me: "Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths.


BIBLETEXT:
For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house.


BIBLETEXT:
They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.


BIBLETEXT:
You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil.


BIBLETEXT:
The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads.


BIBLETEXT:
"Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!


BIBLETEXT:
For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women!


BIBLETEXT:
But righteous men shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands."


BIBLETEXT:
For thus says the Lord GOD: "Bring up a vast host against them, and make them an object of terror and a plunder.


BIBLETEXT:
And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done.


BIBLETEXT:
And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.


BIBLETEXT:
And utter a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Set on the pot, set it on; pour in water also;


BIBLETEXT:
put in it the pieces of meat, all the good pieces, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with choice bones.


BIBLETEXT:
Take the choicest one of the flock; pile the logs under it; boil it well; seethe also its bones in it.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.


BIBLETEXT:
For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on the bare rock; she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust.


BIBLETEXT:
To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.


BIBLETEXT:
Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up.


BIBLETEXT:
Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, that its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed.


BIBLETEXT:
She has wearied herself with toil; its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion!


BIBLETEXT:
On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, you shall not be cleansed anymore till I have satisfied my fury upon you.


BIBLETEXT:
I am the LORD. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.


BIBLETEXT:
Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men."


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
And the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?"


BIBLETEXT:
Then I said to them, "The word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
'Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.


BIBLETEXT:
Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.'


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, son of man, surely on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters,


BIBLETEXT:
on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news.


BIBLETEXT:
On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.


BIBLETEXT:
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 they went into exile,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
For thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within your soul against the land of Israel,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore, behold, I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab and Seir said, 'Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,'


BIBLETEXT:
therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim.


BIBLETEXT:
I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations,


BIBLETEXT:
and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore thus says the Lord GOD, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast.


BIBLETEXT:
I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them."


BIBLETEXT:
In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,'


BIBLETEXT:
therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock.


BIBLETEXT:
She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. And she shall become plunder for the nations,


BIBLETEXT:
and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers.


BIBLETEXT:
He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you.


BIBLETEXT:
He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers.


BIBLETEXT:
His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached.


BIBLETEXT:
With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.


BIBLETEXT:
They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst?


BIBLETEXT:
Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you.


BIBLETEXT:
And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you, "'How you have perished, you who were inhabited from the seas, O city renowned, who was mighty on the sea; she and her inhabitants imposed their terror on all her inhabitants!


BIBLETEXT:
Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall, and the coastlands that are on the sea are dismayed at your passing.'


BIBLETEXT:
"For thus says the Lord GOD: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you,


BIBLETEXT:
then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living.


BIBLETEXT:
I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Now you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre,


BIBLETEXT:
and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord GOD: "O Tyre, you have said, 'I am perfect in beauty.'


BIBLETEXT:
Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders made perfect your beauty.


BIBLETEXT:
They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.


BIBLETEXT:
Of oaks of Bashan they made your oars; they made your deck of pines from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory.


BIBLETEXT:
Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail, serving as your banner; blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was your awning.


BIBLETEXT:
He and his people with him, the most ruthless of nations, shall be brought in to destroy the land, and they shall draw their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the slain.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will dry up the Nile 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 am the LORD; I have spoken.


BIBLETEXT:
"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 from the land of Egypt; so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make Pathros a desolation and will set fire to Zoan and will execute judgments on Thebes.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the multitude of Thebes.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will set fire to Egypt; Pelusium shall be in great agony; Thebes shall be breached, and Memphis shall face enemies by day.


BIBLETEXT:
The young men of On and of Pi-beseth shall fall by the sword, and the women shall go into captivity.


BIBLETEXT:
At Tehaphnehes the day shall be dark, when I break there the yoke bars of Egypt, and her proud might shall come to an end in her; she shall be covered by a cloud, and her daughters shall go into captivity.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus I will execute judgments on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
In the eleventh year, in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and behold, it has not been bound up, to heal it by binding it with a bandage, so that it may become strong to wield the sword.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, 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.


BIBLETEXT:
I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries.


BIBLETEXT:
And 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 like a man mortally wounded.


BIBLETEXT:
I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD."


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


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: "Whom are you like in your greatness?


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches and forest shade, and of towering height, its top among the clouds.


BIBLETEXT:
The waters nourished it; the deep made it grow tall, making its rivers flow around the place of its planting, sending forth its streams to all the trees of the field.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs; under its branches all the beasts of the field gave birth to their young, and under its shadow lived all great nations.


BIBLETEXT:
It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant waters.


BIBLETEXT:
The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor the fir trees equal its boughs; neither were the plane trees like its branches; no tree in the garden of God was its equal in beauty.


BIBLETEXT:
I made it beautiful in the mass of its branches, and all the trees of Eden envied it, that were in the garden of God.


BIBLETEXT:
"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,


BIBLETEXT:
I will give it into the hand of a mighty one of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out.


BIBLETEXT:
Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, have cut it down and left it. On the mountains and in all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs have been broken in all the ravines of the land, and all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it.


BIBLETEXT:
On its fallen trunk dwell all the birds of the heavens, and on its branches are all the beasts of the field.


BIBLETEXT:
All this is in order that no trees by the waters may grow to towering height or set their tops among the clouds, and that no trees that drink water may reach up to them in height. For they are all given over to death, to the world below, among the children of man, with those who go down to the pit.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day the cedar went down to Sheol I caused mourning; I closed the deep over it, and restrained its rivers, and many waters were stopped. I clothed Lebanon in gloom for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.


BIBLETEXT:
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 drink water, were comforted in the world below.


BIBLETEXT:
They also went down to Sheol with it, to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were its arm, who lived under its shadow among the nations.


BIBLETEXT:
"Whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the world below. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. "This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD: I will throw my net over you with a host of many peoples, and they will haul you up in my dragnet.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will cast you on the ground; on the open field I will fling you, and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you, and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you.


BIBLETEXT:
I will strew your flesh upon the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass.


BIBLETEXT:
I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood, and the ravines will be full of you.


BIBLETEXT:
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.


BIBLETEXT:
All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make many peoples appalled at you, and the hair of their kings shall bristle with horror because of you, when I brandish my sword before them. They shall tremble every moment, every one for his own life, on the day of your downfall.


BIBLETEXT:
"For thus says the Lord GOD: The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon you.


BIBLETEXT:
I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of mighty ones, all of them most ruthless of nations. "They shall bring to ruin the pride of Egypt, and all its multitude shall perish.


BIBLETEXT:
I will destroy all its beasts from beside many waters; and no foot of man shall trouble them anymore, nor shall the hoofs of beasts trouble them.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I will make their waters clear, and cause their rivers to run like oil, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
When I make the land of Egypt desolate, and when the land is desolate of all that fills it, when I strike down all who dwell in it, then they will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
This is a lamentation that shall be chanted; the daughters of the nations shall chant it; over Egypt, and over all her multitude, shall they chant it, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit:


BIBLETEXT:
'Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.'


BIBLETEXT:
They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes.


BIBLETEXT:
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, slain by the sword.'


BIBLETEXT:
"Assyria is there, and all her company, its graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword,


BIBLETEXT:
whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit; and her company is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.


BIBLETEXT:
"Elam is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised into the world below, who spread their terror in the land of the living; and they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.


BIBLETEXT:
They have made her a bed among the slain with all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain 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.


BIBLETEXT:
"Meshech-Tubal is there, and all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they spread their terror in the land of the living.


BIBLETEXT:
And they do not lie with the mighty, the fallen from among the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid under their heads, and whose iniquities are upon their bones; for the terror of the mighty men was in the land of the living.


BIBLETEXT:
But as for you, you shall be broken and lie among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword.


BIBLETEXT:
"Edom is there, her kings and all her 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.


BIBLETEXT:
"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 slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.


BIBLETEXT:
"When Pharaoh sees them, he will be comforted for all his multitude, Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
For I spread terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, speak to your people and say to them, If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman,


BIBLETEXT:
and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,


BIBLETEXT:
then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.


BIBLETEXT:
He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.


BIBLETEXT:
But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.


BIBLETEXT:
"So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.


BIBLETEXT:
If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.


BIBLETEXT:
But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?'


BIBLETEXT:
Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, son of man, say to your people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.


