And: 'My blood be upon the in- habitants of Chaldea', Shall Jerusalem say.
36Therefore thus saith the LORD Behold, I will plead thy cause, And take vengeance for thee; And I will dry up her sea, And make her fountain dry. 37And Babylon shall become heaps, A dwelling-place for jackals, An astonishment, and a hissing, Without inhabitant. 38They shall roar togetjra like young lions; J; They shall growl a^ oftsj whelps. *9With their poisp*' ^.will prepare their feast, " And I will nia^ Jjpni drunken, that they may b. ^nvulsed, And sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, Saith the LORD. 40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with he-goats. ^How is Sheshach taken! And the praise of the whole earth seized!
How is Babylon become an aston- ishment Among the nations! ^The sea is come up upon Babylon; She is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. ^Her cities are become a desolation, A dry land, and a desert. A land wherein no man dwelleth, Neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
^And I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swal- lowed up, And the nations shall not flow any more unto him; Yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
45My people, go ye out of the midst of her, And save yourselves every man From the fierce anger of the LORD. 46And let not your heart faint, neither fear ye, For the rumour that shall be heard in the land; For a rumour shall come one year, And after that in another year a rumour, And violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
47Therefore, behold, the days come, That I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon, And her whole land shall be ashamed; And all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, Shall sing for joy 0ver Babylon; For the spoilers shall come unto her From the north, saith the LORD. 49As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, So at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land.
50Ye that have escaped the sword, Go ye, stand not still; Remember the LORD from afar, And let Jerusalem come into your mind. 81 'We are ashamed, because we have heard reproach, Confusion hath covered our faces; For strangers are come Into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.'
^Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, That I will do judgment upon her graven images; And through all her land the wound- ed shall groan.
JEREMIAH ^Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, And though she should fortify the height of her strength, Yet from Me shall spoilers come un- to her, saith the LORD. ^Hark! a cry from Babylon, And great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! ^For the LORD spoileth Babylon, And destroyeth out of her the great voice; And their waves roar like many waters, The noise of;their voice is uttered; ^For the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, And her mighty men are taken, Their bows are shattered; For the LORD is a God of recom- penses, He will surely requite. S7And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, Her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, Saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
S8Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, And her high gates shall be burned with fire; And the peoples shall labour for vanity, And the nations for the fire; And they shall be weary.
59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was quartermaster. 60And Jeremiah wrote in one book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: ' When thou comest to Babylon, then see that thou read all these words, ^and say: 0 LORD, Thou hast spoken con- cerning this place, to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be deso- late for ever. ^And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates; wand thou shalt say: Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again because of the evil that I 'will bring upon her; and they shall be weary.'
Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jeru- salem; and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2And he did that which was evil m the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. fFor through the anger of the LORD did it come to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until He had cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth ' day of the month, that Nebuchadrez- zar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and en- camped against it; and they built forts against it round about. 5So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 6In the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, JEREMIAH JEREMIAH the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. 7Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden — now the Chal- deans were against the city round about — and they went by the way of the Arabah. 8But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scat- tered from him. ^hen they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment upon him. 10And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. nAnd he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
12Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebu- chadrezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, who stood before the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem; 13and he burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great man's house, burned he with fire. 14And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. 15Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the poorest sort of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the residue of the multitude. 16But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. 17And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LOED, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house.of the LORD, did the Chaldeans break in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. 18The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the pans, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 19And the cups, and the fire-pans, and the basins, and the pots, and the candle- sticks, and the pans, and the bowls — that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver — the captain of the guard took away. 20The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of the LORD — the brass of all these vessels was without weight. 21And as for the pillars, the height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a line of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers; it was hollow. ^And a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegran- ates upon the capital round about, all of brass; and the second pillar also had like unto these, and pomegranates. 23And there were ninety and six pomegranates on the outside; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network round about.
24And the captain of the guard book Seraiah the chief priest, ard Zephamah the second priest, and tiie ihree peepers of the door; ^and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and seven men of them that saw the king's face.
JEREMIAH who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. 26And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 27And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.
28This is the people whom Nebu- chadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty: 29in the eight- eenth year of Nebuchadrezzar, from Je- rusalem, eight hundred thirty and two persons; 30in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons; all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
31And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twen- tieth day of the month, that Evil- merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, ^And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon. ^And he changed his prison garments, and did eat bread before him continu- ally all the days of his life. ^And for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, aU the days of his life.
EZEKIEL EZEKIEL 1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth x year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, 3the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LOBD was there upon him.
