But you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

And say,
What was your mother?
A lioness among lions.
She lay in the midst of young lions;
She brought up her whelps.

When she raised up one of her whelps,
He became a young lion;
And he learned to take prey;
He devoured men.

Then the nations heard of him;
He was captured in their pit,
And they brought him with hooks
To the land of Egypt.

When she saw that she had waited,
That her hope was lost,
She took another one of her whelps;
She made him a young lion.

And he went about among the lions;
He became a young lion.
And he learned to take prey;
He devoured men.

And he  ¹destroyed their citadels
And laid waste their cities;
And the land and its fullness were horrified
At the sound of his roaring.

Then the nations set against him
All around from the provinces
And spread their net over him;
He was captured in their pit.

And they put him in a cage with hooks
And brought him to the king of Babylon —
They brought him into strongholds —
That his voice would no longer be heard
Upon the mountains of Israel.

Your mother was like a vine in your  ¹vineyard,
Transplanted beside the waters;
It was fruitful and full of branches
Because of abundant waters.

And it had strong branches
For scepters of those who rule;
And its height was exalted among the leafy boughs,
And it was visible in its height because of the multitude of its branches.

But it was plucked up in wrath;
It was cast down to the ground;
And the east wind dried up its fruit;
Its strong branch was broken off and it withered;
The fire consumed it.

And now it is transplanted in the wilderness,
In a dry and thirsty land.

And fire has gone forth from its branch;
It has consumed its offshoots and its fruit,
So that there is no strong branch in it,
A scepter to rule.
This is a lamentation and it has become a lamentation.

Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of Jehovah, and they sat before me.

Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Have you come to inquire of Me? As I live, I will not be inquired of by you, declares the Lord Jehovah.

Will you judge them, will you judge, son of man? Make them know the abominations of their fathers,

And say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, On the day when I chose Israel and  ¹lifted up My hand to the seed of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt; when I lifted up My hand to them, saying, I am Jehovah your God;

On that day I lifted up My hand to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a  ¹land that I had spied out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands.

And I said to them, Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of your eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am Jehovah your God.

But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not, each one, cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Thus I thought to pour out My wrath upon them and to spend My anger on them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

But I did something for My name's sake that it might not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in the midst of whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself known to them in order to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

Therefore I caused them to go forth from the land of Egypt, and I brought them into the wilderness.

And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances, by which, if a man does them, he will live.

And also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am Jehovah who sanctifies them.

But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes, and they rejected My ordinances, by which, if a man does them, he will live; and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I thought to pour out My wrath upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

But I did something for My name's sake that it might not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had caused them to go forth.

Yet I also lifted up My hand 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, which is the glory of all the lands;

Because they rejected My ordinances and did not walk in My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, for their heart went after idols.

But My eye pitied them, so that I did not destroy them, and I did not bring them to their end in the wilderness.

And I said to their children in the wilderness, Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances, and do not defile yourselves with their idols.

I am Jehovah your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them;

And sanctify My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you might know that I am Jehovah your God.

But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes and they were not careful to do My ordinances, by which, if a man does them, he will live; they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I thought to pour out My wrath upon them to spend My anger on them in the wilderness.

Yet I withdrew My hand and did something for My name's sake that it might not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.

I also lifted up My hand to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and would disperse them among the countries,

Because they did not do My ordinances, but rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were directed to the idols of their fathers.

And I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they would not live,

And I declared them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused everything that opens the womb to pass through fire, that I might make them desolate so that they would know that I am Jehovah.

Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Still yet in this your fathers blasphemed Me by acting unfaithfully against Me:

When I had brought them into the land which I had lifted up My hand to give them, they saw every high hill and every leafy tree; and there they offered their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering, and there they made their sweet savor, and there they poured out their drink offerings.

Then I said to them, What is the high place to which you go? Therefore the name of it is called Bamah to this day.

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Do you defile yourselves in the way of your fathers? And do you go about as a harlot after their detestable things?

And when you offer up your gifts, when you make your children pass through fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols until today. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, I will not be inquired of by you.

And that which comes up in your spirit shall by no means occur, that which you say, We will be like the nations, like the families of the countries, serving wood and stone.

As I live, declares the Lord Jehovah, surely with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will rule over you.

And I will bring you out from the peoples and will gather you from the countries among which you have been scattered, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out.

And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and I will enter into judgment with you there face to face.

As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord Jehovah.