BIBLETEXT:
Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.


BIBLETEXT:
Again, though I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right,


BIBLETEXT:
if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.


BIBLETEXT:
None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.


BIBLETEXT:
"Yet your people say, 'The way of the Lord is not just,' when it is their own way that is not just.


BIBLETEXT:
When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it.


BIBLETEXT:
And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this.


BIBLETEXT:
Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways."


BIBLETEXT:
In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, "The city has been struck down."


BIBLETEXT:
Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, 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.'


BIBLETEXT:
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?


BIBLETEXT:
You rely on the sword, you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land?


BIBLETEXT:
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 whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and her proud might shall come to an end, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they will 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.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, 'Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the LORD.'


BIBLETEXT:
And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.


BIBLETEXT:
When this comes--and come it will!--then they will know that a prophet has been among them."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?


BIBLETEXT:
You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.


BIBLETEXT:
The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.


BIBLETEXT:
So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.


BIBLETEXT:
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 none to search or seek for them.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:


BIBLETEXT:
As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, 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,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require 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, that they may not be food for them.


BIBLETEXT:
"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.


BIBLETEXT:
As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.


BIBLETEXT:
And 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 ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.


BIBLETEXT:
I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
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, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.


BIBLETEXT:
Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?


BIBLETEXT:
And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.


BIBLETEXT:
Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad,


BIBLETEXT:
I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.


BIBLETEXT:
And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.


BIBLETEXT:
"I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.


BIBLETEXT:
And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations.


BIBLETEXT:
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it,


BIBLETEXT:
and say to it, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will make you a desolation and a waste.


BIBLETEXT:
I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Because you cherished perpetual 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,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make Mount Seir a waste and a desolation, and I will cut off from it all who come and go.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will fill its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those slain with the sword shall fall.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities shall not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"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--


BIBLETEXT:
therefore, as I live, declares 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 them, when I judge you.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall know that I am the LORD. "I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, 'They are laid desolate; they are given us to devour.'


BIBLETEXT:
And you magnified yourselves against me with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.


BIBLETEXT:
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 will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the enemy said of you, 'Aha!' and, 'The ancient heights have become our possession,'


BIBLETEXT:
therefore prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Precisely because they made you desolate and crushed you from all sides, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you became the talk and evil gossip of the people,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, the ravines and the valleys, the desolate wastes and the deserted cities, which have become a prey and derision to the rest of the nations all around,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I have spoken in my hot jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave my land to themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, that they might make its pasturelands a prey.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in my jealous wrath, because you have suffered the reproach of the nations.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I swear that the nations that are all around you shall themselves suffer reproach.


BIBLETEXT:
"But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home.


BIBLETEXT:
For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
I will let people walk on you, even my people Israel. And they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance, and you shall no longer bereave them of children.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Because they say to you, 'You devour people, and you bereave your nation of children,'


BIBLETEXT:
therefore you shall no longer devour people and no longer bereave your nation of children, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will not let you hear anymore the reproach of the nations, and you shall no longer bear the disgrace of the peoples and no longer cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity.


BIBLETEXT:
So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it.


BIBLETEXT:
I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them.


BIBLETEXT:
But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.'


BIBLETEXT:
But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.


BIBLETEXT:
I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.


BIBLETEXT:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.


BIBLETEXT:
Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.


BIBLETEXT:
And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by.


BIBLETEXT:
And they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.'


BIBLETEXT:
Then the nations that are left all around you shall know that I am the LORD; I have rebuilt the ruined places and replanted that which was desolate. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: to increase their people like a flock.


BIBLETEXT:
Like the flock for sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.


BIBLETEXT:
And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.


BIBLETEXT:
And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."


BIBLETEXT:
So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.'


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, take a stick and write on it, 'For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him'; then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.'


BIBLETEXT:
And join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.


BIBLETEXT:
And when your people say to you, 'Will you not tell us what you mean by these?'


BIBLETEXT:
say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am about to take the stick of Joseph (that is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with him. And I will join with it the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, that they may be one in my hand.


BIBLETEXT:
When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes,


BIBLETEXT:
then say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.


BIBLETEXT:
"My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever.


BIBLETEXT:
I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.


BIBLETEXT:
My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."


BIBLETEXT:
"Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him


BIBLETEXT:
and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords.


BIBLETEXT:
Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet;


BIBLETEXT:
Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes--many peoples are with you.


BIBLETEXT:
"Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them.


BIBLETEXT:
After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them.


BIBLETEXT:
You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme


BIBLETEXT:
and say, 'I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,'


BIBLETEXT:
to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, 'Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?'


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it?


BIBLETEXT:
You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army.


BIBLETEXT:
You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them?


BIBLETEXT:
But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger.


BIBLETEXT:
For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.


BIBLETEXT:
I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man's sword will be against his brother.


BIBLETEXT:
With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur.


BIBLETEXT:
So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken.


BIBLETEXT:
"Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years,


BIBLETEXT:
so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons. They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.


BIBLETEXT:
For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land.


BIBLETEXT:
All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make their search.


BIBLETEXT:
And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog.


BIBLETEXT:
(Hamonah is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field, 'Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth--of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,' declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them.


BIBLETEXT:
The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward.


BIBLETEXT:
And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword.


BIBLETEXT:
I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face from them.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid,


BIBLETEXT:
when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies' lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land. I will leave none of them remaining among the nations anymore.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me to the city.


BIBLETEXT:
In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south.


BIBLETEXT:
When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway.


BIBLETEXT:
And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel."


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man's hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep.


BIBLETEXT:
And the side rooms, one reed long and one reed broad; and the space between the side rooms, five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the vestibule of the gate at the inner end, one reed.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, on the inside, one reed.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end.


BIBLETEXT:
And there were three side rooms on either side of the east gate. The three were of the same size, and the jambs on either side were of the same size.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he measured the width of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
There was a barrier before the side rooms, one cubit on either side. And the side rooms were six cubits on either side.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he measured the gate from the ceiling of the one side room to the ceiling of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; the openings faced each other.


BIBLETEXT:
He measured also the vestibule, twenty cubits. And around the vestibule of the gateway was the court.


BIBLETEXT:
From the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
And the gateway had windows all around, narrowing inwards toward the side rooms and toward their jambs, and likewise the vestibule had windows all around inside, and on the jambs were palm trees.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me into the outer court. And behold, there were chambers and a pavement, all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement.


BIBLETEXT:
And the pavement ran along the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he measured the distance from the inner front of the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court, a hundred cubits on the east side and on the north side.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the gate that faced toward the north, belonging to the outer court, he measured its length and its breadth.


BIBLETEXT:
Its side rooms, three on either side, and its jambs and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the first gate. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
And its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced toward the east. And by seven steps people would go up to it, and find its vestibule before them.


BIBLETEXT:
And opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was a gate to the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate, a hundred cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
And he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south. And he measured its jambs and its vestibule; they had the same size as the others.


BIBLETEXT:
Both it and its vestibule had windows all around, like the windows of the others. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
And there were seven steps leading up to it, and its vestibule was before them, and it had palm trees on its jambs, one on either side.


BIBLETEXT:
And there was a gate on the south of the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me to the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate. It was of the same size as the others.


BIBLETEXT:
Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and both it and its vestibule had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
And there were vestibules all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad.


BIBLETEXT:
Its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gate. It was of the same size as the others.


BIBLETEXT:
Its vestibule faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it. It had the same size as the others.


BIBLETEXT:
Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and it had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
There was a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate, where the burnt offering was to be washed.


BIBLETEXT:
And in the vestibule of the gate were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering were to be slaughtered.


BIBLETEXT:
And off to the side, on the outside as one goes up to the entrance of the north gate, were two tables; and off to the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables.


BIBLETEXT:
Four tables were on either side of the gate, eight tables, on which to slaughter.


BIBLETEXT:
And there were four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the burnt offerings and the sacrifices were slaughtered.


BIBLETEXT:
And hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened all around within. And on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.


BIBLETEXT:
On the outside of the inner gateway there were two chambers in the inner court, one at the side of the north gate facing south, the other at the side of the south gate facing north.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple,


BIBLETEXT:
and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the LORD to minister to him.


