The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed

41 'And thou, son of man, take to thee a brick, and thou hast put it before thee, and hast graven on it a city—Jerusalem, 2 and hast placed against it a siege, and builded against it a fortification, and poured out against it a mount, and placed against it camps, yea, set thou against it battering-rams round about. 3 And thou, take to thee an iron pan, and thou hast made it a wall of iron between thee and the city; and thou hast prepared thy face against it, and it hath been in a siege, yea, thou hast laid siege against it. A sign it 'is' to the house of Israel. 4 'And thou, lie on thy left side, and thou hast placed the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; the number of the days that thou liest on it, thou bearest their iniquity. 5 And I—I have laid on thee the years of their iniquity, the number of days, three hundred and ninety days; and thou hast borne the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And thou hast completed these, and hast lain on thy right side, a second time, and hast borne the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days—a day for a year—a day for a year I have appointed to thee. 7 'And unto the siege of Jerusalem thou dost prepare thy face, and thine arm 'is' uncovered, and thou hast prophesied concerning it. 8 And lo, I have put on thee thick bands, and thou dost not turn from side to side till thy completing the days of thy siege.

9 'And thou, take to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and spelt, and thou hast put them in one vessel, and made them to thee for bread; the number of the days that thou art lying on thy side—three hundred and ninety days—thou dost eat it. 10 And thy food that thou dost eat 'is' by weight, twenty shekels daily; from time to time thou dost eat it. 11 'And water by measure thou dost drink, a sixth part of the hin; from time to time thou dost drink 'it'. 12 A barley-cake thou dost eat it, and it with dung—the filth of man—thou dost bake before their eyes. 13 And Jehovah saith, 'Thus do the sons of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations whither I drive them.' 14 And I say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, lo, my soul is not defiled, and carcase, and torn thing, I have not eaten from my youth, even till now; nor come into my mouth hath abominable flesh.' 15 And He saith unto me, 'See, I have given to thee bullock's dung instead of man's dung, and thou hast made thy bread by it.' 16 And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, lo, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they have eaten bread by weight and with fear; and water by measure and with astonishment, they do drink; 17 so that they lack bread and water, and have been astonished one with another, and been consumed in their iniquity.

51 'And thou, son of man, take to thee a sharp weapon, the barber's razor thou dost take to thee, and thou hast caused 'it' to pass over thy head, and over thy beard, and thou hast taken to thee weighing scales, and apportioned them. 2 A third part with fire thou dost burn in the midst of the city, at the fulness of the days of the siege; and thou hast taken the third part, thou dost smite with a weapon round about it; and the third part thou dost scatter to the wind, and a weapon I draw out after them. 3 And thou hast taken thence a few in number—and hast bound them in thy skirts; 4 and of them thou dost take again, and hast cast them unto the midst of the fire, and hast burned them in the fire—out of it cometh forth a fire unto all the house of Israel.

5 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: this 'is' Jerusalem, In the midst of the nations I have set her, And round about her 'are' the lands. 6 And she changeth My judgments into wickedness more than the nations, And My statutes more than the lands that 'are' round about her, For against My judgments they have kicked, And My statutes—they have not walked in them. 7 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of your multiplying above the nations that 'are' around you, In My statutes ye have not walked, And My judgments ye have not done, According to the judgments of the nations That 'are' round about you ye have not done. 8 Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Lo, I 'am' against thee, even I, And I have done in thy midst judgments, Before the eyes of the nations. 9 And I have done in thee that which I have not done, And that which I do not its like again, Because of all thine abominations. 10 Therefore fathers do eat sons in thy midst, And sons eat their fathers, And I have done in thee judgments, And have scattered all thy remnant to every wind. 11 Therefore, I live—an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah: Because My sanctuary thou hast defiled, With all thy detestable things, And with all thine abominations, Mine eye pitieth not, and I also spare not. Do not even I also diminish? 12 Thy third part—by pestilence they die, And by famine are consumed in thy midst, And the third part, by sword they fall round about thee, And the third part, to every wind I scatter, And a sword I draw out after them. 13 And completed hath been Mine anger, And I have caused My fury to rest on them, And I have been comforted, And they have known that I, Jehovah, have spoken in My zeal, In My completing My fury on them. 14 And I give thee for a waste, And for a reproach among nations that 'are' round about thee, Before the eyes of every passer by. 15 And it hath been a reproach and a reviling, An instruction and an astonishment, To nations that 'are' round about thee, In My doing in thee judgments, In anger and fury, and in furious reproofs, I, Jehovah, have spoken. 16 In My sending the evil arrows of famine among them, That have been for destruction, That I send to destroy you, And famine I am adding upon you, And I have broken to you the staff of bread. 17 And I have sent on you famine and evil beasts, And they have bereaved thee, And pestilence and blood pass over on thee, And a sword I do bring in against thee, I, Jehovah, have spoken!'

