September 9
Ezekiel 12:1 — 14:23

12 And the word of Jehovah continued to occur to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, in the midst of a rebellious house is where you are dwelling, that have eyes to see but they actually do not see, that have ears to hear but they actually do not hear, for they are a rebellious house. 3 As for you, O son of man, make up for yourself luggage for exile and go into exile in the daytime before their eyes, and you must go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes. Perhaps they will see, though they are a rebellious house. 4 And you must bring out your luggage like luggage for exile in the daytime before their eyes, and you yourself will go out in the evening before their eyes like those being brought forth for exile.

5 “Before their eyes, bore your way through the wall, and you must do the bringing out through it. 6 Before their eyes you will do the carrying on the shoulder itself. During the darkness you will do the bringing out. You will cover your very face that you may not see the earth, because a portent is what I have made you to the house of Israel.”

7 And I proceeded to do just the way that I had been commanded. My luggage I brought out, just like luggage for exile, in the daytime; and in the evening I bored my way through the wall by hand. During the darkness I did the bringing out. On my shoulder I did the carrying, before their eyes.

8 And the word of Jehovah continued to occur to me in the morning, saying: 9 “Son of man, did not those of the house of Israel, the rebellious house, say to you, ‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “As regards the chieftain, there is this pronouncement against Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in the midst of them.”’

11 “Say, ‘I am a portent for YOU. Just as I have done, that is the way it will be done to them. Into exile, into captivity they will go. 12 And as regards the chieftain who is in the midst of them, on the shoulder he will do carrying in the darkness and go out; through the wall they will bore in order to do the bringing forth through it. His face he will cover in order that he may not see with his own eye the earth.’ 13 And I shall certainly spread my net over him, and he must be caught in my hunting net; and I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans, but it he will not see; and there he will die. 14 And all who are round about him as a help, and all his military bands, I shall scatter to every wind; and a sword I shall draw out after them. 15 And they will have to know that I am Jehovah when I disperse them among the nations and I actually scatter them among the lands. 16 And I will leave remaining from them a few men from the sword, from the famine and from the pestilence, in order that they may recount all their detestable things among the nations to whom they must come in; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.”

17 And the word of Jehovah continued to occur to me, saying: 18 “Son of man, with quaking your bread you should eat, and with agitation and with anxious care your water you should drink. 19 And you must say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said to the inhabitants of Jerusalem upon the soil of Israel: “With anxious care their bread they will eat, and with horror their water they will drink, in order that its land may be laid desolate of its fullness because of the violence of all those dwelling in it. 20 And the inhabited cities themselves will be devastated, and the land itself will become a mere desolate waste; and YOU will have to know that I am Jehovah.”’”

21 And the word of Jehovah occurred further to me, saying: 22 “Son of man, what is this proverbial saying that YOU people have on the soil of Israel, saying, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision has perished’? 23 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “I shall certainly cause this proverbial saying to cease, and they will no more say it as a proverb in Israel.”’ But speak to them, ‘The days have drawn near, and the matter of every vision.’ 24 For there will no more prove to be any valueless vision nor double-faced divination in the midst of the house of Israel. 25 ‘“For I myself, Jehovah, shall speak what word I shall speak, and it will be done. There will be no postponement anymore, for in YOUR days, O rebellious house, I shall speak a word and certainly do it,” is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.’”

26 And the word of Jehovah continued to occur to me, saying: 27 “Son of man, look! those of the house of Israel are saying, ‘The vision that he is visioning is many days off, and respecting times far off he is prophesying.’ 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “‘There will be no postponement anymore as to any words of mine. What word I shall speak, it will even be done,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”’”

13 And the word of Jehovah continued to occur to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, prophesy concerning the prophets of Israel who are prophesying, and you must say to those prophesying out of their own heart, ‘Hear the word of Jehovah. 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “Woe to the stupid prophets, who are walking after their own spirit, when there is nothing that they have seen! 4 Like foxes in the devastated places are what your own prophets have become, O Israel. 5 YOU men will certainly not go up into the gaps, neither will YOU build up a stone wall in behalf of the house of Israel, in order to stand in the battle in the day of Jehovah.” 6 “They have visioned what is untrue and a lying divination, those who are saying, ‘The utterance of Jehovah is,’ when Jehovah himself has not sent them, and they have waited to have a word come true. 7 Is it not an untrue vision that YOU men have visioned, and a lying divination that YOU have said, when saying, ‘The utterance of Jehovah is,’ when I myself have spoken nothing?”’

8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “‘For the reason that YOU men have spoken untruth and YOU have visioned a lie, therefore here I am against YOU,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.” 9 And my hand has come to be against the prophets that are visioning untruth and that are divining a lie. In the intimate group of my people they will not continue on, and in the register of the house of Israel they will not be written, and to the soil of Israel they will not come; and YOU people will have to know that I am the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, 10 for the reason, yes, for the reason that they have led my people astray, saying, “There is peace!” when there is no peace, and there is one that is building a partition wall, but in vain there are those plastering it with whitewash.’

11 “Say to those plastering with whitewash that it will fall. A flooding downpour will certainly occur, and YOU, O hailstones, will fall, and a blast of windstorms itself will cause a splitting. 12 And, look! the wall must fall. Will it not be said to YOU men, ‘Where is the coating with which YOU did the plastering?’