BIBLETEXT:
And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits broad, a square. And the altar was in front of the temple.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the jambs of the vestibule, five cubits on either side. And the breadth of the gate was fourteen cubits, and the sidewalls of the gate were three cubits on either side.


BIBLETEXT:
The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the breadth twelve cubits, and people would go up to it by ten steps. And there were pillars beside the jambs, one on either side.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me to the nave and measured the jambs. On each side six cubits was the breadth of the jambs.


BIBLETEXT:
And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits, and the sidewalls of the entrance were five cubits on either side. And he measured the length of the nave, forty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he went into the inner room and measured the jambs of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the sidewalls on either side of the entrance, seven cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
And he measured the length of the room, twenty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits, across the nave. And he said to me, "This is the Most Holy Place."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple.


BIBLETEXT:
And the side chambers were in three stories, one over another, thirty in each story. There were offsets all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that they should not be supported by the wall of the temple.


BIBLETEXT:
And it became broader as it wound upward to the side chambers, because the temple was enclosed upward all around the temple. Thus the temple had a broad area upward, and so one went up from the lowest story to the top story through the middle story.


BIBLETEXT:
I saw also that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. The free space between the side chambers of the temple and the


BIBLETEXT:
other chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.


BIBLETEXT:
And the doors of the side chambers opened on the free space, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. And the breadth of the free space was five cubits all around.


BIBLETEXT:
The building that was facing the separate yard on the west side was seventy cubits broad, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, a hundred cubits long;


BIBLETEXT:
also the breadth of the east front of the temple and the yard, a hundred cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he measured the length of the building facing the yard that was at the back and its galleries on either side, a hundred cubits. The inside of the nave and the vestibules of the court,


BIBLETEXT:
the thresholds and the narrow windows and the galleries all around the three of them, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the floor up to the windows (now the windows were covered),


BIBLETEXT:
to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all around, inside and outside, was a measured pattern.


BIBLETEXT:
It was carved of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Every cherub had two faces:


BIBLETEXT:
a human face toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around.


BIBLETEXT:
From the floor to above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved; similarly the wall of the nave.


BIBLETEXT:
The doorposts of the nave were squared, and in front of the Holy Place was something resembling


BIBLETEXT:
an altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits broad. Its corners, its base, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
The nave and the Holy Place had each a double door.


BIBLETEXT:
The double doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging leaves for each door.


BIBLETEXT:
And on the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, such as were carved on the walls. And there was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside.


BIBLETEXT:
And there were narrow windows and palm trees on either side, on the sidewalls of the vestibule, the side chambers of the temple, and the canopies.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he led me out into the outer court, toward the north, and he brought me to the chambers that were opposite the separate yard and opposite the building on the north.


BIBLETEXT:
The length of the building whose door faced north was a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty cubits.


BIBLETEXT:
Facing the twenty cubits that belonged to the inner court, and facing the pavement that belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.


BIBLETEXT:
And before the chambers was a passage inward, ten cubits wide and a hundred cubits long, and their doors were on the north.


BIBLETEXT:
Now the upper chambers were narrower, for the galleries took more away from them than from the lower and middle chambers of the building.


BIBLETEXT:
For they were in three stories, and they had no pillars like the pillars of the courts. Thus the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones.


BIBLETEXT:
And there was a wall outside parallel to the chambers, toward the outer court, opposite the chambers, fifty cubits long.


BIBLETEXT:
For the chambers on the outer court were fifty cubits long, while those opposite the nave were a hundred cubits long.


BIBLETEXT:
Below these chambers was an entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court.


BIBLETEXT:
In the thickness of the wall of the court, on the south also, opposite the yard and opposite the building, there were chambers


BIBLETEXT:
with a passage in front of them. They were similar to the chambers on the north, of the same length and breadth, with the same exits and arrangements and doors,


BIBLETEXT:
as were the entrances of the chambers on the south. There was an entrance at the beginning of the passage, the passage before the corresponding wall on the east as one enters them.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "The north chambers and the south chambers opposite the yard are the holy chambers, where the priests who approach the LORD shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall put the most holy offerings--the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering--for the place is holy.


BIBLETEXT:
When the priests enter the Holy Place, they shall not go out of it into the outer court without laying there the garments in which they minister, for these are holy. They shall put on other garments before they go near to that which is for the people."


BIBLETEXT:
Now when he had finished measuring the interior of the temple area, he led me out by the gate that faced east, and measured the temple area all around.


BIBLETEXT:
He measured the east side with the measuring reed, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around.


BIBLETEXT:
He measured the north side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed all around.


BIBLETEXT:
He measured the south side, 500 cubits by the measuring reed.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he turned to the west side and measured, 500 cubits by the measuring reed.


BIBLETEXT:
He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, 500 cubits long and 500 cubits broad, to make a separation between the holy and the common.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east.


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.


BIBLETEXT:
And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face.


BIBLETEXT:
As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east,


BIBLETEXT:
the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.


BIBLETEXT:
While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple,


BIBLETEXT:
and he said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places,


BIBLETEXT:
by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger.


BIBLETEXT:
Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan.


BIBLETEXT:
And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out.


BIBLETEXT:
This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.


BIBLETEXT:
"These are the measurements of the altar by cubits (the cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth): its base shall be one cubit high and one cubit broad, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this shall be the height of the altar:


BIBLETEXT:
from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits, with a breadth of one cubit; and from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits, with a breadth of one cubit;


BIBLETEXT:
and the altar hearth, four cubits; and from the altar hearth projecting upward, four horns.


BIBLETEXT:
The altar hearth shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve broad.


BIBLETEXT:
The ledge also shall be square, fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad, with a rim around it half a cubit broad, and its base one cubit all around. The steps of the altar shall face east."


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: These are the ordinances for the altar: On the day when it is erected for offering burnt offerings upon it and for throwing blood against it,


BIBLETEXT:
you shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord GOD, a bull from the herd for a sin offering.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the ledge and upon the rim all around. Thus you shall purify the altar and make atonement for it.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place belonging to the temple, outside the sacred area.


BIBLETEXT:
And on the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and the altar shall be purified, as it was purified with the bull.


BIBLETEXT:
When you have finished purifying it, you shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall present them before the LORD, and the priests shall sprinkle salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
For seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided.


BIBLETEXT:
Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it.


BIBLETEXT:
And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord GOD."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut.


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said to me, "This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut.


BIBLETEXT:
Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the LORD. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD. And I fell on my face.


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said to me, "Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I shall tell you concerning all the statutes of the temple of the LORD and all its laws. And mark well the entrance to the temple and all the exits from the sanctuary.


BIBLETEXT:
And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations,


BIBLETEXT:
in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.


BIBLETEXT:
And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.


BIBLETEXT:
But the Levites who went far from me, going astray from me after their idols when Israel went astray, shall bear their punishment.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple and ministering in the temple. They shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before the people, to minister to them.


BIBLETEXT:
Because they ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel, therefore I have sworn concerning them, declares the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their punishment.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not come near to me, to serve me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things and the things that are most holy, but they shall bear their shame and the abominations that they have committed.


BIBLETEXT:
Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of the temple, to do all its service and all that is to be done in it.


BIBLETEXT:
"But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, shall come near to me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall approach my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge.


BIBLETEXT:
When they enter the gates of the inner court, they shall wear linen garments. They shall have nothing of wool on them, while they minister at the gates of the inner court, and within.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and linen undergarments around their waists. They shall not bind themselves with anything that causes sweat.


BIBLETEXT:
And when they go out into the outer court to the people, they shall put off the garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers. And they shall put on other garments, lest they transmit holiness to the people with their garments.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.


BIBLETEXT:
No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman, but only virgins of the offspring of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.


BIBLETEXT:
In a dispute, they shall act as judges, and they shall judge it according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts, and they shall keep my Sabbaths holy.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not defile themselves by going near to a dead person. However, for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister they may defile themselves.


BIBLETEXT:
After he has become clean, they shall count seven days for him.


BIBLETEXT:
And on the day that he goes into the Holy Place, into the inner court, to minister in the Holy Place, he shall offer his sin offering, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"This shall be their inheritance: I am their inheritance: and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering, and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.


BIBLETEXT:
And the first of all the firstfruits of all kinds, and every offering of all kinds from all your offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, that a blessing may rest on your house.