4And I looked, and, behold, stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire flashing up, so that a brightness was round about it; and out of the midst thereof as the colour of electrum, out of the midst of the fire. 6And out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living crea- tures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. 6And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings. 7And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot; and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. 8And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and as for the faces and wings of them four, 9their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle. nThus were their faces; and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. ^And they went every one straight forward; whither the spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went. 13As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like coals of fire, burning like the appearance of torches; it flashed up and down among the living creatures; and there was brightness to the fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15Now as I beheld the living crea- tures, behold one wheel at the bottom hard by the living creatures, at the four faces thereof. 16The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl; and they four had one likeness; and their ap- pearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17When they went, they went toward their four sides; they turned not when they went. 18As for their rings, they wore high and they were dreadful; and they four had their rings full of eyes round about. 19And when the living crea- tures went, the wheels went hard by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the bottom, the wheels were lifted up. ^Whitherso- ever the spirit was to go, as the spirit was to go thither, so they went; and EZEKIEL the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 2lWhen those went, these went, and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the ^ earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, like the colour of the ter- rible ice, stretched forth over their heads above. ^And under the firma- ment were their wings conformable the one to the other; this one of them had two which covered, and that one of them had two which covered, their bodies. ^And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the A" a noise of tumult like the noise of a host; when they stood, they let down their wings. 25For, when there was a voice above the firmament that was over their heads, as they stood, they let down their1 bove the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance^ of a sap- phire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the ap- pearance of a man upon it above. 27And I saw as the colour of electrum, as the appearance of fire round about enclosing it, from the appearance of his loins and upward; and from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him. 28As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.
0 And He said unto me: 'Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak with thee.' 2And spirit entered into me when He spoke unto me, and set me upon my feet; and I heard Him that spoke unto me. 3And He said unto me: ' Son of man, 1 send thee to the children of Israel, to rebellious nations, that have re- belled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day; *and the children are brazen-faced and stiff- hearted, I do send thee unto them; and thoushalt say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD. whether they will hear, 5And they, or whether they will forbear— for they are a re- bellious house — yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
6And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though defiers and de- spisers be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7And thou shalt speak My words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious.
8And thou, son of man, hear what I say. unto thee: be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house; open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee.' 9And when I looked, behold, a hand was put forth unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;! °and He spread it be- fore me, and it was written within and without; and there was written therein lamentations, and moaning, and woe.
And He said unto me: 'Son of man, eat that which thou findest; eat this roll, and go, speak unto the house of Israel.7 2So I opened EZEKIEL my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll. 3And He said unto me: 'Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee.' Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweet- ness.
4And He said unto me: ' Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My words unto them. 5For thou art not sent to a people of an unintelligible speech and of a slow tongue, but to the house of Israel; ^ot to many peoples of an unintel- ligible speech and of a slow tongue, whose words thou canst not under- stand. Surely, if I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee. 7But the house of Israel will not consent to hearken unto thee; for they consent not to hearken unto Me; for all the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stiff heart. 8Behold, I have made thy face hard against their faces, and thy forehead hard against their foreheads. 9As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead; fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.'
"Moreover He said unto me: 'Son of man, all My words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thy heart, and hear with thine ears. "And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them: Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will for- bear.'
12Then a spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing: ' Blessed be the glory of the LORD from His place'; 13also the noise of the wings of the living crea- tures as they touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, even the noise of a great rushing, 14So a spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand oi the LORD was strong upon me. m 15Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river Chebar, and I sat where they sat; and I remained there appalled among them seven days.
16And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying: 17f Son of man, I have appointed thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; and when thou shalt hear a word at My mouth, thou shalt give them warning from Me. 18When I say unto the wicked: Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand. 19Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 20Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, I will lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die; because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thy hand. ^Nevertheless if thou warn the right- eous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shaU surely live, because he took warning; and thou hast delivered thy soul.'
22And the hand of the LORD came there upon me; and He said unto me: ' Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there speak with thee.' ^Then I arose, and went forth into the plain; EZEKIEL and, behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. 24Then spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet; and He spoke with me, and said unto me: 'Go, shut thyself within thy house. 25But thou, son of man, behold, bands shall be put upon thee, and thou shalt be bound with them, and thou shalt not go out among them; 26and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a re- prover; for they are a rebellious house. 27But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD; he that heareth, let him hear, and he that forbeareth, let him forbear; for they are a rebellious house. A Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and trace upon it a city, even Jerusalem; 2and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and set battering rams against it round about. 8And take thou unto thee an iron griddle, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city; and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
^ 4Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their in- iquity. 6For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days; so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6And again, when thou hast accom- plished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah; forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee. 7And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it. 8And, be- hold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast accomplished the days of thy siege, ^ake thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof; accord- ing to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof. 10And thy food which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time shalt thou eat it. uThou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from time to tune shalt thou drink. 12And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man.'
13And the LOED said: 'Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them.' 14Then said I: 'Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted; for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn of beasts; neither came there abhorred flesh into my mouth.' 15Then He said unto me: 'See, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon.' 16Moreover He said unto me: 'Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with anxiety; and they shall drink water by measure, and in appalment; 17that they may EZEKIEL EZEKIEL want bread and water, and be ap- palled one with another, and pine away in their iniquity. £ And thou, son of man, take thee • u a sharp sword, as a barber's razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard; then take thee balances ^to weigh, and divide the hair. 2A third part shalt thou burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite it with the sword round about her; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them. 3Thou shalt also take thereof a few by number, and bind them in thy skirts. 4And of them again shalt thou take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; therefrom shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
^Thus saith the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem! I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are round about her. 6And she hath rebelled against Mine ordinances in doing wickedness more than the na- tions, and against My statutes more than the countries that are round about her; for they have rejected Mine ordinances, and as for My statutes, they have not walked in them. 7Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because ye have outdone the nations that are round about you, in that ye have not walked in My statutes, neither have kept Mine ordinances, neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you; therefore thus saith the Lord GOD. Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and I will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. 9And I will do I