1Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.7.3 recompense: Heb. give 4And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 5Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. 6An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.7.6 watcheth for: Heb. awaketh against 7The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.7.7 sounding…: or, echo 8Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. 9And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.7.9 thee according: Heb. upon thee, etc 10Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. 11Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them.7.11 theirs: or, their tumultuous persons: Heb. tumult 12The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 13For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.7.13 although they…: Heb. though their life were yet among the living7.13 in the…: or, whose life is in his iniquity7.13 the iniquity: Heb. his iniquity 14They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 15The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.
16¶ But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. 17All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.7.17 be weak…: Heb. go into water 18They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. 19They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.7.19 removed: Heb. for a separation, or, uncleanness7.19 it is…: or, their iniquity is their stumblingblock
20¶ As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.7.20 set it far…: or, made it unto them an unclean thing 21And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. 22My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.7.22 robbers: or, burglers
23¶ Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.7.24 their holy…: or, they shall inherit their holy places 25Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.7.25 Destruction: Heb. Cutting off 26Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. 27The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.7.27 according…: Heb. with their judgments
The End Has Come
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:
“ ‘The end! The end has come
upon the four corners of the land!
3The end is now upon you,
and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
and repay you for all your detestable practices.
4I will not look on you with pity;
I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.
“ ‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’
5“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“ ‘Disaster! Unheard-of7:5 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Disaster after disaster!
See, it comes!
6The end has come!
The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
See, it comes!
7Doom has come upon you,
upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day is near!
There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
8I am about to pour out my wrath on you
and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
and repay you for all your detestable practices.
9I will not look on you with pity;
I will not spare you.
I will repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.
“ ‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.
10“ ‘See, the day!
See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
the rod has budded,
arrogance has blossomed!
11Violence has arisen,7:11 Or The violent one has become
a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
nothing of value.
12The time has come!
The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer rejoice
nor the seller grieve,
for my wrath is on the whole crowd.
13The seller will not recover
the property that was sold—
as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
will preserve their life.
14“ ‘They have blown the trumpet,
they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
for my wrath is on the whole crowd.
15Outside is the sword;
inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
will die by the sword;
those in the city
will be devoured by famine and plague.
16The fugitives who escape
will flee to the mountains.
Like doves of the valleys,
they will all moan,
each for their own sins.
17Every hand will go limp;
every leg will be wet with urine.
18They will put on sackcloth
and be clothed with terror.
Every face will be covered with shame,
and every head will be shaved.
19“ ‘They will throw their silver into the streets,
and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
will not be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s wrath.
It will not satisfy their hunger
or fill their stomachs,
for it has caused them to stumble into sin.
20They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
and used it to make their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;
therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.
21I will give their wealth as plunder to foreigners
and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
who will defile it.
22I will turn my face away from the people,
and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
and will defile it.
23“ ‘Prepare chains!
For the land is full of bloodshed,
and the city is full of violence.
24I will bring the most wicked of nations
to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
and their sanctuaries will be desecrated.
25When terror comes,
they will seek peace in vain.
26Calamity upon calamity will come,
and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,
priestly instruction in the law will cease,
the counsel of the elders will come to an end.
27The king will mourn,
the prince will be clothed with despair,
and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,
and by their own standards I will judge them.
“ ‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