BIBLETEXT:
The priests shall not eat of anything, whether bird or beast, that has died of itself or is torn by wild animals.


BIBLETEXT:
"When you allot the land as an inheritance, you shall set apart for the LORD a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits broad. It shall be holy throughout its whole extent.


BIBLETEXT:
Of this a square plot of 500 by 500 cubits shall be for the sanctuary, with fifty cubits for an open space around it.


BIBLETEXT:
And from this measured district you shall measure off a section 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 broad, in which shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.


BIBLETEXT:
It shall be the holy portion of the land. It shall be for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and approach the LORD to minister to him, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.


BIBLETEXT:
Another section, 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits broad, shall be for the Levites who minister at the temple, as their possession for cities to live in.


BIBLETEXT:
"Alongside the portion set apart as the holy district you shall assign for the property of the city an area 5,000 cubits broad and 25,000 cubits long. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
"And to the prince shall belong the land on both sides of the holy district and the property of the city, alongside the holy district and the property of the city, on the west and on the east, corresponding in length to one of the tribal portions, and extending from the western to the eastern boundary


BIBLETEXT:
of the land. It is to be his property in Israel. And my princes shall no more oppress my people, but they shall let the house of Israel have the land according to their tribes.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression, and execute justice and righteousness. Cease your evictions of my people, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"You shall have just balances, a just ephah, and a just bath.


BIBLETEXT:
The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, the bath containing one tenth of a homer, and the ephah one tenth of a homer; the homer shall be the standard measure.


BIBLETEXT:
The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.


BIBLETEXT:
"This is the offering that you shall make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley,


BIBLETEXT:
and as the fixed portion of oil, measured in baths, one tenth of a bath from each cor (the cor, like the homer, contains ten baths).


BIBLETEXT:
And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the watering places of Israel for grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
All the people of the land shall be obliged to give this offering to the prince in Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
It shall be the prince's duty to furnish the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a bull from the herd without blemish, and purify the sanctuary.


BIBLETEXT:
The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and the posts of the gate of the inner court.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who has sinned through error or ignorance; so you shall make atonement for the temple.


BIBLETEXT:
"In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten.


BIBLETEXT:
On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a young bull for a sin offering.


BIBLETEXT:
And on the seven days of the festival he shall provide as a burnt offering to the LORD seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish, on each of the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering.


BIBLETEXT:
And he shall provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each ram, and a hin of oil to each ephah.


BIBLETEXT:
In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month and for the seven days of the feast, he shall make the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, and grain offerings, and for the oil.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.


BIBLETEXT:
The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening.


BIBLETEXT:
The people of the land shall bow down at the entrance of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.


BIBLETEXT:
The burnt offering that the prince offers to the LORD on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.


BIBLETEXT:
And the grain offering with the ram shall be an ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be as much as he is able, together with a hin of oil to each ephah.


BIBLETEXT:
On the day of the new moon he shall offer a bull from the herd without blemish, and six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish.


BIBLETEXT:
As a grain offering he shall provide an ephah with the bull and an ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he is able, together with a hin of oil to each ephah.


BIBLETEXT:
When the prince enters, he shall enter by the vestibule of the gate, and he shall go out by the same way.


BIBLETEXT:
"When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, he who enters by the north gate to worship shall go out by the south gate, and he who enters by the south gate shall go out by the north gate: no one shall return by way of the gate by which he entered, but each shall go out straight ahead.


BIBLETEXT:
When they enter, the prince shall enter with them, and when they go out, he shall go out.


BIBLETEXT:
"At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering with a young bull shall be an ephah, and with a ram an ephah, and with the lambs as much as one is able to give, together with a hin of oil to an ephah.


BIBLETEXT:
When the prince provides a freewill offering, either a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the LORD, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall offer his burnt offering or his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out the gate shall be shut.


BIBLETEXT:
"You shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the LORD daily; morning by morning you shall provide it.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, one sixth of an ephah, and one third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour, as a grain offering to the LORD. This is a perpetual statute.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus the lamb and the meal offering and the oil shall be provided, morning by morning, for a regular burnt offering.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus says the Lord GOD: If the prince makes a gift to any of his sons as his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons. It is their property by inheritance.


BIBLETEXT:
But if he makes a gift out of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty. Then it shall revert to the prince; surely it is his inheritance--it shall belong to his sons.


BIBLETEXT:
The prince shall not take any of the inheritance of the people, thrusting them out of their property. He shall give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that none of my people shall be scattered from his property."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, to the north row of the holy chambers for the priests, and behold, a place was there at the extreme western end of them.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "This is the place where the priests shall boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the grain offering, in order not to bring them out into the outer court and so transmit holiness to the people."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me out to the outer court and led me around to the four corners of the court. And behold, in each corner of the court there was another court--


BIBLETEXT:
in the four corners of the court were small courts, forty cubits long and thirty broad; the four were of the same size.


BIBLETEXT:
On the inside, around each of the four courts was a row of masonry, with hearths made at the bottom of the rows all around.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.


BIBLETEXT:
Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.


BIBLETEXT:
Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep.


BIBLETEXT:
Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river.


BIBLETEXT:
As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.


BIBLETEXT:
And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.


BIBLETEXT:
Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.


BIBLETEXT:
But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.


BIBLETEXT:
And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the Lord GOD: "This is the boundary by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance.


BIBLETEXT:
"This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad,


BIBLETEXT:
Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran.


BIBLETEXT:
So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north. This shall be the north side.


BIBLETEXT:
"On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar. This shall be the east side.


BIBLETEXT:
"On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side.


BIBLETEXT:
"On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side.


BIBLETEXT:
"So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending from the east side to the west, Dan, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
"Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it.


BIBLETEXT:
The portion that you shall set apart for the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,000 in breadth.


BIBLETEXT:
These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the LORD in the midst of it.


BIBLETEXT:
This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did.


BIBLETEXT:
And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites.


BIBLETEXT:
And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city,


BIBLETEXT:
and these shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500.


BIBLETEXT:
And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250.


BIBLETEXT:
The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city.


BIBLETEXT:
And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it.


BIBLETEXT:
The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.


BIBLETEXT:
"What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst.


BIBLETEXT:
It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion.


BIBLETEXT:
And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea.


BIBLETEXT:
This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure,


BIBLETEXT:
three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.


BIBLETEXT:
On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.


BIBLETEXT:
On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.


BIBLETEXT:
The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There."


BIBLETEXT:
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.


BIBLETEXT:
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility,


BIBLETEXT:
youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.


BIBLETEXT:
The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.


BIBLETEXT:
Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.


BIBLETEXT:
And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.


BIBLETEXT:
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.


BIBLETEXT:
And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs,


BIBLETEXT:
and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,


BIBLETEXT:
"Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.


BIBLETEXT:
Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see."


BIBLETEXT:
So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.


BIBLETEXT:
At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food.


BIBLETEXT:
So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.


BIBLETEXT:
As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.


BIBLETEXT:
At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.


BIBLETEXT:
And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king.


BIBLETEXT:
And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.


BIBLETEXT:
And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.


BIBLETEXT:
In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.


BIBLETEXT:
And the king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."


BIBLETEXT:
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.


BIBLETEXT:
But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation."


BIBLETEXT:
They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation."


BIBLETEXT:
The king answered and said, "I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm--


BIBLETEXT:
if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation."


BIBLETEXT:
The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.


BIBLETEXT:
The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."


BIBLETEXT:
Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.


BIBLETEXT:
So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.


BIBLETEXT:
Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, "Why is the decree of the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.


BIBLETEXT:
And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.


BIBLETEXT:
Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,


BIBLETEXT:
and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.


BIBLETEXT:
Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.


BIBLETEXT:
He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;


BIBLETEXT:
he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.


BIBLETEXT:
To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter."


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: "I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation."


BIBLETEXT:
The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?"


BIBLETEXT:
Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,


BIBLETEXT:
but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:


BIBLETEXT:
To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.


BIBLETEXT:
But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.


BIBLETEXT:
"You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.


BIBLETEXT:
The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,


BIBLETEXT:
its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.


BIBLETEXT:
As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.


BIBLETEXT:
"This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation.


