<p class="bodytext">&#8220;As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, &#8216;This is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation;<n id="1" /> say:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;&#8216;A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter,p> <p class="poetry">polished to consume,<n id="2" /> to flash like lightning &#8211;p>

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take<n id="1" /> from them their stronghold &#8211; their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives,<n id="2" /> as well as their sons and daughters:<n id="3" />

&#8220;Son of man, say to the prince<n id="1" /> of Tyre, &#8216;This is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;&#8216;Your heart is proud<n id="2" /> and you said, &#8220;I am a god;<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas&#8221; &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">yet you are a man and not a god,p> <p class="poetry">though you think you are godlike.<n id="4" />p>

&#8220;Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;&#8216;You were like a lion<n id="1" /> among the nations,p> <p class="poetry">but you are a monster in the seas;p> <p class="poetry">you thrash about in your streams,p> <p class="poetry">stir up the water with your feet,p> <p class="poetry">and muddy your<n id="2" /> streams.p>

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, &#8216;This is what you have said: &#8220;Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us,<n id="1" /> and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?&#8221;&#8217;

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;And you, son of man, say to your people,<n id="1" /> &#8216;The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels.<n id="2" /> As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it.<n id="3" /> The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness<n id="4" /> if he sins.&#8217;<n id="5" />

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;But as for you, son of man, your people<n id="1" /> (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another,<n id="2" /> &#8216;Come hear the word that comes<n id="3" /> from the <sc>Lordsc>.&#8217;

&#8220;As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, &#8216;For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.&#8217; Then take another branch and write on it, &#8216;For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.&#8217;

<p class="poetry">&#8220;Therefore this is what the <sc>Lordsc> says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and your sons and daughters will die violently.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Your land will be given to others<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">and you will die in a foreign<n id="4" /> land.p> <p class="poetry">Israel will certainly be carried into exile<n id="5" /> away from its land.&#8217;&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="poetry"><v id="(5:1)" /> As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">seemingly insignificant<n id="2" /> among the clans of Judah &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">one whose origins<n id="4" /> are in the distant past.<n id="5" />p>

Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn&#8217;t kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning<n id="1" /> evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life.

Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners.<n id="1" /> Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation,<n id="2" /> obey<n id="3" /> you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: &#8216;Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter<n id="1" /> which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood.