and say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

“Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a little sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’

“Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: When I regather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been dispersed, I will give you back the country of Israel.’

Therefore tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: I hereby end this proverb; they will not recite it in Israel any longer.’ But say to them, ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled.

Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the sovereign Lord.’”

“‘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 and wither? All its foliage will wither. No strong arm or large army will be needed to pull it out by its roots.

“Say to the rebellious house of Israel: ‘Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Say: ‘See here, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and took her king and her officials prisoner and brought them to himself in Babylon.

Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion. Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die by the sword.

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Your heart is proud and you said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas” – yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.

Tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great monster lying in the midst of its waterways, who has said, “My Nile is my own, I made it for myself.”

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake that I am about to act, O house of Israel, but for the sake of my holy reputation which you profaned among the nations where you went.

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and hard-hearted, and you must say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says.’

“Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: I – even I – am against you, and I will execute judgment among you while the nations watch.

“You, son of man – this is what the sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land!

While I listened, he said to the others, “Go through the city after him and strike people down; do no let your eye pity nor spare anyone!

Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘The corpses you have dumped in the midst of the city are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot, but I will take you out of it.

This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit but have seen nothing!

“‘Therefore, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Because you have spoken false words and forecast delusion, look, I am against you, declares the sovereign Lord.

Tell the ones who coat it with whitewash that it will fall. When there is a deluge of rain, hailstones will fall and a violent wind will break out.

“‘Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: In my rage I will make a violent wind break out. In my anger there will be a deluge of rain and hailstones in destructive fury.