When your people ¹  say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’

I will lead people, my people Israel, across you; they will possess you and you will become their inheritance. No longer will you bereave them of their children.

I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in it.

You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. ¹  I tried to cleanse you, ²  but you are not clean. You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness ³  until I have exhausted my anger on you.

In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence, ¹  and you sinned; so I defiled you and banished you ²  from the mountain of God – the guardian cherub expelled you ³  from the midst of the stones of fire.

You fear the sword, so the sword I will bring against you,’ declares the sovereign Lord.

Then you will know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the regulations of the nations around you!’”

For indeed, I am on your side; ¹  I will turn to you, and you will be plowed and planted.

“‘Then I passed by you and watched you, noticing ¹  that you had reached the age for love. ²  I spread my cloak ³  over you and covered your nakedness. I swore a solemn oath to you and entered into a marriage covenant with you, declares the sovereign Lord, and you became mine.

I placed you there with an anointed ¹  guardian ²  cherub; ³  you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked about amidst fiery stones.

The end is now upon you, and I will release my anger against you; I will judge ¹  you according to your behavior, ²  I will hold you accountable for ³  all your abominable practices.

I will turn you around and drag you along; ¹  I will lead you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel.

My eye will not pity you; I will not spare ¹  you. ²  For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, ³  and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. ⁴  Then you will know that I am the Lord!

Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you – though you are a man and not a god – when you are in the power of those who wound you?

You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians because your sexual desires were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them and yet you were still not satisfied.

And there you will remember your conduct ¹  and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves. You will despise yourselves ²  because of all the evil deeds you have done.

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.

I will sprinkle you with pure water ¹  and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols.

Soon now I will pour out my rage ¹  on you; I will fully vent my anger against you. I will judge you according to your behavior. I will hold you accountable for all your abominable practices.

Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.