“ Son of man,” he said,“ I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day.

他对我说：“人子啊，我差你往悖逆的国民以色列人那里去。他们是悖逆我的，他们和他们的列祖违背我，直到今日。

他对我说：“人子啊，我差你往悖逆我的国家，以色列人那里去，他们是悖逆我的。他们和他们的祖先违背我，直到今日。

他对我说：“人子啊，我差你往悖逆我的国家，以色列人那里去，他们是悖逆我的。他们和他们的祖先违背我，直到今日。

“人子啊，我派你去那背叛我的以色列人那里。他们和他们的祖先至今仍背叛我。

他对我说：“人子啊！我差派你到以色列人那里去，就是到那背叛我的叛逆国民那里去！他们和他们的列祖都得罪了我，直到今日。

他對我說：「人子啊，我差你往悖逆的國民以色列人那裏去。他們是悖逆我的，他們和他們的列祖違背我，直到今日。

他對我說：「人子啊，我差你往悖逆我的國家，以色列人那裏去，他們是悖逆我的。他們和他們的祖先違背我，直到今日。

他對我說：「人子啊，我差你往悖逆我的國家，以色列人那裏去，他們是悖逆我的。他們和他們的祖先違背我，直到今日。

「人子啊，我派你去那背叛我的以色列人那裡。他們和他們的祖先至今仍背叛我。

他對我說：“人子啊！我差派你到以色列人那裡去，就是到那背叛我的叛逆國民那裡去！他們和他們的列祖都得罪了我，直到今日。

他對我說：『人子啊，我差遣你去找背叛之國以色列人，就是背叛我的：他們和他們的列祖都悖逆了我、直到今天這日子。

人子歟、我遣爾詣以色列人、彼乃悖逆之邦、悖逆乎我、彼與列祖、獲罪於我、迄至今日、

曰、人子、我遣汝至以色列族、彼所行忤逆、自列祖迄今、干犯罪戾、

諭我曰、人子、我遣爾就以色列人、即悖逆之族、悖逆我者、彼與其列祖獲罪於我、迄於今日、

He said:“ Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.

He said,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. That nation has refused to obey me. They have turned against me. They and their people of long ago have been against me to this day.

And he said to me,“ Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.

He said to me,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebellious pagans who have rebelled against me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this day.

Then He said to me,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have revolted against Me to this very day.

And He said to me:“ Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.

And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even unto this very day.

He said to me:“ Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebellious pagans who have rebelled against Me. The Israelites and their ancestors have transgressed against Me to this day.

And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me,[ even] unto this very day.

He said to me,“ Son of man, I am sending you to the house of Israel, to rebellious nations who have rebelled against me; both they and their fathers have revolted against me to this very day.

He said to me,“ Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day.

Let us now lie down in shame and cover ourselves with dishonor, for we and our ancestors have sinned against the Lord our God. From our childhood to this day we have never obeyed him.”

“ Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied,“ for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.

Yes, you have been rebelling against the Lord as long as I have known you.

But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations.We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.“ Lord, you are in the right; but as you see, our faces are covered with shame. This is true of all of us, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven us because of our disloyalty to you.O Lord, we and our kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.We have not obeyed the Lord our God, for we have not followed the instructions he gave us through his servants the prophets.All Israel has disobeyed your instruction and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice.“ So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured down on us because of our sin.You have kept your word and done to us and our rulers exactly as you warned. Never has there been such a disaster as happened in Jerusalem.Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from the Lord our God by turning from our sins and recognizing his truth.

Then I heard the Lord asking,“ Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said,“ Here I am. Send me.”And he said,“ Yes, go, and say to this people,‘ Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.”

