Study Desk

Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the ^(C1)elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat before me.

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, 'This is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "^(C1)I certainly will not be inquired of by you."'

"Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? ^(C1)Make known to them the abominations of their fathers;

and say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "On the day when I ^(C1)chose Israel and ^(F1)swore to the ^(F2)descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I ^(F1)swore to them, saying, ^(C2)I am the LORD your God,

on that day I swore to them, ^(C1)to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had ^(F1)selected for them, ^(C2)flowing with milk and honey, which is ^(C3)the glory of all the lands.

"And I said to them, '^(C1)Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and ^(C2)do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; ^(C3)I am the LORD your God.'

"But they ^(C1)rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away, each of them, the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they abandon the ^(C2)idols of Egypt. "Then I ^(F1)resolved to ^(C3)pour out My wrath on them, to ^(F2)use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

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"But I acted ^(C1)for the sake of My name, that it would ^(C2)not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

"So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the ^(C1)wilderness.

"I gave them My ^(C1)statutes and informed them of My ordinances, ^(C2)which, if ^(F1)a person ^(F2)follows them, then he will live by them.

"Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a ^(C1)sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

"But the house of Israel ^(C1)rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, ^(C2)which, if ^(F1)a person ^(F2)follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My ^(C3)Sabbaths. Then I ^(F3)resolved to ^(C4)pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.

"But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out.

"Also ^(C1)I swore to 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 the lands,

because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their ^(C1)heart continually followed their idols.

"Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their ^(C1)annihilation in the wilderness.

"Instead, I said to their ^(F1)(C1)children in the wilderness, '^(C2)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.

'^(C1)I am the LORD your God; ^(C2)walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and ^(F1)follow them.

'^(C1)Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.'

"But the ^(C1)children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to ^(F1)follow My ordinances which, if ^(F2)a person ^(F3)follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I ^(F4)resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to ^(F5)use up My anger against them in the wilderness.

"But I ^(C1)withdrew My hand and acted ^(C2)for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

"Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would ^(C1)scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands,

because they had not ^(F1)complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and ^(C1)their eyes were ^(F2)on the idols of their fathers.

"I also gave them statutes that were ^(C1)not good, and ordinances by which they could not live;

and I pronounced them ^(C1)unclean because of their gifts, in that they ^(C2)made all ^(F1)their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might ^(C3)know that I am the LORD."'

"Therefore ^(C1)speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "Again, in this your fathers have ^(C2)blasphemed Me by ^(C3)being disloyal to Me.

"When I had ^(C1)brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every ^(C2)high hill and every tree thick with branches, and there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings.

"Then I said to them, 'What is the high place to which you go?' So its name is called ^(F1)Bamah to this day."'

"Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "Will you defile yourselves in the way of your ^(C1)fathers and adulterously pursue their detestable things?

"And ^(F1)when you offer your gifts, when you ^(C1)make your sons pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "I certainly will not be inquired of by you.

"And whatever ^(C1)comes ^(F1)into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say: 'We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, ^(C2)serving wood and stone.'

"As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "with a mighty hand and with an ^(C1)outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be ^(C2)king over you.

"I will ^(C1)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with ^(C2)wrath poured out;

and I will bring you into the ^(C1)wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.

"Just as I ^(C1)entered into judgment with your fathers in the ^(C2)wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you," declares the Lord GOD.

"I will make you ^(C1)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;

and I will ^(C1)purge from you the rebels and those who revolt against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside, but they will ^(C2)not enter the ^(F1)land of Israel. So you will know that I am the LORD.

"As for you, house of Israel," this is what the Lord GOD says: "^(C1)Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; ^(F1)but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer ^(C2)defile with your gifts and your idols.

"For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel," declares the Lord GOD, "there the entire house of Israel, ^(C1)all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will ^(C2)accept them and there I will demand your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things.

"^(F1)As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I ^(C1)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will show Myself to be ^(C2)holy among you in the sight of the nations.

"And ^(C1)you will know that I am the LORD, ^(C2)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the ^(C3)land which I swore to give to your forefathers.

"And there you will ^(C1)remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves; and you will ^(C2)loathe yourselves in your own ^(F1)sight for all the evil things that you have done.

"Then ^(C1)you will know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you ^(C2)in behalf of My name, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD.'"

^(F1)Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Son of man, set your face toward the south, and speak prophetically against the ^(C1)south and ^(C2)prophesy against the ^(C3)forest ^(F1)land of the Negev,

and say to the forest of the Negev, 'Hear the word of the LORD: this is what the Lord GOD says: "Behold, I am going to ^(C1)kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every ^(F1)green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not go out and ^(F2)(C2)the entire surface from south to north will be scorched by it.

"And all ^(F1)mankind will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it will ^(C1)not go out."'"

Then I said, "Oh, Lord GOD! They are saying of me, 'Is he not just speaking in ^(C1)riddles?'"

^(F1)And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Son of man, ^(C1)set your face against Jerusalem, and ^(F1)(C2)speak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel;

and say to the land of Israel, 'This is what the LORD says: "Behold, ^(C1)I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the ^(C2)righteous and the wicked.

"Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against ^(F1)(C1)humanity from south to north.

"So ^(F1)humanity will know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will ^(C1)not return to its sheath again."'