BIBLETEXT:
You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,


BIBLETEXT:
and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all--you are the head of gold.


BIBLETEXT:
Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.


BIBLETEXT:
And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.


BIBLETEXT:
And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.


BIBLETEXT:
As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.


BIBLETEXT:
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,


BIBLETEXT:
just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."


BIBLETEXT:
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.


BIBLETEXT:
The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court.


BIBLETEXT:
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


BIBLETEXT:
And the herald proclaimed aloud, "You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,


BIBLETEXT:
that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.


BIBLETEXT:
And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace."


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.


BIBLETEXT:
They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever!


BIBLETEXT:
You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image.


BIBLETEXT:
And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.


BIBLETEXT:
There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.


BIBLETEXT:
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?


BIBLETEXT:
Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?"


BIBLETEXT:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.


BIBLETEXT:
If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.


BIBLETEXT:
But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.


BIBLETEXT:
And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.


BIBLETEXT:
Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.


BIBLETEXT:
Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.


BIBLETEXT:
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.


BIBLETEXT:
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."


BIBLETEXT:
He answered and said, "But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.


BIBLETEXT:
And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.


BIBLETEXT:
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.


BIBLETEXT:
King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you!


BIBLETEXT:
It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.


BIBLETEXT:
How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.


BIBLETEXT:
I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.


BIBLETEXT:
I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me.


BIBLETEXT:
So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.


BIBLETEXT:
At last Daniel came in before me--he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods--and I told him the dream, saying,


BIBLETEXT:
"O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation.


BIBLETEXT:
The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.


BIBLETEXT:
The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth.


BIBLETEXT:
Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.


BIBLETEXT:
"I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.


BIBLETEXT:
He proclaimed aloud and said thus: 'Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches.


BIBLETEXT:
But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him.


BIBLETEXT:
The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.'


BIBLETEXT:
This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, "Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you." Belteshazzar answered and said, "My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!


BIBLETEXT:
The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth,


BIBLETEXT:
whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived--


BIBLETEXT:
it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,'


BIBLETEXT:
this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king,


BIBLETEXT:
that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.


BIBLETEXT:
And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity."


BIBLETEXT:
At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,


BIBLETEXT:
and the king answered and said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?"


BIBLETEXT:
While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,


BIBLETEXT:
and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will."


BIBLETEXT:
Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws.


BIBLETEXT:
At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;


BIBLETEXT:
all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?"


BIBLETEXT:
At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me.


BIBLETEXT:
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.


BIBLETEXT:
King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.


BIBLETEXT:
Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.


BIBLETEXT:
They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.


BIBLETEXT:
Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.


BIBLETEXT:
The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom."


BIBLETEXT:
Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation.


BIBLETEXT:
Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.


BIBLETEXT:
The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, "O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.


BIBLETEXT:
There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father--your father the king--made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers,


BIBLETEXT:
because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, "You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah.


BIBLETEXT:
I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.


BIBLETEXT:
Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter.


BIBLETEXT:
But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, "Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation.


BIBLETEXT:
O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty.


BIBLETEXT:
And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled.


BIBLETEXT:
But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.


BIBLETEXT:
He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will.


BIBLETEXT:
And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,


BIBLETEXT:
but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.


BIBLETEXT:
"Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed.


BIBLETEXT:
And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.


BIBLETEXT:
This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end;


BIBLETEXT:
TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting;


BIBLETEXT:
PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.


BIBLETEXT:
That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.


BIBLETEXT:
And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.


BIBLETEXT:
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom;


BIBLETEXT:
and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.


BIBLETEXT:
Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.


BIBLETEXT:
Then these men said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."


BIBLETEXT:
Then these presidents and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, "O King Darius, live forever!


BIBLETEXT:
All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.


BIBLETEXT:
Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked."


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.


BIBLETEXT:
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.


BIBLETEXT:
Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, "O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?" The king answered and said, "The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked."


BIBLETEXT:
Then they answered and said before the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.


BIBLETEXT:
Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, "Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!"


BIBLETEXT:
And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.


BIBLETEXT:
Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions.


BIBLETEXT:
As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"


BIBLETEXT:
Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever!


BIBLETEXT:
My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.


BIBLETEXT:
And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions--they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.


BIBLETEXT:
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: "Peace be multiplied to you.


BIBLETEXT:
I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.


BIBLETEXT:
He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."


BIBLETEXT:
So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.


BIBLETEXT:
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.


BIBLETEXT:
Daniel declared, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.


BIBLETEXT:
And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.


BIBLETEXT:
The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, 'Arise, devour much flesh.'


BIBLETEXT:
After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.


BIBLETEXT:
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.


BIBLETEXT:
I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.


BIBLETEXT:
"As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.


BIBLETEXT:
A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.


BIBLETEXT:
"I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.


BIBLETEXT:
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.


BIBLETEXT:
And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.


BIBLETEXT:
"As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me.


BIBLETEXT:
I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things.


BIBLETEXT:
'These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.'


BIBLETEXT:
"Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet,


BIBLETEXT:
and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions.


BIBLETEXT:
As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them,


BIBLETEXT:
until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.


BIBLETEXT:
"Thus he said: 'As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.


BIBLETEXT:
But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.


BIBLETEXT:
And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.'


BIBLETEXT:
"Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart."


BIBLETEXT:
In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.


BIBLETEXT:
And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in Susa the capital, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal.


BIBLETEXT:
I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.


BIBLETEXT:
I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.


BIBLETEXT:
As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes.


BIBLETEXT:
He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath.


BIBLETEXT:
I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.


BIBLETEXT:
Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land.


BIBLETEXT:
It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them.


BIBLETEXT:
It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown.


BIBLETEXT:
And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, "For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?"


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state."


BIBLETEXT:
When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.


BIBLETEXT:
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision."


BIBLETEXT:
So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, "Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end."


BIBLETEXT:
And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up.


BIBLETEXT:
He said, "Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia.


BIBLETEXT:
And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king.


BIBLETEXT:
As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power.


BIBLETEXT:
And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise.


BIBLETEXT:
His power shall be great--but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints.


BIBLETEXT:
By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken--but by no human hand.


BIBLETEXT:
The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now."


BIBLETEXT:
And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king's business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.


BIBLETEXT:
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans--


BIBLETEXT:
in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.


BIBLETEXT:
I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,


BIBLETEXT:
we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.


BIBLETEXT:
We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.


BIBLETEXT:
To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.


BIBLETEXT:
To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.


BIBLETEXT:
To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him


BIBLETEXT:
and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.


BIBLETEXT:
All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.


BIBLETEXT:
He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.


BIBLETEXT:
And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.


BIBLETEXT:
"O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.


BIBLETEXT:
Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.


BIBLETEXT:
O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.


BIBLETEXT:
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name."


BIBLETEXT:
While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God,


BIBLETEXT:
while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.


BIBLETEXT:
He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, "O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding.


BIBLETEXT:
At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.


BIBLETEXT:
"Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.


BIBLETEXT:
Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.


BIBLETEXT:
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.


BIBLETEXT:
And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."


BIBLETEXT:
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision.


BIBLETEXT:
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks.


BIBLETEXT:
I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.


BIBLETEXT:
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris)


BIBLETEXT:
I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.


BIBLETEXT:
His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.


BIBLETEXT:
And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.


BIBLETEXT:
So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to me, "O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said to me, "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.


BIBLETEXT:
The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,


BIBLETEXT:
and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come."


BIBLETEXT:
When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute.


BIBLETEXT:
And behold, one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, "O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength.


BIBLETEXT:
How can my lord's servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me."


BIBLETEXT:
Again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said, "O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage." And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."


BIBLETEXT:
Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.


BIBLETEXT:
But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.


BIBLETEXT:
"And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.


BIBLETEXT:
"And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.


BIBLETEXT:
Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills.


BIBLETEXT:
And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.


BIBLETEXT:
"Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority.


BIBLETEXT:
After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times.


BIBLETEXT:
"And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.


BIBLETEXT:
"His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand.


BIBLETEXT:
And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.


BIBLETEXT:
For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.


BIBLETEXT:
"In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand.


BIBLETEXT:
But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage.


BIBLETEXT:
Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him.


BIBLETEXT:
Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.


BIBLETEXT:
"Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.


