<p class="bodytext">&#8220;For this is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says: How much worse will it be when I send my four terrible judgments &#8211; sword, famine, wild animals, and plague &#8211; to Jerusalem<n id="1" /> to kill both people and animals!

&#8220;Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them: &#8216;This is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says: Are you coming to seek me? As surely as I live, I will not allow you to seek me,<n id="1" /> declares the sovereign <sc>Lordsc>.&#8217;

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them, &#8216;This is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says: In this way too your fathers blasphemed me when they were unfaithful to me.

<p class="poetry">Cry out and moan, son of man,p> <p class="poetry">for it is wielded against my people;p> <p class="poetry">against all the princes of Israel.p> <p class="poetry">They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.p> <p class="poetry">Therefore, strike your thigh.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;And you, son of man, prophesy,p> <p class="poetry">and clap your hands together.p> <p class="poetry">Let the sword strike twice, even three times!p> <p class="poetry">It is a sword for slaughter,p> <p class="poetry">a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.p>

&#8220;You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon&#8217;s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city.

<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>

The sound of a carefree crowd accompanied her,<n id="1" /> including all kinds of men;<n id="2" /> even Sabeans<n id="3" /> were brought from the desert. The sisters<n id="4" /> put bracelets on their wrists and beautiful crowns on their heads.

&#8220;Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege<n id="1" /> to Jerusalem<n id="2" /> this very day.

<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" />

So this is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom, and I will kill the people and animals within her,<n id="1" /> and I will make her desolate; from Teman to Dedan they will die<n id="2" /> by the sword.

&#8220;Son of man, sing<n id="1" /> a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, &#8216;This is what the sovereign <sc>Lordsc> says:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;&#8216;You were the sealer<n id="2" /> of perfection,p> <p class="poetry">full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.p>

<p class="poetry">You were in Eden, the garden of God.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Every precious stone was your covering,p> <p class="poetry">the ruby, topaz, and emerald,p> <p class="poetry">the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper,p> <p class="poetry">the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">your settings and mounts were made of gold.p> <p class="poetry">On the day you were created they were prepared.p>

&#8220;Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar<n id="1" /> of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre.<n id="2" /> Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.

&#8220;Son of man, I have broken the arm<n id="1" /> of Pharaoh king of Egypt.<n id="2" /> Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword.

&#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>

&#8220;Son of man, speak to your people,<n id="1" /> and say to them, &#8216;Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.

<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" />

&#8220;Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, &#8216;Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.&#8217;<n id="1" />