321 And it cometh to pass, in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been unto me, saying, 2 'Son of man, lift up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and thou hast said unto him: A young lion of nations thou hast been like, And thou 'art' as a dragon in the seas, And thou comest forth with thy flowings, And dost trouble the waters with thy feet, And thou dost foul their flowings. 3 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: And—I have spread out for thee My net, With an assembly of many peoples, And they have brought thee up in My net. 4 And I have left thee in the land, On the face of the field I do cast thee out, And have caused to dwell upon thee every fowl of the heavens, And have satisfied out of thee the beasts of the whole earth. 5 And I have put thy flesh on the mountains, And filled the valleys 'with' thy hugeness, 6 And watered the land with thy flowing, From thy blood—unto the mountains, And streams are filled from thee. 7 And in quenching thee I have covered the heavens, And have made black their stars, The sun with a cloud I do cover, And the moon causeth not its light to shine. 8 All luminaries of light in the heavens, I make black over thee, And I have given darkness over thy land, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, 9 And I have vexed the heart of many peoples, In My bringing in thy destruction among nations, Unto lands that thou hast not known. 10 And I have made many peoples astonished at thee, And their kings are afraid at thee with trembling, In My brandishing My sword before their faces, And they have trembled every moment, Each for his life—in the day of thy fall. 11 For thus said the Lord Jehovah: A sword of the king of Babylon entereth thee, 12 By swords of the mighty I cause thy multitude to fall, The terrible of nations—all of them, And they have spoiled the excellency of Egypt, And destroyed hath been all her multitude. 13 And I have destroyed all her beasts, From beside many waters, And trouble them not doth a foot of man any more, Yea, the hoofs of beasts trouble them not. 14 Then do I cause their waters to sink, And their rivers as oil I cause to go, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 15 In My making the land of Egypt a desolation, And desolated hath been the land of its fulness, In My smiting all the inhabitants in it, And they have known that I 'am' Jehovah. 16 A lamentation it 'is', and they have lamented her, Daughters of the nations do lament her, For Egypt, and for all her multitude, they lament her, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

17 And it cometh to pass, in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth of the month, hath a word of Jehovah been unto me, saying, 18 'Son of man, Wail for the multitude of Egypt, And cause it to go down, It—and the daughters of honourable nations, Unto the earth—the lower parts, With those going down to the pit. 19 Than whom hast thou been more pleasant? Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised. 20 In the midst of the pierced of the sword they fall, 'To' the sword she hath been given, They drew her out, and all her multitude. 21 Speak to him do the gods of the mighty out of the midst of sheol, With his helpers—they have gone down, They have lain with the uncircumcised, The pierced of the sword. 22 There 'is' Asshur, and all her assembly, Round about him 'are' his graves, All of them 'are' wounded, who are falling by sword, 23 Whose graves are appointed in the sides of the pit, And her assembly is round about her grave, All of them wounded, falling by sword, Because they gave terror in the land of the living. 24 There 'is' Elam, and all her multitude, Round about 'is' her grave, All of them wounded, who are falling by sword, Who have gone down uncircumcised unto the earth—the lower parts, Because they gave their terror in the land of the living, And they bear their shame with those going down to the pit. 25 In the midst of the wounded they have appointed a bed for her with all her multitude, Round about him 'are' her graves, All of them uncircumcised, pierced of the sword, For their terror was given in the land of the living, And they bear their shame with those going down to the pit, In the midst of the pierced he hath been put. 26 There 'is' Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude, Round about him 'are' her graves, All of them uncircumcised, pierced of the sword, For they gave their terror in the land of the living, 27 And they lie not with the mighty, Who are falling of the uncircumcised, Who have gone down to sheol with their weapons of war, And they put their swords under their heads, And their iniquities are on their bones, For the terror of the mighty 'is' in the land of the living. 28 And thou, in the midst of the uncircumcised art broken, And dost lie with the pierced of the sword. 29 There 'is' Edom, her kings, and all her princes, Who have been given up in their might, With the pierced of the sword, They with the uncircumcised do lie, And with those going down to the pit. 30 There 'are' princes of the north, All of them, and every Zidonian, Who have gone down with the pierced in their terror, Of their might they are ashamed, And they lie uncircumcised with the pierced of the sword, And they bear their shame with those going down to the pit. 31 Then doth Pharaoh see, And he hath been comforted for all his multitude, The pierced of the sword—Pharaoh and all his force, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 32 For I have given his terror in the land of the living, And he hath been laid down in the midst of the uncircumcised, With the pierced of the sword—Pharaoh, and all his multitude, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'

