No More Learning

8:12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the
ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the
chambers of his imagery? for they say, the LORD seeth us not; the LORD
hath forsaken the earth.

8:13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see
greater abominations that they do.

8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house
which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for
Tammuz.

8:15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn
thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and,
behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and
the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the
temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they
worshipped the sun toward the east.

8:17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a
light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations
which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence,
and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch
to their nose.

8:18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare,
neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud
voice, yet will I not hear them.

9:1 He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them
that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his
destroying weapon in his hand.

9:2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which
lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand;
and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn
by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.

9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub,
whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the
man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;
9:4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city,
through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of
the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done
in the midst thereof.

9:5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through
the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 9:6
Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and
women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at
my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the
house.

9:7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with
the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

9:8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left,
that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou
destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon
Jerusalem? 9:9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of
Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood,
and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath
forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.

9:10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have
pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.

9:11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by
his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast
commanded me.

10:1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the
head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire
stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

10:2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in
between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with
coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the
city. And he went in in my sight.

10:3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the
man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.

10:4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood
over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the
cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD's glory.

10:5 And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer
court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.

10:6 And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed
with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between
the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels.

10:7 And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the
cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took
thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen:
who took it, and went out.

10:8 And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man's hand
under their wings.

10:9 And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one
wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the
appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone.

10:10 And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if
a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.

10:11 When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not
as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed
it; they turned not as they went.

10:12 And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and
their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the
wheels that they four had.

10:13 As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O
wheel.

10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a
cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the
face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

10:15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature
that I saw by the river of Chebar.

10:16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when
the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the
same wheels also turned not from beside them.

10:17 When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up,
these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature
was in them.

10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of
the house, and stood over the cherubims.

10:19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the
earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside
them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD's
house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

10:20 This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel
by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.

10:21 Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and
the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.

10:22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw
by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went
every one straight forward.

11:1 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east
gate of the LORD's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the
door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the
son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

11:2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise
mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city: 11:3 Which say, It is
not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the
flesh.

11:4 Therefore prophesy against them, prophesy, O son of man.

11:5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak;
Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know
the things that come into your mind, every one of them.

11:6 Ye have multiplied your slain in this city, and ye have filled
the streets thereof with the slain.

11:7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Your slain whom ye have laid
in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron:
but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it.

11:8 Ye have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,
saith the Lord GOD.

11:9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you
into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.

11:10 Ye shall fall by the sword; I will judge you in the border of
Israel; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

11:11 This city shall not be your caldron, neither shall ye be the
flesh in the midst thereof; but I will judge you in the border of
Israel: 11:12 And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not
walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done
after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.

11:13 And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of
Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud
voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant
of Israel? 11:14 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
11:15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy
kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the
inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us
is this land given in possession.

11:16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast
them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them
among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in
the countries where they shall come.

11:17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you
from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have
been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

11:18 And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the
detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from
thence.

11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit
within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and
will give them an heart of flesh: 11:20 That they may walk in my
statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my
people, and I will be their God.

11:21 But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their
detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way
upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.

11:22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels
beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

11:23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city,
and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

11:24 Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by
the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the
vision that I had seen went up from me.

11:25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the
LORD had shewed me.

12:1 The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying, 12:2 Son of man,
thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to
see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a
rebellious house.

12:3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and
remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to
another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though
they be a rebellious house.

12:4 Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as
stuff for removing: and thou shalt go forth at even in their sight, as
they that go forth into captivity.

12:5 Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby.

12:6 In their sight shalt thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry
it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not
the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.

12:7 And I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day,
as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged through the wall with
mine hand; I brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my
shoulder in their sight.

12:8 And in the morning came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
12:9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house,
said unto thee, What doest thou? 12:10 Say thou unto them, Thus saith
the Lord GOD; This burden concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all
the house of Israel that are among them.

12:11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done
unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.

12:12 And the prince that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder
in the twilight, and shall go forth: they shall dig through the wall
to carry out thereby: he shall cover his face, that he see not the
ground with his eyes.

12:13 My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my
snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans;
yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.

12:14 And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to
help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them.

12:15 And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall scatter
them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries.

