“And you, son of man, take a brick ¹  and set it in front of you. Inscribe ²  a city on it – Jerusalem.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply ¹  in Jerusalem. ²  They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror

“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! ¹ 

Each of the cherubim ¹  had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub, ²  the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

The Lord ¹  said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.

“Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel, ‘The days pass slowly, and every vision fails’?

“Take note, son of man, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for distant days; he is prophesying about the far future.’

“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!

“Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity ¹  right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek ²  me?

“Or suppose I were to bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through the land,’ and I were to kill both people and animals.

“Or suppose I were to send a plague into that land, and pour out my rage on it with bloodshed, killing both people and animals.

“Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine? ¹ 

“Son of man, turn toward ¹  the south, ²  and speak out against the south. ³  Prophesy against the open scrub ⁴  land of the Negev,

“Son of man, turn toward ¹  Jerusalem ²  and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel

“Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

“Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; ¹  they are the worthless slag of silver.

“Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain ¹  or showers in the day of my anger.’ ² 

The Lord said to me: “Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment ¹  on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds!

“Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, ¹  but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears.

“Son of man, because Tyre ¹  has said about Jerusalem, ²  ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich, ³  now that she ⁴  has been destroyed,’