The End Has Come
1A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 2“Son of man, I am the Lord and King. I say to the land of Israel, ‘The end has come! It has come on the four corners of the land. 3The end has now come for you. I will pour out my anger on you. I will judge you based on how you have lived. I will pay you back for all your evil practices. I hate them.
4“ ‘I will not feel sorry for you. I will not spare you. You can be sure that I will pay you back for how you have lived. I will judge you for your evil practices. I hate them. You will know that I am the Lord.’
5“I am the Lord and King. I say, ‘Horrible trouble is coming! No one has ever heard of anything like it. It is here!
6“ ‘The end has come! The end has come! It has stirred itself up against you. It is here! 7Death has come on you who live in the land. The time for you to be destroyed has come. The day when it will happen is near. There is no joy on your mountains. There is nothing but panic.
8“ ‘I am about to pour out all my great anger on you. I will judge you based on how you have lived. I will pay you back for all your evil practices. I hate them.
9“ ‘I will not feel sorry for you. I will not spare you. I will pay you back for how you have lived. I will judge you for your evil practices. I hate them. You will know that I am the one who strikes you down. I am the Lord.
10“ ‘The day for me to punish you is here! It is here! Death has arrived. The time is ripe for you to be judged. Your pride has grown so much that you will be destroyed. 11Your mean and harmful acts have become like a rod. I will use it to punish those who do evil. None of them will be left. None of their wealth or anything of value will remain.
12“ ‘The time has come! The day has arrived! I will soon pour out my great anger on the whole crowd of you. Do not let the buyer be happy. Do not let the seller be sad. 13The seller will not get back the land that was sold. That will be true as long as both the buyer and seller are alive.
“ ‘Ezekiel, the vision I gave you about that whole crowd will come true. They have committed many sins. So not one of them will be able to save their life. 14They have blown trumpets. They have made everything ready. But no one will go into battle. I will soon pour out my great anger on the whole crowd.
15“ ‘There is trouble everywhere. War is outside the city. Plague and hunger are inside it. Those out in the country will die in battle. Those in the city will be destroyed by hunger and plague. 16All those who escape and are left alive will run to the mountains. They will sound like doves of the valley when they cry over their sins.
17“ ‘Their hands will be powerless to help them. They will wet themselves. 18They will put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. They will put on terror as if it were their clothes. Every face will be covered with shame. Every head will be shaved.
19“ ‘They will throw their silver into the streets. They will treat their gold like an “unclean” thing. Their silver and gold won’t be able to save them on the day I pour out my anger. It will not be able to satisfy their hunger. Their stomachs can’t be filled with it. Their silver and gold have tripped them up. It has made them fall into sin. 20My people were so proud of their beautiful jewelry. They used it to make statues of their evil gods. I hate those gods. So I will turn their jewelry into an “unclean” thing for them.
21“ ‘I will hand over their wealth to outsiders. I will turn it over to sinful people in other countries. They will make it “unclean.” 22I will turn my face away from my people. Robbers will make “unclean” the temple I love. They will enter it and make it “unclean.”
23“ ‘Ezekiel, get ready to put my people in chains. The land is full of murderers. They are harming one another all over Jerusalem. 24I will bring the most evil nations against them. They will take over the houses in the city. I will put an end to the pride of those who are mighty. Their holy places will be made “unclean.”
25“ ‘When terror comes, they will look for peace. But there will not be any. 26Trouble after trouble will come. One report will follow another. But they will not be true. The people will go searching for a vision from the prophets. But there will not be any. The teaching of the law by the priests will be gone. Advice from the elders will come to an end.
27“ ‘The king will be filled with sadness. The princes will lose all hope. The hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will punish them based on how they have lived. I will judge them by their own standards. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
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 jewellery
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 rumour upon rumour.
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.” ’