12:16 But I will leave a few men of them from the sword, from the
famine, and from the pestilence; that they may declare all their
abominations among the heathen whither they come; and they shall know
that I am the LORD.

12:17 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12:18 Son of
man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling
and with carefulness; 12:19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus
saith the Lord GOD of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of
Israel; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their
water with astonishment, that her land may be desolate from all that
is therein, because of the violence of all them that dwell therein.

12:20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the
land shall be desolate; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

12:21 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12:22 Son of man,
what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The
days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? 12:23 Tell them
therefore, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will make this proverb to cease,
and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto
them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.

12:24 For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering
divination within the house of Israel.

12:25 For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak
shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O
rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the
Lord GOD.

12:26 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying.

12:27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision
that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the
times that are far off.

12:28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall
none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have
spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.

13:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 13:2 Son of man,
prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou
unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of
the LORD; 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets,
that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! 13:4 O Israel,
thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.

13:5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for
the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.

13:6 They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD
saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made others to
hope that they would confirm the word.

13:7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying
divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not
spoken? 13:8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have
spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you,
saith the Lord GOD.

13:9 And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and
that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people,
neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel,
neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know
that I am the Lord GOD.

13:10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying,
Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo,
others daubed it with untempered morter: 13:11 Say unto them which
daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an
overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a
stormy wind shall rend it.

13:12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you,
Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? 13:13 Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my
fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and
great hailstones in my fury to consume it.

13:14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with
untempered morter, and bring it down to the ground, so that the
foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye
shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I am
the LORD.

13:15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall, and upon them
that have daubed it with untempered morter, and will say unto you, The
wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; 13:16 To wit, the
prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see
visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.

13:17 Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of
thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou
against them, 13:18 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women
that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of
every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and
will ye save the souls alive that come unto you? 13:19 And will ye
pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of
bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls
alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your
lies? 13:20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against
your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and
I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the
souls that ye hunt to make them fly.

13:21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of
your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye
shall know that I am the LORD.

13:22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad,
whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked,
that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
13:23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations:
for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that
I am the LORD.

14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before
me.

14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 14:3 Son of man,
these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the
stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be
enquired of at all by them? 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel
that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock
of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD
will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;
14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because
they are all estranged from me through their idols.

14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces
from all your abominations.

14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that
sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up
his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity
before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning
me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: 14:8 And I will set my face
against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will
cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am
the LORD.

14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the
LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon
him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

14:10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the
punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that
seeketh unto him; 14:11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray
from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions;
but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord
GOD.

14:12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 14:13 Son of man,
when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will
I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread
thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast
from it: 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in
it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness,
saith the Lord GOD.

14:15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they
spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because
of the beasts: 14:16 Though these three men were in it, as I live,
saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters;
they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.

14:17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through
the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: 14:18 Though these
three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall
deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered
themselves.

14:19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury
upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: 14:20 Though Noah,
Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall
deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own
souls by their righteousness.

14:21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four
sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the
noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
14:22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be
brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth
unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be
comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even
concerning all that I have brought upon it.

14:23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their
doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that
I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.

15:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 15:2 Son of man,
what is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is
among the trees of the forest? 15:3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do
any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
15:4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth
both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any
work? 15:5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how
much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath
devoured it, and it is burned? 15:6 Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have
given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of
Jerusalem.

15:7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go out from one
fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am
the LORD, when I set my face against them.

15:8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a
trespass, saith the Lord GOD.

16:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 16:2 Son of man,
cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 16:3 And say, Thus saith the
Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of
Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.

16:4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was
not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast
not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

16:5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have
compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the
lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

16:6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own
blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said
unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

16:7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou
hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent
ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas
thou wast naked and bare.

16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time
was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy
nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with
thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

16:9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy
blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with
badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered
thee with silk.

16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy
hands, and a chain on thy neck.

16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears,
and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was
of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine
flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou
didst prosper into a kingdom.

16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for
it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith
the Lord GOD.

16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the
harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on
every one that passed by; his it was.

16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high
places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the
like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my
silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men,
and didst commit whoredom with them, 16:18 And tookest thy broidered
garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine
incense before them.

16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey,
wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet
savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.