BIBLETEXT:
In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.


BIBLETEXT:
Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant.


BIBLETEXT:
And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people.


BIBLETEXT:
Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time.


BIBLETEXT:
And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him.


BIBLETEXT:
Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain.


BIBLETEXT:
And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.


BIBLETEXT:
And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.


BIBLETEXT:
"At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before.


BIBLETEXT:
For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant.


BIBLETEXT:
Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.


BIBLETEXT:
And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder.


BIBLETEXT:
When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery,


BIBLETEXT:
and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.


BIBLETEXT:
"And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.


BIBLETEXT:
"At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train.


BIBLETEXT:
But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction.


BIBLETEXT:
And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.


BIBLETEXT:
"At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.


BIBLETEXT:
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.


BIBLETEXT:
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.


BIBLETEXT:
But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."


BIBLETEXT:
Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream.


BIBLETEXT:
And someone said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, "How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?"


BIBLETEXT:
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished.


BIBLETEXT:
I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, "O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?"


BIBLETEXT:
He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.


BIBLETEXT:
Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.


BIBLETEXT:
And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.


BIBLETEXT:
Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.


BIBLETEXT:
But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days."


BIBLETEXT:
The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said to him, "Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel."


BIBLETEXT:
She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, "Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all.


BIBLETEXT:
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen."


BIBLETEXT:
When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son.


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said, "Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God."


BIBLETEXT:
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God."


BIBLETEXT:
And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.


BIBLETEXT:
Say to your brothers, "You are my people," and to your sisters, "You have received mercy."


BIBLETEXT:
"Plead with your mother, plead-- for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband-- that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts;


BIBLETEXT:
lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst.


BIBLETEXT:
Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom.


BIBLETEXT:
For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.'


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths.


BIBLETEXT:
She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them, and she shall seek them but shall not find them. Then she shall say, 'I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.'


BIBLETEXT:
And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season, and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness.


BIBLETEXT:
Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, 'These are my wages, which my lovers have given me.' I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.


BIBLETEXT:
And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.


BIBLETEXT:
"And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me 'My Husband,' and no longer will you call me 'My Baal.'


BIBLETEXT:
For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.


BIBLETEXT:
And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.


BIBLETEXT:
I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"And in that day I will answer, declares the LORD, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth,


BIBLETEXT:
and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel,


BIBLETEXT:
and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'"


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins."


BIBLETEXT:
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.


BIBLETEXT:
And I said to her, "You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you."


BIBLETEXT:
For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.


BIBLETEXT:
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.


BIBLETEXT:
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;


BIBLETEXT:
there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.


BIBLETEXT:
Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, for with you is my contention, O priest.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night; and I will destroy your mother.


BIBLETEXT:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.


BIBLETEXT:
The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame.


BIBLETEXT:
They feed on the sin of my people; they are greedy for their iniquity.


BIBLETEXT:
And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply, because they have forsaken the LORD to cherish


BIBLETEXT:
whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding.


BIBLETEXT:
My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore.


BIBLETEXT:
They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your brides commit adultery.


BIBLETEXT:
I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your brides when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.


BIBLETEXT:
Though you play the whore, O Israel, let not Judah become guilty. Enter not into Gilgal, nor go up to Beth-aven, and swear not, "As the LORD lives."


BIBLETEXT:
Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the LORD now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture?


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone.


BIBLETEXT:
When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring; their rulers dearly love shame.


BIBLETEXT:
A wind has wrapped them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.


BIBLETEXT:
Hear this, O priests! Pay attention, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor.


BIBLETEXT:
And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter, but I will discipline all of them.


BIBLETEXT:
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled.


BIBLETEXT:
Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
The pride of Israel testifies to his face; Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt; Judah also shall stumble with them.


BIBLETEXT:
With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.


BIBLETEXT:
They have dealt faithlessly with the LORD; for they have borne alien children. Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.


BIBLETEXT:
Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven; we follow you, O Benjamin!


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.


BIBLETEXT:
The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to go after filth.


BIBLETEXT:
But I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like dry rot to the house of Judah.


BIBLETEXT:
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound.


BIBLETEXT:
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.


BIBLETEXT:
I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.


BIBLETEXT:
"Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.


BIBLETEXT:
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.


BIBLETEXT:
Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth."


BIBLETEXT:
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.


BIBLETEXT:
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.


BIBLETEXT:
But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.


BIBLETEXT:
Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood.


BIBLETEXT:
As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together; they murder on the way to Shechem; they commit villainy.


BIBLETEXT:
In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim's whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.


BIBLETEXT:
For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed, when I restore the fortunes of my people.


BIBLETEXT:
When I would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria; for they deal falsely; the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside.


BIBLETEXT:
But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.


BIBLETEXT:
By their evil they make the king glad, and the princes by their treachery.


BIBLETEXT:
They are all adulterers; they are like a heated oven whose baker ceases to stir the fire, from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.


BIBLETEXT:
On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; he stretched out his hand with mockers.


BIBLETEXT:
For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.


BIBLETEXT:
All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen, and none of them calls upon me.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned.


BIBLETEXT:
Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not.


BIBLETEXT:
The pride of Israel testifies to his face; yet they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him, for all this.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.


BIBLETEXT:
As they go, I will spread over them my net; I will bring them down like birds of the heavens; I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.


BIBLETEXT:
Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.


BIBLETEXT:
They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me.


BIBLETEXT:
Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me.


BIBLETEXT:
They return, but not upward; they are like a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.


BIBLETEXT:
Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law.


BIBLETEXT:
To me they cry, "My God, we--Israel--know you."


BIBLETEXT:
Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him.


BIBLETEXT:
They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.


BIBLETEXT:
I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?


BIBLETEXT:
For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.


BIBLETEXT:
For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it.


BIBLETEXT:
Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel.


BIBLETEXT:
For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers.


BIBLETEXT:
Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up. And the king and princes shall soon writhe because of the tribute.


BIBLETEXT:
Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning.


BIBLETEXT:
Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing.


BIBLETEXT:
As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the LORD does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.


BIBLETEXT:
For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.


BIBLETEXT:
Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors.


BIBLETEXT:
Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not remain in the land of the LORD, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the LORD, and their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners' bread to them; all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
What will you do on the day of the appointed festival, and on the day of the feast of the LORD?


BIBLETEXT:
For behold, they are going away from destruction; but Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents.


BIBLETEXT:
The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.


BIBLETEXT:
The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God; yet a fowler's snare is on all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.


BIBLETEXT:
They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.


BIBLETEXT:
Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird-- no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!


BIBLETEXT:
Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them till none is left. Woe to them when I depart from them!


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow; but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.


BIBLETEXT:
Give them, O LORD-- what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.


BIBLETEXT:
Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will put their beloved children to death.


BIBLETEXT:
My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations.


BIBLETEXT:
Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.


BIBLETEXT:
Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.


BIBLETEXT:
For now they will say: "We have no king, for we do not fear the LORD; and a king--what could he do for us?"


BIBLETEXT:
They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.


BIBLETEXT:
The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests-- those who rejoiced over it and over its glory-- for it has departed from them.


BIBLETEXT:
The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.


BIBLETEXT:
Samaria's king shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters.


BIBLETEXT:
The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, "Cover us," and to the hills, "Fall on us."


BIBLETEXT:
From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel; there they have continued. Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?


BIBLETEXT:
When I please, I will discipline them, and nations shall be gathered against them when they are bound up for their double iniquity.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim was a trained calf that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will put Ephraim to the yoke; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself.


BIBLETEXT:
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.


BIBLETEXT:
You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,


BIBLETEXT:
therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle; mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great evil. At dawn the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.


BIBLETEXT:
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.


BIBLETEXT:
The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.


BIBLETEXT:
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.


BIBLETEXT:
I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.


BIBLETEXT:
The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them because of their own counsels.


BIBLETEXT:
My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.


BIBLETEXT:
How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.


BIBLETEXT:
I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall go after the LORD; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west;


BIBLETEXT:
they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; they multiply falsehood and violence; they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD has an indictment against Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways; he will repay him according to his deeds.


BIBLETEXT:
In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God.


BIBLETEXT:
He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us--


BIBLETEXT:
the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is his memorial name:


BIBLETEXT:
"So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God."


BIBLETEXT:
A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim has said, "Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin."