The Watchman's Duty

331 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 2 'Son of man, speak unto the sons of thy people, and thou hast said unto them: A land—when I bring in against it a sword, And the people of the land have taken one man out of their borders, And made him to them for a watchman. 3 And he hath seen the sword coming against the land, And hath blown with a trumpet, and hath warned the people, 4 And the hearer hath heard the voice of the trumpet, and he hath not taken warning, And come in doth the sword, and taketh him away, His blood is on his head. 5 The voice of the trumpet he heard, And he hath not taken warning, his blood is on him, And he who took warning his soul hath delivered. 6 And the watchman, when he seeth the sword coming in, And he hath not blown with a trumpet, And the people hath not been warned, And come in doth a sword, And taketh away of them—a soul, He in his iniquity is taken away, And his blood from the hand of the watchman I require. 7 And thou, son of man, A watchman I gave thee to the house of Israel, And thou hast heard from My mouth a word, And thou hast warned them from Me. 8 In My saying to the wicked, O wicked one—thou dost surely die, And thou hast not spoken to warn the wicked from his way, He—the wicked—in his iniquity doth die, And his blood from thy hand I require. 9 And thou, when thou hast warned the wicked of his way, to turn back from it, And he hath not turned back from his way, He in his iniquity doth die, And thou thy soul hast delivered.

God's Way Is Just

10 And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel: Rightly ye have spoken, saying: Surely our transgressions and our sins 'are' on us, And in them we are wasting away, How, then, do we live? 11 Say unto them, I live—an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, I delight not in the death of the wicked, But—in the turning of the wicked from his way, And he hath lived, Turn back, turn back, from your evil ways, Yea, why do ye die, O house of Israel? 12 And thou, son of man, say unto the sons of thy people: The righteousness of the righteous doth not deliver him in the day of his transgression, And the wickedness of the wicked, He doth not stumble for it in the day of his turning from his wickedness, And the righteous is not able to live in it in the day of his sinning. 13 In My saying of the righteous: He surely liveth, And—he hath trusted on his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, All his righteous acts are not remembered, And for his perversity that he hath done, For it he doth die. 14 And in My saying to the wicked: Thou surely diest, And—he hath turned back from his sin, And hath done judgment and righteousness, 15 (The pledge the wicked restoreth, plunder he repayeth,) In the statutes of life he hath walked, So as not to do perversity, He surely liveth—he doth not die. 16 None of his sin that he hath sinned is remembered to him, Judgment and righteousness he hath done, He doth surely live. 17 And the sons of thy people have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, As to them—their way is not pondered. 18 In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity—he dieth for it. 19 And in the turning back of the wicked from his wickedness, And he hath done judgment and righteousness, by them he liveth. 20 And ye have said: The way of the Lord is not pondered, Each according to his ways do I judge you, O house of Israel.'

The News of Jerusalem's Fall

21 And it cometh to pass, in the twelfth year—in the tenth 'month', in the fifth of the month—of our removal, come in unto me doth one who is escaped from Jerusalem, saying, 'The city hath been smitten.' 22 And the hand of Jehovah hath been unto me in the evening, before the coming in of the escaped one, and He openeth my mouth till the coming in unto me in the morning, and opened is my mouth, and I have not been silent again. 23 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 24 'Son of man, the inhabitants of these wastes on the ground of Israel are speaking, saying: Alone hath been Abraham—and he possesseth the land, and we 'are' many—to us hath the land been given for a possession. 25 Therefore say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: With the blood ye do eat, And your eyes ye lift up unto your idols, And blood ye shed, and the land ye inherit! 26 Ye have stood on your sword, Ye have done abomination, Each the wife of his neighbour ye have defiled, And the land ye possess! 27 Thus dost thou say unto them: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: I live—do not they who 'are' in the wastes by the sword fall? And they who 'are' on the face of the field, To the beast I have given for food, And they who are in strongholds and in caves by pestilence die. 28 And I have made the land a desolation and an astonishment, And ceased hath the excellency of its strength, And desolated have been mountains of Israel, Without any one passing through. 29 And they have known that I 'am' Jehovah, In My making the land a desolation and an astonishment, For all their abominations that they have done.