13 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘I will also cause a blast of windstorms to burst forth in my rage, and in my anger there will occur a flooding downpour, and in rage there will be hailstones for an extermination. 14 And I will tear down the wall that YOU men have plastered with whitewash and bring it into contact with the earth, and its foundation must be exposed. And she will certainly fall, and YOU must come to an end in the midst of her; and YOU will have to know that I am Jehovah.’

15 “‘And I will bring my rage to its finish upon the wall and upon those plastering it with whitewash, and I shall say to YOU men: “The wall is no more, and those plastering it are no more, 16 the prophets of Israel that are prophesying to Jerusalem and that are visioning for her a vision of peace, when there is no peace,”’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

17 “And as for you, O son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are acting as prophetesses out of their own heart, and prophesy against them. 18 And you must say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “Woe to the women sewing bands together upon all elbows and making veils upon the head of every size in order to hunt souls! Are the souls that YOU women hunt down the ones belonging to my people, and the souls belonging to YOU the ones that YOU preserve alive? 19 And will YOU profane me toward my people for the handfuls of barley and for the morsels of bread, in order to put to death the souls that ought not to die and in order to preserve alive the souls that ought not to live by YOUR lie to my people, the hearers of a lie?”’

20 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘Here I am against the bands of YOU women, with which YOU are hunting down the souls as though they were flying things, and I will rip them from off YOUR arms and let go the souls that YOU are hunting down, souls as though they were flying things. 21 And I will rip away YOUR veils and deliver my people out of YOUR hand, and they will no more prove to be in YOUR hand something caught in the hunt; and YOU will have to know that I am Jehovah. 22 By reason of dejecting the heart of a righteous one with falsehood, when I myself had not caused him pain, and for making the hands of a wicked one strong so that he would not turn back from his bad way in order to preserve him alive, 23 therefore untruth YOU women will not keep on visioning, and divination YOU will divine no longer; and I will deliver my people out of YOUR hand, and YOU will have to know that I am Jehovah.’”

14 And men from the elderly ones of Israel proceeded to come to me and sit down before me. 2 Then the word of Jehovah occurred to me, saying: 3 “Son of man, as regards these men, they have brought up their dungy idols upon their heart, and the stumbling block causing their error they have put in front of their faces. Shall I be inquired of at all by them? 4 Therefore speak with them and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “Any man at all of the house of Israel that brings up his dungy idols upon his heart and that places the very stumbling block causing his error in front of his face and that actually comes to the prophet, I, Jehovah, I will let myself be brought to answer him in the matter according to the multitude of his dungy idols, 5 for the purpose of catching the house of Israel by their heart, because they have withdrawn themselves from me through their dungy idols—all of them.”’

6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: “Come back and turn yourselves back from YOUR dungy idols and turn YOUR faces back even from all YOUR detestable things; 7 for any man at all from the house of Israel or from the alien residents that reside as aliens in Israel, that withdraws himself from following me and that brings up his dungy idols upon his heart and that sets the very stumbling block causing his error in front of his face and that actually comes to the prophet to make inquiry for himself by me, I, Jehovah, I am letting myself be brought to answer him by myself. 8 And I must set my face against that man and place him for a sign and for proverbial sayings, and I must cut him off from the midst of my people; and YOU people will have to know that I am Jehovah.”’

9 “‘And as for the prophet, in case he gets fooled and actually speaks a word, I myself, Jehovah, have fooled that prophet; and I will stretch out my hand against him and annihilate him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they will have to bear their error. The error of the inquirer will prove to be just the same as the error of the prophet, 11 in order that those of the house of Israel may no more go wandering off from following me and may no more go defiling themselves with all their transgressions. And they must become my people and I myself shall become their God,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

12 And the word of Jehovah continued to come to me, saying: 13 “Son of man, as regards a land, in case it commits sin against me in acting unfaithfully, I will also stretch out my hand against it and break for it the rods around which ring-shaped loaves are suspended, and I will send upon it famine and cut off from it earthling man and domestic animal.” 14 “‘And had these three men proved to be in the midst of it, Noah, Daniel and Job, they themselves because of their righteousness would deliver their soul,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”

15 “‘Or if I should make injurious wild beasts pass through the land and they actually bereaved it of children and it actually became a desolate waste without anybody passing through on account of the wild beasts, 16 were these three men in the midst of it, as I am alive,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘neither sons nor daughters would they deliver; they, only they themselves, would be delivered and the land itself would become a desolate waste.’”

17 “‘Or were it a sword that I should bring upon that land, and should I actually say: “Let a sword itself pass through the land,” and should I actually cut off from it earthling man and domestic animal, 18 even were these three men in the midst of it, as I am alive,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they, only they themselves, would be delivered.’”

19 “‘Or were it pestilence that I should send upon that land and should I actually pour out my rage upon it with blood, in order to cut off from it earthling man and domestic animal, 20 even were Noah, Daniel and Job in the midst of it, as I am alive,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘neither son nor daughter would they deliver; they themselves because of their righteousness would deliver their soul.’”

21 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘So, too, [it will be] when there will be my four injurious acts of judgment—sword and famine and injurious wild beast and pestilence—that I shall actually send upon Jerusalem in order to cut off from it earthling man and domestic animal. 22 But, look! there will certainly be left remaining in it an escaped company, those being brought forth. Sons and daughters, here they are! They are going forth to YOU people, and YOU will have to see their way and their dealings. And YOU will certainly be comforted over the calamity that I shall have brought upon Jerusalem, even all that I shall have brought upon her.’”

23 “‘And they will certainly comfort YOU people when YOU see their way and their dealings; and YOU will have to know that it was not without cause that I shall have done all that I must do against her,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.”