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

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

And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations ¹  where I will banish them.”

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 

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?

Even if these three men were in it, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, they could not save their own sons or daughters – they would save only their own lives.

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

“‘You took your sons and your daughters whom you bore to me and you sacrificed them ¹  as food for the idols to eat. As if your prostitution not enough,

“What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “‘The fathers eat sour grapes And the children’s teeth become numb?’ ¹ 

Indeed! All lives are mine – the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one ¹  who sins will die.

“But suppose he in turn has a son who notices all the sins his father commits, considers them, and does not follow his father’s example. ¹ 

“‘But I said to their children ¹  in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, ²  nor defile yourselves with their idols.

“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.