"As for you, son of man, groan with ^(F1)a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight.

"And when they say to you, 'Why are you groaning?' you shall say, 'Because of the ^(C1)news, for it is coming; and ^(C2)every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all ^(F1)knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,' declares the Lord ^(F2)GOD."

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the LORD says:' Say, '^(C1)A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished!

-'Sharpened to make a ^(C1)slaughter, Polished ^(F1)to flash like lightning!' Or shall we rejoice, the ^(F2)rod of My son ^(C2)despising every tree?

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"And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer.

"^(C1)Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the ^(C2)officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore ^(F1)slap your thigh.

"For there is a testing; and what if even the ^(F1)rod which despises will cease to be?" declares the Lord GOD.

"You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be ^(C1)doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them,

so that their ^(C1)hearts will waver, and many ^(C2)fall at all their ^(C3)gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter.

"Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your ^(F1)edge is ordered.

"I will also clap My hands, and I will ^(C1)satisfy My wrath; I, the LORD, have spoken."

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Now as for you, son of man, ^(F1)(C1)make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And ^(F2)make a signpost; ^(F3)make it at the head of the way to the city.

"You shall ^(F1)mark a way for the sword to come to ^(C1)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into ^(C2)fortified Jerusalem.

"For the king of Babylon stands at the ^(F1)parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use ^(C1)divination; he ^(C2)shakes the arrows, he consults the ^(F2)(C3)household idols, he looks at the liver.

"Into his right hand came the divination, 'Jerusalem,' to ^(C1)set up battering rams, to open the mouth ^(F1)for ^(F2)slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall.

"And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; ^(C1)they have sworn solemn oaths. But he ^(C2)makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.

"Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand.

'And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose ^(C1)day has come, in the time of the ^(F1)punishment of the end,'

this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Remove the ^(F1)turban and take off the ^(C1)crown; this will ^(F2)no longer be the same. ^(C2)Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high.

'^(C1)Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until ^(C2)He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.'

"And you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the Lord GOD says concerning the sons of Ammon and their ^(C1)taunting,' and say: 'A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it ^(F1)(C2)consume, so that it may be like lightning—

while they see ^(C1)false visions for you, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the ^(C2)time of the ^(F1)punishment of the end.

'^(C1)Return it to its sheath. In the ^(C2)place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.

'I will ^(C1)pour out My indignation on you; I will ^(C2)blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, ^(C3)craftsmen of destruction.

'You will be ^(F1)(C1)fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will ^(C2)not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.'"

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations.

"And you shall say, 'This is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "A city ^(C1)shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement!

"You have become ^(C1)guilty by ^(F1)the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a ^(C2)disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands.

"Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of ^(C1)turmoil.

"Behold, the ^(C1)rulers of Israel, each according to his ^(F1)power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood.

"They have ^(C1)treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the ^(C2)stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the ^(C3)orphan and the widow among you.

"You have ^(C1)despised My holy things and ^(C2)profaned My Sabbaths.

"Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have ^(C1)committed outrageous sin.

"Among you ^(F1)they have ^(C1)uncovered their fathers' nakedness; among you they have abused her who was ^(C2)unclean in her menstruation.

"And one has committed abomination with his ^(C1)neighbor's wife, another has outrageously defiled his ^(C2)daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually ^(C3)abused his sister, his father's daughter.

"Among you they have ^(C1)taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken ^(F1)(C2)interest, you have injured your neighbors by ^(C3)oppression, and you have ^(C4)forgotten Me," declares the Lord GOD.

"Behold, then, I strike with My hand your ^(C1)profit which you have made and ^(F1)the bloodshed which is among you.

"Can ^(C1)your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? ^(C2)I, the LORD, have spoken and will act.

"And I will ^(C1)scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will ^(C2)eliminate your uncleanness from you.

"Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will ^(C1)know that I am the LORD."'"

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become ^(F1)(C1)waste metal to Me; all of them are ^(C2)bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the ^(C3)smelting furnace; they are the ^(F1)waste metal of silver.

"Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Because all of you have become ^(F1)waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

'As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the ^(C1)smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you.

'And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.

'As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the LORD, have ^(C1)poured out My wrath on you.'"

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

"Son of man, say to her, 'You are a land that is ^(C1)not clean or rained on in the day of indignation.'

"There is a ^(C1)conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have ^(C2)devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many ^(C3)widows in the midst of her.

"Her ^(C1)priests have done violence to My Law and have ^(C2)profaned My holy things; they have made no ^(C3)distinction between the holy and the ^(F1)common, and they have not taught the difference between the ^(C4)unclean and the clean; and they have closed their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am defiled among them.

"Her leaders within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and ^(C1)destroying lives in order to make ^(C2)dishonest profit.

"And her prophets have coated with whitewash for them, seeing ^(C1)false visions and divining lies for them, saying, 'This is what the Lord GOD says,' when the LORD has not spoken.

"The people of the land have practiced ^(C1)extortion and committed robbery, and they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have ^(C2)oppressed the stranger without justice.

"I ^(C1)searched for a man among them who would ^(C2)build up a wall and ^(C3)stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found ^(F1)no one.

"So I have poured out My ^(C1)indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; I have brought ^(C2)their way upon their heads," declares the Lord GOD.