The Prophecy against the Mountains of Israel

61 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying: 2 'Son of man, set thy face unto mountains of Israel, and prophesy concerning them: 3 And thou hast said: Mountains of Israel, Hear ye a word of the Lord Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah To the mountains, and to the hills, To the streams, and to the valleys, Lo, I, I am bringing in against you a sword, And I have destroyed your high places. 4 And desolated have been your altars, And broken your images, And I have caused your wounded to fall before your idols, 5 And put the carcases of the sons of Israel before their idols, And scattered your bones round about your altars. 6 In all your dwellings the cities are laid waste, And the high places are desolate, So that waste and desolate are your altars, And broken and ceased have your idols, And cut down have been your images, And blotted out have been your works. 7 And fallen hath the wounded in your midst, And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah.

8 And I have caused 'some' to remain, In their being to you the escaped of the sword among nations, In your being scattered through lands. 9 And remembered Me have your escaped among nations, Whither they have been taken captive, Because I have been broken with their heart that is going a-whoring, That hath turned aside from off Me, And with their eyes they are going a-whoring after their idols, And they have been loathsome in their own faces, For the evils that they have done—all their abominations. 10 And they have known that I 'am' Jehovah, Not for nought have I spoken to do to them this evil.

11 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: 'Smite with thy palm, and stamp with thy foot, And say: Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, Who by sword, by famine, and by pestilence do fall. 12 The far-off by pestilence dieth, And the near by sword falleth, And the left and the besieged by famine dieth, And I have completed my fury upon them. 13 And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah, In their wounded being in the midst of their idols, Round about their altars, On every high hill, on all tops of mountains, And under every green tree, and under every thick oak, The place where they gave sweet fragrance to all their idols. 14 And I have stretched out my hand against them, And have made the land a desolation, Even a desolation from the wilderness to Diblath, In all their dwellings, And they have known that I 'am' Jehovah!'

The End Is Come

71 And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, 'And thou, son of man, Thus said the Lord Jehovah to the ground of Israel: 2 An end, come hath the end on the four corners of the land. 3 Now 'is' the end unto thee, And I have sent Mine anger upon thee, And judged thee according to thy ways, And set against thee all thine abominations. 4 And no pity on thee hath Mine eye, nor do I spare, For thy ways against thee I do set, And thine abominations are in thy midst, And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah. 5 Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Evil, a single evil, lo, it hath come. 6 An end hath come, come hath the end, It hath waked for thee, lo, it hath come. 7 Come hath the morning unto thee, O inhabitant of the land! Come hath the time, near 'is' a day of trouble, And not the shouting of mountains. 8 Now, shortly I pour out My fury on thee, And have completed Mine anger against thee, And judged thee according to thy ways, And set against thee all thine abominations. 9 And not pity doth Mine eye, nor do I spare, According to thy ways unto thee I give, And thine abominations are in thy midst, And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah the smiter. 10 Lo, the day, lo, it hath come, Gone forth hath the morning, Blossomed hath the rod, flourished the pride. 11 The violence hath risen to a rod of wickedness, There is none of them, nor of their multitude, Nor of their noise, nor is there wailing for them. 12 Come hath the time, arrived hath the day, The buyer doth not rejoice, And the seller doth not become a mourner, For wrath 'is' unto all its multitude. 13 For the seller to the sold thing turneth not, And yet among the living 'is' their life, For the vision 'is' unto all its multitude, It doth not turn back, And none by his iniquity doth strengthen his life. 14 They have blown with a trumpet to prepare the whole, And none is going to battle, For My wrath 'is' unto all its multitude. 15 The sword 'is' without, And the pestilence and the famine within, He who is in a field by sword dieth, And he who is in a city, Famine and pestilence devour him.

16 And escaped away have their fugitives, And they have been on the mountains As doves of the valleys, All of them make a noising—each for his iniquity. 17 All the hands are feeble, and all knees go—waters. 18 And they have girded on sackcloth, And covered them hath trembling, And unto all faces 'is' shame, And on all their heads—baldness. 19 Their silver into out-places they cast, And their gold impurity becometh. Their silver and their gold is not able to deliver them, In a day of the wrath of Jehovah, Their soul they do not satisfy, And their bowels they do not fill, For the stumbling-block of their iniquity it hath been. 20 As to the beauty of his ornament, For excellency He set it, And the images of their abominations, Their detestable things—they made in it, Therefore I have given it to them for impurity, 21 And I have given it into the hand of the strangers for a prey, And to the wicked of the land for a spoil, And they have polluted it. 22 And I have turned My face from them, And they have polluted My hidden place, Yea, come into it have destroyers, and polluted it.

23 Make the chain; for the land Hath been full of bloody judgments, And the city hath been full of violence. 24 And I have brought in the wicked of the nations, And they have possessed their houses, And I have caused to cease the excellency of the strong, And polluted have been those sanctifying them. 25 Destruction hath come, And they have sought peace, and there is none. 26 Mischief on mischief cometh, and report is on report, And they have sought a vision from a prophet, And law doth perish from the priest, And counsel from the elders, 27 The king doth become a mourner, And a prince putteth on desolation, And the hands of the people of the land are troubled, From their own way I deal with them, And with their own judgments I judge them, And they have known that I 'am' Jehovah!'