14:1 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me.
14:2 The word of the Lord came to me:
14:3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity
14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations.
14:7 For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally.
14:8 I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword
14:9 “‘As for the prophet, if he is made a fool by being deceived into speaking a prophetic word – I, the Lord, have made a fool of
14:12 The word of the Lord came to me:
14:13 “Son of man, suppose a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it, cut off its bread supply,
14:15 “Suppose I were to send wild animals through the land and kill its children, leaving it desolate, without travelers due to the wild animals. 14:16 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters; they would save only their own lives, and the land would become desolate.
14:17 “Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals. 14:18 Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters – they would save only their own lives.
14:19 “Or suppose I were to send a plague into that land, and pour out my rage on it with bloodshed, killing both people and animals. 14:20 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own son or daughter; they would save only their own lives by their righteousness.
14:21 “For this is what the sovereign Lord says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments – sword, famine, wild animals, and plague – to Jerusalem
15:1 The word of the Lord came to me:
15:2 “Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine?
15:6 “Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Like the wood of the vine is among the trees of the forest which I have provided as fuel for the fire – so I will provide the residents of Jerusalem
16:1 The word of the Lord came to me:
16:2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem
16:6 “‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!”
16:8 “‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing
16:9 “‘Then I bathed you in water, washed the blood off you, and anointed you with fragrant oil.
16:10 I dressed you in embroidered clothing and put fine leather sandals on your feet. I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.
16:11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck.
16:12 I put a ring in your nose, earrings on your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.
16:13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidery. You ate the finest flour, honey, and olive oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained the position of royalty.
16:14 Your fame
16:15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and capitalized on your fame by becoming a prostitute. You offered your sexual favors to every man who passed by so that your beauty
16:20 “‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them
16:23 “‘After all of your evil – “Woe! Woe to you!” declares the sovereign Lord –
16:24 you built yourself a chamber
16:30 “‘How sick is your heart, declares the sovereign Lord, when you perform all of these acts, the deeds of a bold prostitute.
16:31 When you built your chamber at the head of every street and put up your pavilion in every public square, you were not like a prostitute, because you scoffed at payment.
16:32 “‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband!
16:33 All prostitutes receive payment,
16:35 “‘Therefore O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord:
16:36 This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust
16:43 “‘Because you did not remember the days of your youth and have enraged me with all these deeds, I hereby repay you for what you have done,
16:44 “‘Observe – everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.”
16:45 You are the daughter of your mother, who detested her husband and her sons, and you are the sister of your sisters who detested their husbands and their sons. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.
16:46 Your older sister was Samaria, who lived north
16:49 “‘See here – this was the iniquity
16:53 “‘I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters (along with your fortunes among them),
16:54 so that you may bear your disgrace and be ashamed of all you have done in consoling them.
16:55 As for your sisters, Sodom and her daughters will be restored to their former status, Samaria and her daughters will be restored to their former status, and you and your daughters will be restored to your former status.
16:56 In your days of majesty,
16:59 “‘For this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant.
16:60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish a lasting
17:1 The word of the Lord came to me:
17:2 “Son of man, offer a riddle,
“‘A great eagle
with full plumage which was multi-hued,
came to Lebanon
17:4 He plucked off its topmost shoot;
he brought it to a land of merchants
and planted it in a city of traders.
17:5 He took one of the seedlings
placed it in a cultivated plot;
a shoot by abundant water,
like a willow he planted it.
17:6 It sprouted and became a vine,
spreading low to the ground;
its branches turning toward him,
So it became a vine; it produced shoots and sent out branches.
17:7 “‘There was another great eagle
with broad wings and thick plumage.
Now this vine twisted its roots toward him
and sent its branches toward him
to be watered from the soil where it was planted.
17:8 In a good field, by abundant waters, it was planted
to grow branches, bear fruit, and become a beautiful vine.
17:9 “‘Say to them: This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘Will it prosper?
Will he not rip out its roots
and cause its fruit to rot
All its foliage
No strong arm or large army
will be needed to pull it out by its roots.
17:10 Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper?
Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it?
Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”
17:11 Then the word of the Lord came to me:
17:12 “Say to the rebellious house of Israel:
17:16 “‘As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city
17:19 “‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him
17:22 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“‘I will take a sprig
I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs;
I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.
17:23 I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel,
and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar.
Every bird will live under it;
Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.
17:24 All the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord.
I make the high tree low; I raise up the low tree.
I make the green tree wither, and I make the dry tree sprout.
I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it!’”
18:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 18:2 “What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
“‘The fathers eat sour grapes
And the children’s teeth become numb?’
18:3 “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord,
18:5 “Suppose a man is righteous. He practices what is just and right,
18:6 does not eat pagan sacrifices on the mountains
18:10 “Suppose such a man has
18:14 “But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father’s example.
18:19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer
18:21 “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.
18:22 None of the sins he has committed will be held
18:24 “But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing according to all the abominable practices the wicked carry out, will he live? All his righteous acts will not be remembered; because of the unfaithful acts he has done and the sin he has committed, he will die.
18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct
18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct,
19:1 “And you, sing
“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions!
She lay among young lions;
19:3 She reared one of her cubs; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.
19:4 The nations heard about him; he was trapped in their pit.
They brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
19:5 “‘When she realized that she waited in vain, her hope was lost.
She took another of her cubs
19:6 He walked about among the lions; he became a young lion.
He learned to tear prey; he devoured people.
19:7 He broke down
The land and everything in it was frightened at the sound of his roaring.
19:8 The nations – the surrounding regions – attacked him.
They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.
19:9 They put him in a collar with hooks;
they brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him to prison
so that his voice would not be heard
any longer on the mountains of Israel.
19:10 “‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard,
It was fruitful and full of branches because it was well-watered.
19:11 Its boughs were strong, fit
It stood out because of its height and its many branches.
19:12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east wind
its strong branches broke off and withered –
a fire consumed them.
19:13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.
19:14 A fire has gone out from its branch; it has consumed its shoot and its fruit.
No strong branch was left in it, nor a scepter to rule.’
This is a lament song, and has become a lament song.”