And he said to me, “Son of man, take all my words that I speak to you to heart and listen carefully.

Therefore I will act with fury! My eye will not pity them nor will I spare ¹  them. When they have shouted in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to the prophets who prophesy from their imagination: ¹  ‘Hear the word of the Lord!

“Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct ¹  is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?

They put him in a collar with hooks; ¹  they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him to prison ²  so that his voice would not be heard any longer on the mountains of Israel.

He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, so he is responsible for himself. ¹  If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.

“As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman ¹  for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.

Realize ¹  that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. ²  They hear your words, but they do not obey them. ³ 

Then you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all the insults you spoke against the mountains of Israel, saying, “They are desolate, they have been given to us for food.”

“As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord!

Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.

like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. ¹  This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw ²  it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.

As for you, son of man, listen to what I am saying to you: Do not rebel like that rebellious house! Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”

Go to the exiles, to your fellow countrymen, ¹  and speak to them – say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ whether they pay attention or not.”

Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, ¹  Hear the word of the sovereign Lord! ²  This is what the sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing ³  a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. ⁴ 

You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. You have put to death people ¹  who should not die and kept alive those who should not live by your lies to my people, who listen to lies!

But they rebelled against me, and refused to listen to me; no one got rid of their detestable idols, ¹  nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt. Then I decided to pour out ²  my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

“‘As for you, O house of Israel, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Each of you go and serve your idols, ¹  if you will not listen to me. ²  But my holy name will not be profaned ³  again by your sacrifices ⁴  and your idols.

Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the sovereign Lord: This is what the sovereign Lord says: You said “Aha!” about my sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile.

“But as for you, son of man, your people ¹  (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, ²  ‘Come hear the word that comes ³  from the Lord.’