The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

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.'

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying: The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?

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 word of every vision.

For there shall be no more any vain vision nor smooth divination within the house of Israel.

For I am the LORD; I will speak, what word soever it be that I shall speak, and it shall be performed; it shall be no more delayed; for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord GOD.'

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

'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 times that are far off.

Therefore say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: There shall none of My words be delayed any more, but the word which I shall speak shall be performed, saith the Lord GOD.'

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own heart: Hear ye the word of the LORD:

Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe unto the vile prophets, that follow their own spirit, and things which they have not seen!

O Israel, thy prophets have been like foxes in ruins.

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

They have seen vanity and lying divination, that say: The LORD saith; and the LORD hath not sent them, yet they hope that the word would be confirmed!

Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say: The LORD saith; albeit I have not spoken?

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.

And My hand shall be against the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies; they shall not be in the council of My people, neither shall they be written in the register of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.

Because, even because they have led My people astray, saying: Peace, and there is no peace; and when it buildeth up a slight wall, behold, they daub it with whited plaster;

say unto them that daub it with whited plaster, that it shall fall; there shall be an overflowing shower, and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a stormy wind shall break forth,

and, lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you: Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: I will even cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in Mine anger, and great hailstones in fury to consume it.

So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with whited plaster, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be uncovered; and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

Thus will I spend My fury upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with whited plaster; and I will say unto you: The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it;

to wit, the prophets of Israel that prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and that see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord GOD.

And thou, son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, that prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,

and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the women that sew cushions upon all elbows, and make pads for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of My people, and save souls alive for yourselves?

And ye have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for crumbs 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 hearken unto lies.

Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your cushions, wherewith ye hunt the souls as birds, and I will tear them from your arms; and I will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt as birds.

Your pads 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.

Because with lies ye have cowed the heart of the righteous, when I have not grieved him; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, that he be saved alive;

therefore ye shall no more see vanity, nor divine divinations; and I will deliver My people out of your hand; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.'

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

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their mind, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face; should I be inquired of at all by them?

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 mind, 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;

that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all turned away from Me through their idols.

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

For every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that separateth himself from Me, and taketh his idols into his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, that he inquire for him of Me — I the LORD will answer him by Myself,

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.

And when the prophet is enticed and speaketh a word, I the LORD have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of My people Israel.

And they shall bear their iniquity; the iniquity of the prophet shall be even as the iniquity of him that inquireth;

that the house of Israel may go no more astray from Me, neither defile themselves any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be My people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord GOD.'

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Son of man, when a land sinneth against Me by trespassing grievously, and I stretch out My hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast;

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.

If I cause evil beasts to pass through the land, and they bereave it, and it be desolate, so that no man may pass through because of the beasts;

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.

Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say: Let the sword go through the land, so that I cut off from it man and beast;

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.

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;

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.

For thus saith the Lord GOD: How much more when I send My four sore judgments against Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast.

And, behold, though there be left a remnant therein that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters; behold, when they come forth unto you, and ye see their way and their doings, then ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it;

and they shall comfort you, when ye see their way 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.'

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Son of man, what is the vine-tree more than any tree, the vine branch which grew up among the trees of the forest?

Shall wood be taken thereof to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?

Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is singed; is it profitable for any work?

Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work; how much less, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is singed, shall it yet be meet for any work?

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 do I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And I will set My face against them; out of the fire are they come forth, and the fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.

And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted treacherously, saith the Lord GOD.'

Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:

'Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem: Thine origin and thy nativity is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was thy father, and thy mother was a Hittite.

And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water for cleansing; thou was not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

No eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field in the loathsomeness of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

And when I passed by thee, and saw thee wallowing in thy blood, I said unto thee: In thy blood, live; yea, I said unto thee: In thy blood, live;

I cause thee to increase, even as the growth of the field. And thou didst increase and grow up, and thou camest to excellent beauty: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair was grown; yet thou wast naked and bare.

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

Then washed I thee with water; yea, I cleansed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

I clothed thee also with richly woven work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I wound fine linen about thy head, and covered thee with silk.

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

And I put a ring upon thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head.

Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and richly woven work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil; and thou didst wax exceeding beautiful, and thou wast meet for royal estate.

And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty; for it was perfect, through My splendour which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.

But thou didst trust in thy beauty and play the harlot because of thy renown, and didst pour out thy harlotries on every one that passed by; his it was.

And thou didst take of thy garments, and didst make for thee high places decked with divers colours, and didst play the harlot upon them; the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

Thou didst also take thy fair jewels of My gold and of My silver, which I had given thee, and madest for thee images of men, and didst play the harlot with them;

and thou didst take thy richly woven garments and cover them, and didst set Mine oil and Mine incense before them.

My bread also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou didst even set it before them for a sweet savour, and thus it was; saith the Lord GOD.

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. Were thy harlotries a small matter,

that thou hast slain My children, and delivered them up, in setting them apart unto them?

And in all thine abominations and thy harlotries thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast wallowing in thy blood.

And it came to pass after all thy wickedness — woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord GOD —

that thou hast built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee a lofty place in every street.

Thou hast built thy lofty place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty an abomination, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy harlotries.

Thou hast also played the harlot with the Egyptians, thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast multiplied thy harlotry, to provoke Me.

Behold, therefore I have stretched out My hand over thee, and have diminished thine allowance, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, that are ashamed of thy lewd way.

Thou hast played the harlot also with the Assyrians, without having enough; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet thou wast not satisfied.

Thou hast moreover multiplied thy harlotry with the land of traffic, even with Chaldea; and yet thou didst not have enough herewith.

How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of a wanton harlot;

in that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thy lofty place in every street; and hast not been as a harlot that enhanceth her hire.

Thou wife that committest adultery, that takest strangers instead of thy husband —

to all harlots gifts are given; but thou hast given thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hast bribed them to come unto thee from every side in thy harlotries.

And the contrary is in thee from other women, in that thou didst solicit to harlotry, and wast not solicited; and in that thou givest hire, and no hire is given unto thee, thus thou art contrary.

Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD!

Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness uncovered through thy harlotries with thy lovers; and because of all the idols of thy abominations, and for the blood of thy children, that thou didst give unto them;

therefore behold, I will gather all thy lovers, unto whom thou hast been pleasant, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them against thee from every side, and will uncover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.