16:20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou
hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be
devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, 16:21 That thou
hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass
through the fire for them? 16:22 And in all thine abominations and
thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when
thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.

16:23 And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto
thee! saith the LORD GOD;) 16:24 That thou hast also built unto thee
an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

16:25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and
hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every
one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

16:26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy
neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to
provoke me to anger.

16:27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and
have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will
of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are
ashamed of thy lewd way.

16:28 Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou
wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet
couldest not be satisfied.

16:29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of
Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.

16:30 How weak is thine heart, saith the LORD GOD, seeing thou doest
all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; 16:31 In
that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and
makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an
harlot, in that thou scornest hire; 16:32 But as a wife that
committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!
16:33 They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all
thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every
side for thy whoredom.

16:34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms,
whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou
givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art
contrary.

16:35 Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD: 16:36 Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness
discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the
idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which
thou didst give unto them; 16:37 Behold, therefore I will gather all
thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou
hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather
them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto
them, that they may see all thy nakedness.

16:38 And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed
blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

16:39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw
down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they
shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels,
and leave thee naked and bare.

16:40 They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall
stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.

16:41 And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute
judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee
to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any
more.

16:42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy
shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more
angry.

16:43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast
fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will
recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt
not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.

16:44 Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb
against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

16:45 Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her
children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their
husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your
father an Amorite.

16:46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that
dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy
right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

16:47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their
abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast
corrupted more than they in all thy ways.

16:48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done,
she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.

16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,
fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her
daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

16:50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me:
therefore I took them away as I saw good.

16:51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast
multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy
sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.

16:52 Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame
for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they
are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear
thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.

16:53 When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom
and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters,
then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of
them: 16:54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be
confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto
them.

16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their
former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their
former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former
estate.

16:56 For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day
of thy pride, 16:57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the
time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round
about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round
about.

16:58 Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the
LORD.

16:59 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou
hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

16:60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days
of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.

16:61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou
shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will
give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.

16:62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know
that I am the LORD: 16:63 That thou mayest remember, and be
confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame,
when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the
Lord GOD.

17:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 17:2 Son of man,
put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; 17:3
And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings,
longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto
Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar: 17:4 He cropped off
the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he
set it in a city of merchants.

17:5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a
fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow
tree.

17:6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose
branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so
it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

17:7 There was also another great eagle with great wings and many
feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and
shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the
furrows of her plantation.

17:8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might
bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a
goodly vine.

17:9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not
pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it
wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without
great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.

17:10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not
utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the
furrows where it grew.
17:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 17:12 Say
now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell
them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken
the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to
Babylon; 17:13 And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant
with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty
of the land: 17:14 That the kingdom might be base, that it might not
lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.

17:15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into
Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he
prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the
covenant, and be delivered? 17:16 As I live, saith the Lord GOD,
surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose
oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the
midst of Babylon he shall die.

17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company
make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to
cut off many persons: 17:18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking
the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these
things, he shall not escape.

17:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath
that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it
will I recompense upon his own head.

17:20 And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my
snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there
for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.

17:21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the
sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and
ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.

17:22 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch
of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of
his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain
and eminent: 17:23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I
plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a
goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the
shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

17:24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have
brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up
the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD
have spoken and have done it.

18:1 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 18:2 What mean
ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying,
The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set
on edge? 18:3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have
occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also
the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

18:5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, 18:6
And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes
to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his
neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, 18:7
And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his
pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the
hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; 18:8 He that hath
not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath
withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between
man and man, 18:9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my
judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the
Lord GOD.

18:10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that
doeth the like to any one of these things, 18:11 And that doeth not
any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and
defiled his neighbour's wife, 18:12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy,
hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath
lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 18:13
Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then
live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall
surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

18:14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins
which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, 18:15
That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his
eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his
neighbour's wife, 18:16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not
withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath
given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a
garment, 18:17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath
not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath
walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his
father, he shall surely live.

18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his
brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people,
lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.

18:19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the
father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and
hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.

18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the
iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of
the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the
wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath
committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and
right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

18:22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be
mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall
live.

18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the
Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and
committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that
the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he
hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath
trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house
of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? 18:26 When
a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth
iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall
he die.