BIBLETEXT:
I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast.


BIBLETEXT:
I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables.


BIBLETEXT:
If there is iniquity in Gilead, they shall surely come to nothing: in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls; their altars also are like stone heaps on the furrows of the field.


BIBLETEXT:
Jacob fled to the land of Aram; there Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he guarded sheep.


BIBLETEXT:
By a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded.


BIBLETEXT:
Ephraim has given bitter provocation; so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.


BIBLETEXT:
When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel, but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.


BIBLETEXT:
And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of them, "Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!"


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes early away, like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor or like smoke from a window.


BIBLETEXT:
But I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior.


BIBLETEXT:
It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought;


BIBLETEXT:
but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me.


BIBLETEXT:
So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.


BIBLETEXT:
I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.


BIBLETEXT:
He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against me, against your helper.


BIBLETEXT:
Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are all your rulers-- those of whom you said, "Give me a king and princes"?


BIBLETEXT:
I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath.


BIBLETEXT:
The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store.


BIBLETEXT:
The pangs of childbirth come for him, but he is an unwise son, for at the right time he does not present himself at the opening of the womb.


BIBLETEXT:
Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.


BIBLETEXT:
Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the LORD, shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing.


BIBLETEXT:
Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.


BIBLETEXT:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.


BIBLETEXT:
Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, "Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.


BIBLETEXT:
Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, 'Our God,' to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy."


BIBLETEXT:
I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.


BIBLETEXT:
I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;


BIBLETEXT:
his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.


BIBLETEXT:
O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.


BIBLETEXT:
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.


BIBLETEXT:
The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:


BIBLETEXT:
Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?


BIBLETEXT:
Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.


BIBLETEXT:
What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.


BIBLETEXT:
Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.


BIBLETEXT:
For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions' teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness.


BIBLETEXT:
It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white.


BIBLETEXT:
Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth.


BIBLETEXT:
The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests mourn, the ministers of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
The fields are destroyed, the ground mourns, because the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil languishes.


BIBLETEXT:
Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil; wail, O vinedressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.


BIBLETEXT:
The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man.


BIBLETEXT:
Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.


BIBLETEXT:
Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.


BIBLETEXT:
Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?


BIBLETEXT:
The seed shrivels under the clods; the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are torn down because the grain has dried up.


BIBLETEXT:
How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep suffer.


BIBLETEXT:
To you, O LORD, I call. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field.


BIBLETEXT:
Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.


BIBLETEXT:
Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,


BIBLETEXT:
a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.


BIBLETEXT:
Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.


BIBLETEXT:
Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run.


BIBLETEXT:
As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle.


BIBLETEXT:
Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale.


BIBLETEXT:
Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths.


BIBLETEXT:
They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted.


BIBLETEXT:
They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief.


BIBLETEXT:
The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?


BIBLETEXT:
"Yet even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;


BIBLETEXT:
and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.


BIBLETEXT:
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?


BIBLETEXT:
Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly;


BIBLETEXT:
gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.


BIBLETEXT:
Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep and say, "Spare your people, O LORD, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"


BIBLETEXT:
Then the LORD became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD answered and said to his people, "Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.


BIBLETEXT:
"I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.


BIBLETEXT:
"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things!


BIBLETEXT:
Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield.


BIBLETEXT:
"Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.


BIBLETEXT:
"The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.


BIBLETEXT:
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.


BIBLETEXT:
"You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.


BIBLETEXT:
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.


BIBLETEXT:
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.


BIBLETEXT:
Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.


BIBLETEXT:
"And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.


BIBLETEXT:
The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.


BIBLETEXT:
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.


BIBLETEXT:
"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,


BIBLETEXT:
I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land,


BIBLETEXT:
and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.


BIBLETEXT:
"What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily.


BIBLETEXT:
For you have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried my rich treasures into your temples.


BIBLETEXT:
You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their own border.


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, I will stir them up from the place to which you have sold them, and I will return your payment on your own head.


BIBLETEXT:
I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far away, for the LORD has spoken."


BIBLETEXT:
Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.


BIBLETEXT:
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior."


BIBLETEXT:
Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.


BIBLETEXT:
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great.


BIBLETEXT:
Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.


BIBLETEXT:
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
"So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.


BIBLETEXT:
"And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD and water the Valley of Shittim.


BIBLETEXT:
"Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.


BIBLETEXT:
But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations.


BIBLETEXT:
I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the LORD dwells in Zion."


BIBLETEXT:
The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said: "The LORD roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.


BIBLETEXT:
So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.


BIBLETEXT:
I will break the gate-bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir," says the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom.


BIBLETEXT:
So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour her strongholds.


BIBLETEXT:
I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish," says the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.


BIBLETEXT:
So I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour her strongholds."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.


BIBLETEXT:
So I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.


BIBLETEXT:
So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour her strongholds, with shouting on the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;


BIBLETEXT:
and their king shall go into exile, he and his princes together," says the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.


BIBLETEXT:
So I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth, and Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;


BIBLETEXT:
I will cut off the ruler from its midst, and will kill all its princes with him," says the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.


BIBLETEXT:
So I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals--


BIBLETEXT:
those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;


BIBLETEXT:
they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.


BIBLETEXT:
"Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.


BIBLETEXT:
Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.


BIBLETEXT:
And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?" declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, 'You shall not prophesy.'


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down.


BIBLETEXT:
Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life;


BIBLETEXT:
he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;


BIBLETEXT:
and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:


BIBLETEXT:
"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.


BIBLETEXT:
"Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?


BIBLETEXT:
Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?


BIBLETEXT:
Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing?


BIBLETEXT:
Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?


BIBLETEXT:
"For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.


BIBLETEXT:
The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?"


BIBLETEXT:
Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst."


BIBLETEXT:
"They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD, "those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds."


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "An adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered."


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD: "As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.


BIBLETEXT:
"Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,


BIBLETEXT:
"that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.


BIBLETEXT:
I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, 'Bring, that we may drink!'


BIBLETEXT:
The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks.


BIBLETEXT:
And you shall go out through the breaches, each one straight ahead; and you shall be cast out into Harmon," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days;


BIBLETEXT:
offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel!" declares the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
"I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"I also withheld the rain from you when there were yet three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would have rain, and the field on which it did not rain would wither;


BIBLETEXT:
so two or three cities would wander to another city to drink water, and would not be satisfied; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!"


BIBLETEXT:
For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth-- the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name!


BIBLETEXT:
Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:


BIBLETEXT:
"Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up."


BIBLETEXT:
For thus says the Lord GOD: "The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel."


BIBLETEXT:
For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live;


BIBLETEXT:
but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing."


BIBLETEXT:
Seek the LORD and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,


BIBLETEXT:
O you who turn justice to wormwood and cast down righteousness to the earth!


BIBLETEXT:
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name;


BIBLETEXT:
who makes destruction flash forth against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.


BIBLETEXT:
They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.


BIBLETEXT:
For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins-- you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.


BIBLETEXT:
Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.


BIBLETEXT:
Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: "In all the squares there shall be wailing, and in all the streets they shall say, 'Alas! Alas!' They shall call the farmers to mourning and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,


BIBLETEXT:
and in all vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through your midst," says the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light,


BIBLETEXT:
as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him.


BIBLETEXT:
Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?


BIBLETEXT:
"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.


BIBLETEXT:
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them.


BIBLETEXT:
Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.


BIBLETEXT:
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.


BIBLETEXT:
"Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?


BIBLETEXT:
You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god--your images that you made for yourselves,


BIBLETEXT:
and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.


BIBLETEXT:
"Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel comes!


BIBLETEXT:
Pass over to Calneh, and see, and from there go to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Or is their territory greater than your territory,


BIBLETEXT:
O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence?


BIBLETEXT:
"Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,


BIBLETEXT:
who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,


BIBLETEXT:
who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away."


BIBLETEXT:
The Lord GOD has sworn by himself, declares the LORD, the God of hosts: "I abhor the pride of Jacob and hate his strongholds, and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it."


BIBLETEXT:
And if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.


BIBLETEXT:
And when one's relative, the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, "Is there still anyone with you?" he shall say, "No"; and he shall say, "Silence! We must not mention the name of the LORD."


BIBLETEXT:
For behold, the LORD commands, and the great house shall be struck down into fragments, and the little house into bits.