30 And thou, son of man, the sons of thy people who are speaking about thee, By the walls, and in openings of the houses, Have spoken one with another, each with his brother, Saying: Come in, I pray you, And hear what 'is' the word that cometh out from Jehovah. 31 And they come in unto thee as the coming in of a people, And they sit before thee—My people, And have heard thy words, and they do them not, For doting loves with their mouth they are making, After their dishonest gain their heart is going. 32 And lo, thou 'art' to them as a singer of doting loves, A pleasant voice, and playing well on an instrument, And they have heard thy words, and they are not doing them. 33 And in its coming in—lo, it hath come, And they have known that a prophet hath been in their midst!'

The Prophecy against the Shepherds of Israel

341 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 2 'Son of man, prophesy concerning shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and thou hast said unto them: To the shepherds, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Wo 'to' the shepherds of Israel, Who have been feeding themselves! The flock do not the shepherds feed? 3 The fat ye do eat, and the wool ye put on, The fed one ye slaughter, the flock ye feed not. 4 The weak ye have not strengthened, And the sick one ye have not healed, And the broken ye have not bound up, And the driven away have not brought back, And the lost ye have not sought, And with might ye have ruled them and with rigour. 5 And they are scattered from want of a shepherd, And are for food to every beast of the field, Yea, they are scattered. 6 Go astray do My flock on all the mountains, And on every high hill, And on all the face of the land have My flock been scattered, And there is none inquiring, and none seeking.

7 Therefore, shepherds, hear a word of Jehovah: 8 I live—an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, If not, because of My flock being for a prey, Yea, My flock is for food to every beast of the field, Because there is no shepherd, And My shepherds have not sought My flock, And the shepherds do feed themselves, And My flock they have not fed. 9 Therefore, O shepherds, hear a word of Jehovah: 10 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I 'am' against the shepherds, And have required My flock from their hand, And caused them to cease from feeding the flock, And no more do the shepherds feed themselves, And I have delivered My flock from their mouth, And they are not to them for food. 11 For thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I—even I, have required My flock, And I have sought it out. 12 As a shepherd's searching of his drove, In the day of his being in the midst of his scattered flock, so I do seek My flock, And have delivered them out of all places, Whither they have been scattered, In a day of cloud and thick darkness. 13 And brought them out from the peoples, And have gathered them from the lands, And brought them unto their own ground, And have fed them on mountains of Israel, By streams, and by all dwellings of the land. 14 With good pasture I do feed them, And on mountains of the high place of Israel is their habitation, There do they lie down in a good habitation, And fat pastures they enjoy on mountains of Israel. 15 I feed My flock, and cause them to lie down, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 16 The lost I seek, and the driven away bring back, And the broken I bind up, and the sick I strengthen, And the fat and the strong I destroy, I feed it with judgment.

17 And you, My flock, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I am judging between sheep and sheep, Between rams and he-goats. 18 Is it a little thing for you—the good pasture ye enjoy, And the remnant of your pasture ye tread down with your feet, And a depth of waters ye do drink, And the remainder with your feet ye trample, 19 And My flock the trodden thing of your feet consumeth, And the trampled thing of your feet drinketh? 20 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah to them: Lo, I—even I, have judged between fat sheep and lean sheep. 21 Because with side and with shoulder ye thrust away, And with your horns push all the diseased, Till ye have scattered them to the out-place, 22 And I have given safety to My flock, And they are not any more for prey, And I have judged between sheep and sheep. 23 And have raised up over them one shepherd, And he hath fed them—my servant David, He doth feed them, and he is their shepherd, 24 And I, Jehovah, I am their God, And My servant David prince in their midst, I, Jehovah, have spoken. 25 And I have made for them a covenant of peace, And caused evil beasts to cease out of the land, And they have dwelt in a wilderness confidently, And they have slept in forests. 26 And I have given them, and the suburbs of my hill, a blessing, And caused the shower to come down in its season, Showers of blessing they are. 27 And given hath the tree of the field its fruit, And the land doth give her increase, And they have been on their land confident, And they have known that I 'am' Jehovah, In My breaking the bands of their yoke, And I have delivered them from the hand of those laying service on them. 28 And they are no more a prey to nations, And the beast of the earth devoureth them not, And they have dwelt confidently, And there is none troubling. 29 And I have raised for them a plant for renown, And they are no more consumed by hunger in the land, And they bear no more the shame of the nations. 30 And they have known that I, Jehovah, their God, 'am' with them, And they—the house of Israel—My people, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 31 And ye, My flock, the flock of My pasture, Men ye 'are'—I 'am' your God, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'