18:27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that
he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall
save his soul alive.

18:28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his
transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall
not die.

18:29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the LORD is not equal.
O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one
according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves
from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have
transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will
ye die, O house of Israel? 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death
of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and
live ye.

19:1 Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,
19:2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions,
she nourished her whelps among young lions.

19:3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and
it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.

19:4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and
they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

19:5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then
she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.

19:6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion,
and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.

19:7 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their
cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the
noise of his roaring.

19:8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the
provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.

19:9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king
of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more
be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

19:10 Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters:
she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

19:11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule,
and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared
in her height with the multitude of her branches.

19:12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground,
and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and
withered; the fire consumed them.

19:13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty
ground.

19:14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath
devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to
rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.

20:1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the
tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to
enquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

20:2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, 20:3 Son of man,
speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD,
I will not be enquired of by you.

20:4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause
them to know the abominations of their fathers: 20:5 And say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and
lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made
myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine
hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; 20:6 In the day that I
lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of
Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and
honey, which is the glory of all lands: 20:7 Then said I unto them,
Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not
yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

20:8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they
did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither
did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my
fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of
the land of Egypt.

20:9 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted
before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself
known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

20:10 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt,
and brought them into the wilderness.

20:11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which
if a man do, he shall even live in them.

20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me
and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

20:13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness:
they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which
if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly
polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the
wilderness, to consume them.

20:14 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted
before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.

20:15 Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I
would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing
with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; 20:16 Because
they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but
polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

20:17 Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither
did I make an end of them in the wilderness.

20:18 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in
the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor
defile yourselves with their idols: 20:19 I am the LORD your God; walk
in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; 20:20 And hallow
my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may
know that I am the LORD your God.

20:21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked
not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a
man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I
said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger
against them in the wilderness.

20:22 Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's
sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in
whose sight I brought them forth.

20:23 I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I
would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the
countries; 20:24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had
despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes
were after their fathers' idols.

20:25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and
judgments whereby they should not live; 20:26 And I polluted them in
their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that
openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that
they might know that I am the LORD.

20:27 Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have
blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

20:28 For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I
lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill,
and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and
there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also
they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink
offerings.

20:29 Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go?
And the name whereof is called Bamah unto this day.

20:30 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD;
Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye
whoredom after their abominations? 20:31 For when ye offer your
gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute
yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: and shall I be
enquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD,
I will not be enquired of by you.

20:32 And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that
ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries,
to serve wood and stone.

20:33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and
with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over
you: 20:34 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather
you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand,
and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.

20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and
there will I plead with you face to face.

20:36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the
land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.

20:37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you
into the bond of the covenant: 20:38 And I will purge out from among
you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them
forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter
into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

20:39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye,
serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not
hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts,
and with your idols.

20:40 For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of
Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all
of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there
will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations,
with all your holy things.

20:41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out
from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have
been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.

20:42 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you
into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up
mine hand to give it to your fathers.

20:43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings,
wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your
own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

20:44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD when I have wrought with
you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor
according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord
GOD.

20:45 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 20:46 Son of
man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the
south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; 20:47 And
say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith
the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall
devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame
shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall
be burned therein.

20:48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it
shall not be quenched.

20:49 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak
parables? 21:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 21:2
Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward
the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 21:3 And say
to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee,
and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from
thee the righteous and the wicked.

21:4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the
wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against
all flesh from the south to the north: 21:5 That all flesh may know
that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall
not return any more.

21:6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins;
and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

21:7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou?
that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every
heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit
shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh,
and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.

21:8 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 21:9 Son of man,
prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is
sharpened, and also furbished: 21:10 It is sharpened to make a sore
slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make
mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.

21:11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled:
this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand
of the slayer.

21:12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it
shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the
sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.

21:13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the
rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.

21:14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands
together. and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of
the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which
entereth into their privy chambers.

21:15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that
their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made
bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.

21:16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the
left, whithersoever thy face is set.

21:17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury
to rest: I the LORD have said it.

21:18 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 21:19 Also,
thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of
Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and
choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

21:20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the
Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.

21:21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the
head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he
consulted with images, he looked in the liver.