And I will cause you to pass under the rod and will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

And I will purge out from among you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out from the land of their sojourning, but not one will enter into the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am Jehovah.

As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord Jehovah, Go, serve every one his idols; but afterward, you shall surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer profane with your gifts and with your idols.

For on My holy mountain, on the  ¹mountain of the height of Israel, declares the Lord Jehovah, there will the whole house of Israel, all of them, serve Me in the land; there will I accept them and there will I require your contributions and the firstfruits of your offerings with all your holy things.

As a sweet savor I will accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the countries among which you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations.

And you will know that I am Jehovah, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land concerning which I lifted up My hand to give to your fathers.

And there you will remember your ways and all your doings by which you defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have done.

And you will know that I am Jehovah, when I have dealt with you for My name's sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel, declares the Lord Jehovah.

And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and utter something against the south and prophesy against the forest field of the  ¹Negev;

And say to the forest of the Negev, Hear the word of Jehovah: Thus says the Lord Jehovah, I am now kindling a fire in you, and it will consume in you every tender tree and every dry tree; the flaming flame will not be quenched, and every surface will be scorched, from the south to the north.

And all flesh will see that I, Jehovah, kindled it; it will not be quenched.

Then I said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! They say of me, Does he not just use parables?

And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and utter something against the holy places and prophesy against the land of Israel;

And say to the land of Israel, Thus says Jehovah, I am now against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath, and I will cut off from you the righteous man and the wicked.

Because I will cut off from you the righteous man and the wicked, therefore My sword will go forth out of its sheath against all flesh, from the south to the north.

And all flesh will know that I, Jehovah, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it will not return again.

But you, son of man, groan! With the shaking of loins and with bitterness groan in their sight.

And when they say to you, Why do you groan, you shall say, Because of the report that comes; and every heart will melt and every hand will be feeble and every spirit will faint and every knee will flow into water. It is about to come and it will happen, declares the Lord Jehovah.

Again the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, Say: A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

It is sharpened to slaughter utterly, polished to flash like lightning. Or shall we rejoice, saying, The  ¹scepter of my son despises all other wood?

And it is given to be polished, that it may be wielded in the hand. The sword — it is sharpened and it is polished, that it may be given into the hand of the slayer.

Cry out and howl, son of man, for it will come against My people. It will come against all the princes of Israel; they are cast at the sword with My people; therefore  ¹strike your thigh.

For a trial has been made. And what if even the scepter that despises is no more? declares the Lord Jehovah.

You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together; and let the sword be doubled a third time, the sword for the slain; it is the sword for a great slain one that encircles them.

In order that hearts may fail and that occasions of falling may multiply at all their gates, I have given the  ¹slaughtering sword. Ah! It has been made to flash like lightning; it is drawn for slaying.

Gather yourself up, go to the right; set yourself, go to the left, to wherever your edge is appointed.

And I, even I, will clap My hands together and will cause My wrath to rest; I, Jehovah, have spoken.

Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

And you, son of man, appoint two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; out of one land both will come. And make a signpost; make it at the fork in the road to each city.

You shall appoint a way for the sword to come, either to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, or to fortified Jerusalem in Judah.

For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork in the two roads, using divination; he shakes his arrows, he inquires of the  ¹teraphim, he  ²observes the liver.

Into his right hand came the divination for Jerusalem, to set up the battering ram, to open his mouth in killing, to lift up his voice with a shout, to set the battering rams against the gates, to cast up a mound, to build a siege wall.

Yet to those in Jerusalem it will be as a false divination in their sight, to those who have sworn solemn oaths; but He brings the iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovah, Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear, because you have come to remembrance, you will be taken with the hand.

And you, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come at the time of the  ¹iniquity of the end,

Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Remove the turban, and take off the crown; what is will not be. Exalt the lowly, and lay low the exalted.

Ruins, ruins, ruins will I make it; and this also will be no more, until  ¹He comes whose right it is; and I will give it to Him.

And you, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord Jehovah concerning the children of Ammon and concerning their reproach; and say, A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume, that it may flash like lightning —

While they see vanity for you, while they divine deception for you — to bring you down upon the necks of the wicked slain, whose day has come at the time of the iniquity of the end.

Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.

And I will pour out My indignation upon you; with the fire of My overflowing wrath I will blow against you, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, skilled in destruction.

You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land; you will not be remembered; for I, Jehovah, have spoken.