The Sins of Jerusalem

221 God's Message came to me: 2 "Son of man, are you going to judge this bloody city or not? Come now, are you going to judge her? Do it! Face her with all her outrageous obscenities. 3 Tell her, 'This is what God, the Master, says: You're a city murderous at the core, just asking for punishment. You're a city obsessed with no-god idols, making yourself filthy. 4 In all your killing, you've piled up guilt. In all your idol-making, you've become filthy. You've forced a premature end to your existence. I'll put you on exhibit as the scarecrow of the nations, the world's worst joke. 5 From far and near they'll deride you as infamous in filth, notorious for chaos. 6 "'Your leaders, the princes of Israel among you, compete in crime. 7 You're a community that's insolent to parents, abusive to outsiders, oppressive against orphans and widows. 8 You treat my holy things with contempt and desecrate my Sabbaths. 9 You have people spreading lies and spilling blood, flocking to the hills to the sex shrines and fornicating unrestrained. 10 Incest is common. Men force themselves on women regardless of whether they're ready or willing. 11 Sex is now anarchy. Anyone is fair game: neighbor, daughter-in-law, sister. 12 Murder is for hire, usury is rampant, extortion is commonplace. "'And you've forgotten me. Decree of God, the Master. 13 "'Now look! I've clapped my hands, calling everyone's attention to your rapacious greed and your bloody brutalities. 14 Can you stick with it? Will you be able to keep at this once I start dealing with you? 15 I'll throw you to the four winds. I'll scatter you all over the world. I'll put a full stop to your filthy living. 16 You will be defiled, spattered with your own mud in the eyes of the nations. And you'll recognize that I am God.'"

17 God's Message came to me: 18 "Son of man, the people of Israel are slag to me, the useless byproduct of refined copper, tin, iron, and lead left at the smelter - a worthless slag heap. 19 So tell them, 'God, the Master, has spoken: Because you've all become worthless slag, you're on notice: I'll assemble you in Jerusalem. 20 As men gather silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into a furnace and blow fire on it to melt it down, so in my wrath I'll gather you and melt you down. 21 I'll blow on you with the fire of my wrath to melt you down in the furnace. 22 As silver is melted down, you'll be melted down. That should get through to you. Then you'll recognize that I, God, have let my wrath loose on you.'"

23 God's Message came to me: 24 "Son of man, tell her, 'You're a land that during the time I was angry with you got no rain, not so much as a spring shower. 25 The leaders among you became desperate, like roaring, ravaging lions killing indiscriminately. They grabbed and looted, leaving widows in their wake. 26 "'Your priests violated my law and desecrated my holy things. They can't tell the difference between sacred and secular. They tell people there's no difference between right and wrong. They're contemptuous of my holy Sabbaths, profaning me by trying to pull me down to their level. 27 Your politicians are like wolves prowling and killing and rapaciously taking whatever they want. 28 Your preachers cover up for the politicians by pretending to have received visions and special revelations. They say, "This is what God, the Master, says . . ." when God hasn't said so much as one word. 29 Extortion is rife, robbery is epidemic, the poor and needy are abused, outsiders are kicked around at will, with no access to justice.' 30 "I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn't have to destroy it. I couldn't find anyone. Not one. 31 So I'll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they've done. Decree of God, the Master."

31 He told me, "Son of man, eat what you see. Eat this book. Then go and speak to the family of Israel." 2 As I opened my mouth, he gave me the scroll to eat, 3 saying, "Son of man, eat this book that I am giving you. Make a full meal of it!" So I ate it. It tasted so good - just like honey. 4 Then he told me, "Son of man, go to the family of Israel and speak my Message. 5 Look, I'm not sending you to a people who speak a hard-to-learn language with words you can hardly pronounce. 6 If I had sent you to such people, their ears would have perked up and they would have listened immediately. 7 "But it won't work that way with the family of Israel. They won't listen to you because they won't listen to me. They are, as I said, a hard case, hardened in their sin. 8 But I'll make you as hard in your way as they are in theirs. 9 I'll make your face as hard as rock, harder than granite. Don't let them intimidate you. Don't be afraid of them, even though they're a bunch of rebels." 10 Then he said, "Son of man, get all these words that I'm giving you inside you. Listen to them obediently. Make them your own. 11 And now go. Go to the exiles, your people, and speak. Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.' Speak your piece, whether they listen or not." 12 Then the Spirit picked me up. Behind me I heard a great commotion - "Blessed be the Glory of God in his Sanctuary!" 13 - the wings of the living creatures beating against each other, the whirling wheels, the rumble of a great earthquake. 14 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I went bitterly and angrily. I didn't want to go. But God had me in his grip. 15 I arrived among the exiles who lived near the Kebar River at Tel Aviv. I came to where they were living and sat there for seven days, appalled.

A Watchman to Israel

16 At the end of the seven days, I received this Message from God: 17 "Son of man, I've made you a watchman for the family of Israel. Whenever you hear me say something, warn them for me. 18 If I say to the wicked, 'You are going to die,' and you don't sound the alarm warning them that it's a matter of life or death, they will die and it will be your fault. I'll hold you responsible. 19 But if you warn the wicked and they keep right on sinning anyway, they'll most certainly die for their sin, but you won't die. You'll have saved your life. 20 "And if the righteous turn back from living righteously and take up with evil when I step in and put them in a hard place, they'll die. If you haven't warned them, they'll die because of their sins, and none of the right things they've done will count for anything - and I'll hold you responsible. 21 But if you warn these righteous people not to sin and they listen to you, they'll live because they took the warning - and again, you'll have saved your life."

The Prophet Made Dumb

22 God grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "Get up. Go out on the plain. I want to talk with you." 23 So I got up and went out on the plain. I couldn't believe my eyes: the Glory of God! Right there! It was like the Glory I had seen at the Kebar River. I fell to the ground, prostrate. 24 Then the Spirit entered me and put me on my feet. He said, "Go home and shut the door behind you." 25 And then something odd: "Son of man: They'll tie you hand and foot with ropes so you can't leave the house. 26 I'll make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so you won't be able to talk and tell the people what they're doing wrong, even though they are a bunch of rebels. 27 "But then when the time is ripe, I'll free your tongue and you'll say, 'This is what God, the Master, says: . . .' From then on it's up to them. They can listen or not listen, whichever they like. They are a bunch of rebels!