This message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother.They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed men to fondle their breasts.The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.“ Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrian officers.They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, charioteers driving their horses.And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols and defiling herself.For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians slept with her, fondled her breasts, and used her as a prostitute.“ And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much.They stripped her, took away her children as their slaves, and then killed her. After she received her punishment, her reputation was known to every woman in the land.“ Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution.She fawned over all the Assyrian officers— those captains and commanders in handsome uniforms, those charioteers driving their horses— all of them attractive young men.I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister.“ Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall— pictures of Babylonian military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms.Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia.When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her.So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. After being defiled, however, she rejected them in disgust.“ In the same way, I became disgusted with Oholibah and rejected her, just as I had rejected her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts.Yet she turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt.She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey’s and emissions like those of a horse.And so, Oholibah, you relived your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed your breasts to be fondled.“ Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will send your lovers against you from every direction— those very nations from which you turned away in disgust.For the Babylonians will come with all the Chaldeans from Pekod and Shoa and Koa. And all the Assyrians will come with them— handsome young captains, commanders, chariot officers, and other high ranking officers, all riding their horses.They will all come against you from the north with chariots, wagons, and a great army prepared for attack. They will take up positions on every side, surrounding you with men armed with shields and helmets. And I will hand you over to them for punishment so they can do with you as they please.I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal harshly with you. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any survivors will then be slaughtered by the sword. Your children will be taken away as captives, and everything that is left will be burned.They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels.In this way, I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you brought from Egypt. You will never again cast longing eyes on those things or fondly remember your time in Egypt.“ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will surely hand you over to your enemies, to those you loathe, those you rejected.They will treat you with hatred and rob you of all you own, leaving you stark naked. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed to all the world.You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols.Because you have followed in your sister’s footsteps, I will force you to drink the same cup of terror she drank.“ Yes, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:“ You will drink from your sister’s cup of terror, a cup that is large and deep. It is filled to the brim with scorn and derision.Drunkenness and anguish will fill you, for your cup is filled to the brim with distress and desolation, the same cup your sister Samaria drank.You will drain that cup of terror to the very bottom. Then you will smash it to pieces and beat your breast in anguish. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!“ And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution.”The Lord said to me,“ Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their detestable sins.They have committed both adultery and murder— adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning as sacrifices the children they bore to me.Furthermore, they have defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day!On the very day that they sacrificed their children to their idols, they boldly came into my Temple to worship! They came in and defiled my house.“ You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them.You sat with them on a beautifully embroidered couch and put my incense and my special oil on a table that was spread before you.From your room came the sound of many men carousing. They were lustful men and drunkards from the wilderness, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your heads.Then I said,‘ If they really want to have sex with old worn out prostitutes like these, let them!’And that is what they did. They had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameless prostitutes.But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are— adulterers and murderers.“ Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered.For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes.In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to all women not to follow your wicked example.You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution— your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”

“ The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died.But here you are, a brood of sinners, doing exactly the same thing! You are making the Lord even angrier with Israel.

Please overlook the stubbornness and the awful sin of these people, and remember instead your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead!

Then he said,“ Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages.I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand.No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen!But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard hearted and stubborn.But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard hearted as they are.

“ This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard in front of the Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word.Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways. Then I will change my mind about the disaster I am ready to pour out on them because of their sins.“ Say to them,‘ This is what the Lord says: If you will not listen to me and obey my word I have given you,and if you will not listen to my servants, the prophets— for I sent them again and again to warn you, but you would not listen to them—then I will destroy this Temple as I destroyed Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle was located. And I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every nation on earth.’”

“ But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands.They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them,even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said,‘ This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies.

Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock.“ Listen, you rebels!” he shouted.“ Must we bring you water from this rock?”

And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say,“ How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

From the days of our ancestors until now, we have been steeped in sin. That is why we and our kings and our priests have been at the mercy of the pagan kings of the land. We have been killed, captured, robbed, and disgraced, just as we are today.

It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem:‘ There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’You are witnesses of all these things.

At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop.But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty handed.The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head.The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed,

“ You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!

“ Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time.

Again he said,“ Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”Then he breathed on them and said,“ Receive the Holy Spirit.

The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.

Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved.Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws.Even while they had their own kingdom, they did not serve you, though you showered your goodness on them. You gave them a large, fertile land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness.

At Meribah, too, they angered the Lord, causing Moses serious trouble.They made Moses angry, and he spoke foolishly.Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them.Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs.They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall.They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder.They defiled themselves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight.That is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession.

The people in the camp were jealous of Moses and envious of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.Because of this, the earth opened up; it swallowed Dathan and buried Abiram and the other rebels.Fire fell upon their followers; a flame consumed the wicked.The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; they bowed before an image made of gold.They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass eating bull.They forgot God, their savior, who had done such great things in Egypt—

“ Then you will give them the Lord’s reply:‘ It is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my word.And you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me.

“ But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.

The Lord replied,“ Don’t say,‘ I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.

“ For the past twenty three years— from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until now— the Lord has been giving me his messages. I have faithfully passed them on to you, but you have not listened.“ Again and again the Lord has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention.Each time the message was this:‘ Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever.Do not provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you.’“ But you would not listen to me,” says the Lord.“ You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer.