BIBLETEXT:
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood--


BIBLETEXT:
you who rejoice in Lo-debar, who say, "Have we not by our own strength captured Karnaim for ourselves?"


BIBLETEXT:
"For behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel," declares the LORD, the God of hosts; "and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of the Arabah."


BIBLETEXT:
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.


BIBLETEXT:
When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, "O Lord GOD, please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!"


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD relented concerning this: "It shall not be," said the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I said, "O Lord GOD, please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!"


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD relented concerning this: "This also shall not be," said the Lord GOD.


BIBLETEXT:
This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said, "Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;


BIBLETEXT:
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.


BIBLETEXT:
For thus Amos has said, "'Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.'"


BIBLETEXT:
And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there,


BIBLETEXT:
but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."


BIBLETEXT:
Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.


BIBLETEXT:
But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'


BIBLETEXT:
Now therefore hear the word of the LORD. "You say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.'


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the LORD: "'Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'"


BIBLETEXT:
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.


BIBLETEXT:
And he said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the LORD said to me, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.


BIBLETEXT:
The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," declares the Lord GOD. "So many dead bodies!" "They are thrown everywhere!" "Silence!"


BIBLETEXT:
Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end,


BIBLETEXT:
saying, "When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances,


BIBLETEXT:
that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?"


BIBLETEXT:
The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: "Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.


BIBLETEXT:
Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?"


BIBLETEXT:
"And on that day," declares the Lord GOD, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.


BIBLETEXT:
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord GOD, "when I will send a famine on the land-- not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.


BIBLETEXT:
"In that day the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst.


BIBLETEXT:
Those who swear by the Guilt of Samaria, and say, 'As your god lives, O Dan,' and, 'As the Way of Beersheba lives,' they shall fall, and never rise again."


BIBLETEXT:
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said: "Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away; not one of them shall escape.


BIBLETEXT:
"If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.


BIBLETEXT:
If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.


BIBLETEXT:
And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good."


BIBLETEXT:
The Lord GOD of hosts, he who touches the earth and it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile, and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;


BIBLETEXT:
who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth-- the LORD is his name.


BIBLETEXT:
"Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?" declares the LORD. "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, 'Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.'


BIBLETEXT:
"In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old,


BIBLETEXT:
that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name," declares the LORD who does this.


BIBLETEXT:
"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.


BIBLETEXT:
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.


BIBLETEXT:
I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them," says the LORD your God.


BIBLETEXT:
The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!"


BIBLETEXT:
Behold, I will make you small among the nations; you shall be utterly despised.


BIBLETEXT:
The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?"


BIBLETEXT:
Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night-- how you have been destroyed!-- would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?


BIBLETEXT:
How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out!


BIBLETEXT:
All your allies have driven you to your border; those at peace with you have deceived you; they have prevailed against you; those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you-- you have no understanding.


BIBLETEXT:
Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?


BIBLETEXT:
And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.


BIBLETEXT:
Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.


BIBLETEXT:
On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.


BIBLETEXT:
But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress.


BIBLETEXT:
Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity.


BIBLETEXT:
Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.


BIBLETEXT:
For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.


BIBLETEXT:
For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been.


BIBLETEXT:
But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.


BIBLETEXT:
The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the LORD has spoken.


BIBLETEXT:
Those of the Negeb shall possess Mount Esau, and those of the Shephelah shall possess the land of the Philistines; they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria, and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.


BIBLETEXT:
The exiles of this host of the people of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the Negeb.


BIBLETEXT:
Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.


BIBLETEXT:
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,


BIBLETEXT:
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me."


BIBLETEXT:
But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.


BIBLETEXT:
So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."


BIBLETEXT:
And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?"


BIBLETEXT:
And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."


BIBLETEXT:
Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous.


BIBLETEXT:
He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."


BIBLETEXT:
Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore they called out to the LORD, "O LORD, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you."


BIBLETEXT:
So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.


BIBLETEXT:
Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish,


BIBLETEXT:
saying, "I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.


BIBLETEXT:
For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.


BIBLETEXT:
Then I said, 'I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.'


BIBLETEXT:
The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head


BIBLETEXT:
at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.


BIBLETEXT:
When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.


BIBLETEXT:
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.


BIBLETEXT:
But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!"


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,


BIBLETEXT:
"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you."


BIBLETEXT:
So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth.


BIBLETEXT:
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"


BIBLETEXT:
And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.


BIBLETEXT:
The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.


BIBLETEXT:
And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,


BIBLETEXT:
but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.


BIBLETEXT:
Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."


BIBLETEXT:
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.


BIBLETEXT:
But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.


BIBLETEXT:
And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live."


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said, "Do you do well to be angry?"


BIBLETEXT:
Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.


BIBLETEXT:
Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.


BIBLETEXT:
But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.


BIBLETEXT:
When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, "It is better for me to die than to live."


BIBLETEXT:
But God said to Jonah, "Do you do well to be angry for the plant?" And he said, "Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die."


BIBLETEXT:
And the LORD said, "You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.


BIBLETEXT:
And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?"


BIBLETEXT:
The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.


BIBLETEXT:
For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.


BIBLETEXT:
All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations.


BIBLETEXT:
All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.


BIBLETEXT:
For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.


BIBLETEXT:
For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all; in Beth-le-aphrah roll yourselves in the dust.


BIBLETEXT:
Pass on your way, inhabitants of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame; the inhabitants of Zaanan do not come out; the lamentation of Beth-ezel shall take away from you its standing place.


BIBLETEXT:
For the inhabitants of Maroth wait anxiously for good, because disaster has come down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
Harness the steeds to the chariots, inhabitants of Lachish; it was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, for in you were found the transgressions of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore you shall give parting gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib shall be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
I will again bring a conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mareshah; the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam.


BIBLETEXT:
Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile.


BIBLETEXT:
Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.


BIBLETEXT:
They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore thus says the LORD: behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster.


BIBLETEXT:
In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you and moan bitterly, and say, "We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To an apostate he allots our fields."


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot in the assembly of the LORD.


BIBLETEXT:
"Do not preach"--thus they preach-- "one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us."


BIBLETEXT:
Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Has the LORD grown impatient? Are these his deeds? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly?


BIBLETEXT:
But lately my people have risen up as an enemy; you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly with no thought of war.


BIBLETEXT:
The women of my people you drive out from their delightful houses; from their young children you take away my splendor forever.


BIBLETEXT:
Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction.


BIBLETEXT:
If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink," he would be the preacher for this people!


BIBLETEXT:
I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men.


BIBLETEXT:
He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the LORD at their head.


BIBLETEXT:
And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?--


BIBLETEXT:
you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones,


BIBLETEXT:
who eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron.


BIBLETEXT:
Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil.


BIBLETEXT:
Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry "Peace" when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them;


BIBLETEXT:
the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.


BIBLETEXT:
But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.


BIBLETEXT:
Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight,


BIBLETEXT:
who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity.


BIBLETEXT:
Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us."


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.


BIBLETEXT:
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it,


BIBLETEXT:
and many nations shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations far away; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore;


BIBLETEXT:
but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.


BIBLETEXT:
For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.


BIBLETEXT:
In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted;


BIBLETEXT:
and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.


BIBLETEXT:
And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.


BIBLETEXT:
Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor?


BIBLETEXT:
Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.


BIBLETEXT:
Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, "Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion."


BIBLETEXT:
But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.


BIBLETEXT:
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples; and shall devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.


BIBLETEXT:
Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.


BIBLETEXT:
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.


BIBLETEXT:
Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.


BIBLETEXT:
And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men;


BIBLETEXT:
they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border.


BIBLETEXT:
Then the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which delay not for a man nor wait for the children of man.


BIBLETEXT:
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.


BIBLETEXT:
Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.


BIBLETEXT:
And in that day, declares the LORD, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots;


BIBLETEXT:
and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down all your strongholds;


BIBLETEXT:
and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;


BIBLETEXT:
and I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands;


BIBLETEXT:
and I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities.


BIBLETEXT:
And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.


BIBLETEXT:
Hear what the LORD says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.


BIBLETEXT:
Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the LORD has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.


BIBLETEXT:
"O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me!


BIBLETEXT:
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.


BIBLETEXT:
O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."