21:22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint
captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice
with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a
mount, and to build a fort.

21:23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight,
to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the
iniquity, that they may be taken.

21:24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your
iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered,
so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that
ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.

21:25 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come,
when iniquity shall have an end, 21:26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove
the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt
him that is low, and abase him that is high.

21:27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no
more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

21:28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD
concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say
thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is
furbished, to consume because of the glittering: 21:29 Whiles they see
vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee
upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is
come, when their iniquity shall have an end.

21:30 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in
the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.

21:31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow
against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand
of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.

21:32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the
midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD
have spoken it.

22:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 22:2 Now,
thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city?
yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

22:3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth blood
in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against
herself to defile herself.

22:4 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and hast
defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast
caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years:
therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking
to all countries.

22:5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock
thee, which art infamous and much vexed.

22:6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their
power to shed blood.

22:7 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of
thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have
they vexed the fatherless and the widow.

22:8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my
sabbaths.

22:9 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they
eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.

22:10 In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee
have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.

22:11 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife;
and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in
thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

22:12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken
usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by
extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.

22:13 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain
which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of
thee.

22:14 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the
days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will
do it.

22:15 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in
the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.

22:16 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of
the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

22:17 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 22:18 Son of man,
the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and
tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even
the dross of silver.

22:19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become
dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of
Jerusalem.

22:20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,
into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it;
so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave
you there, and melt you.

22:21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my
wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst therof.

22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be
melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have
poured out my fury upon you.

22:23 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 22:24 Son of man,
say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon
in the day of indignation.

22:25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like
a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have
taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows
in the midst thereof.

22:26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy
things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane,
neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean,
and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among
them.

22:27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the
prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

22:28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing
vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD,
when the LORD hath not spoken.

22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised
robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed
the stranger wrongfully.

22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the
hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not
destroy it: but I found none.

22:31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have
consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I
recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.

23:1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 23:2 Son of man,
there were two women, the daughters of one mother: 23:3 And they
committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth:
there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of
their virginity.

23:4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her
sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus
were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

23:5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on
her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours, 23:6 Which were clothed
with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men,
horsemen riding upon horses.

23:7 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that
were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with
all their idols she defiled herself.

23:8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her
youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her
virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

23:9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into
the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

23:10 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her
daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among
women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

23:11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in
her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her
sister in her whoredoms.

23:12 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and rulers
clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them
desirable young men.

23:13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
23:14 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men
pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans pourtrayed with
vermilion, 23:15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in
dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after
the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity:
23:16 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them,
and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.

23:17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they
defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and
her mind was alienated from them.

23:18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness:
then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated
from her sister.

23:19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the
days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of
Egypt.

23:20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh
of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.

23:21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in
bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth.

23:22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will
raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and
I will bring them against thee on every side; 23:23 The Babylonians,
and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians
with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great
lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.

23:24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and
wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee
buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment
before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

23:25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal
furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and
thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy
daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.

23:26 They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy
fair jewels.

23:27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy
whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift
up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.

23:28 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into
the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy
mind is alienated: 23:29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and
shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare:
and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy
lewdness and thy whoredoms.

23:30 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a
whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their
idols.

23:31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give
her cup into thine hand.

23:32 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup
deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it
containeth much.

23:33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup
of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

23:34 Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break
the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken
it, saith the Lord GOD.

23:35 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten
me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness
and thy whoredoms.

23:36 The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge
Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; 23:37
That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and
with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused
their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire,
to devour them.

23:38 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my
sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.

23:39 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they
came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have
they done in the midst of mine house.

23:40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far,
unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou
didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with
ornaments, 23:41 And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared
before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.

23:42 And a voice of a multitude being at ease was with her: and with
the men of the common sort were brought Sabeans from the wilderness,
which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their
heads.

23:43 Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now
commit whoredoms with her, and she with them? 23:44 Yet they went in
unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went
they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women.

23:45 And the righteous men, they shall judge them after the manner of
adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood; because
they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.

23:46 For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will bring up a company upon
them, and will give them to be removed and spoiled.

23:47 And the company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them
with their swords; they shall slay their sons and their daughters, and
burn up their houses with fire.