38And I will purge you of those who rebel and transgress against Me. I will bring them out of the land in which they dwell, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

39And as for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you. But afterward, you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.40For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your offerings and choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.41When I bring you from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered, I will accept you as a pleasing aroma. And I will show My holiness through you in the sight of the nations.42Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land that I swore to give your fathers.43There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.44Then you will know, O house of Israel, that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for the sake of My name and not according to your wicked ways and corrupt acts, declares the Lord GOD.”

A Prophecy against the South

45Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,46“Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.47Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and by it every face from south to north will be scorched.48Then all people will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it will not be quenched.”

49Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”

God’s Sword of Judgment

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,2“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel3and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.4Because I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.5Then all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have taken My sword from its sheath, not to return it again.’

6But you, son of man, groan! Groan before their eyes with a broken heart and bitter grief.7And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.’ Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD.”

8Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,19“Now you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same land. And make a signpost where the road branches off to each city.20Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.21For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the liver.22In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.23It will seem like a false omen to the eyes of those who have sworn allegiance to him, but it will draw attention to their guilt and take them captive.

24Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds—because you have come to remembrance—you shall be taken in hand.

The Sins of Jerusalem

1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,2“As for you, son of man, will you judge her? Will you pass judgment on the city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her abominations3and tell her that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘O city who brings her own doom by shedding blood within her walls and making idols to defile herself,4you are guilty of the blood you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close and have come to the end of your years. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mockery to all the lands.5Those near and far will mock you, O infamous city, full of turmoil.

6See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood.7Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.8You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.9Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.10In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity.11One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.12In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

13Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.14Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will act.15I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you throughout the lands; I will purge your uncleanness.16And when you have defiled yourself in the eyes of the nations, then you will know that I am the LORD.’”

The Refining Furnace

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

Israel’s Wicked Leaders

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,24“Son of man, say to her, ‘In the day of indignation, you are a land that has not been cleansed, upon which no rain has fallen.’25The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.26Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.28Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.29The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.

30I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.31So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

The Two Adulterous Sisters

1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,