Then another message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable sins.Give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: You are nothing but a Canaanite! Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth.No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.“ But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said,‘ Live!’And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel. Your breasts became full, and your body hair grew, but you were still naked.And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.“ Then I bathed you and washed off your blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin.I gave you expensive clothing of fine linen and silk, beautifully embroidered, and sandals made of fine goatskin leather.I gave you lovely jewelry, bracelets, beautiful necklaces,a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears, and a lovely crown for your head.And so you were adorned with gold and silver. Your clothes were made of fine linen and costly fabric and were beautifully embroidered. You ate the finest foods— choice flour, honey, and olive oil— and became more beautiful than ever. You looked like a queen, and so you were!Your fame soon spread throughout the world because of your beauty. I dressed you in my splendor and perfected your beauty, says the Sovereign Lord.“ But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking.You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute. Unbelievable! How could such a thing ever happen?You took the very jewels and gold and silver ornaments I had given you and made statues of men and worshiped them. This is adultery against me!You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you to dress your idols. Then you used my special oil and my incense to worship them.Imagine it! You set before them as a sacrifice the choice flour, olive oil, and honey I had given you, says the Sovereign Lord.“ Then you took your sons and daughters— the children you had borne to me— and sacrificed them to your gods. Was your prostitution not enough?Must you also slaughter my children by sacrificing them to idols?In all your years of adultery and detestable sin, you have not once remembered the days long ago when you lay naked in a field, kicking about in your own blood.“ What sorrow awaits you, says the Sovereign Lord. In addition to all your other wickedness,you built a pagan shrine and put altars to idols in every town square.On every street corner you defiled your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in an endless stream of prostitution.Then you added lustful Egypt to your lovers, provoking my anger with your increasing promiscuity.That is why I struck you with my fist and reduced your boundaries. I handed you over to your enemies, the Philistines, and even they were shocked by your lewd conduct.You have prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, too. It seems you can never find enough new lovers! And after your prostitution there, you still were not satisfied.You added to your lovers by embracing Babylonia, the land of merchants, but you still weren’t satisfied.“ What a sick heart you have, says the Sovereign Lord, to do such things as these, acting like a shameless prostitute.You build your pagan shrines on every street corner and your altars to idols in every square. In fact, you have been worse than a prostitute, so eager for sin that you have not even demanded payment.Yes, you are an adulterous wife who takes in strangers instead of her own husband.Prostitutes charge for their services— but not you! You give gifts to your lovers, bribing them to come and have sex with you.So you are the opposite of other prostitutes. You pay your lovers instead of their paying you!“ Therefore, you prostitute, listen to this message from the Lord!This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have poured out your lust and exposed yourself in prostitution to all your lovers, and because you have worshiped detestable idols, and because you have slaughtered your children as sacrifices to your gods,this is what I am going to do. I will gather together all your allies— the lovers with whom you have sinned, both those you loved and those you hated— and I will strip you naked in front of them so they can stare at you.I will punish you for your murder and adultery. I will cover you with blood in my jealous fury.Then I will give you to these many nations who are your lovers, and they will destroy you. They will knock down your pagan shrines and the altars to your idols. They will strip you and take your beautiful jewels, leaving you stark naked.They will band together in a mob to stone you and cut you up with swords.They will burn your homes and punish you in front of many women. I will stop your prostitution and end your payments to your many lovers.“ Then at last my fury against you will be spent, and my jealous anger will subside. I will be calm and will not be angry with you anymore.But first, because you have not remembered your youth but have angered me by doing all these evil things, I will fully repay you for all of your sins, says the Sovereign Lord. For you have added lewd acts to all your detestable sins.Everyone who makes up proverbs will say of you,‘ Like mother, like daughter.’For your mother loathed her husband and her children, and so do you. And you are exactly like your sisters, for they despised their husbands and their children. Truly your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.“ Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters in the north. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters in the south.But you have not merely sinned as they did. You quickly surpassed them in corruption.As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, Sodom and her daughters were never as wicked as you and your daughters.Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door.She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.“ Even Samaria did not commit half your sins. You have done far more detestable things than your sisters ever did. They seem righteous compared to you.Shame on you! Your sins are so terrible that you make your sisters seem righteous, even virtuous.“ But someday I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria, and I will restore you, too.Then you will be truly ashamed of everything you have done, for your sins make them feel good in comparison.Yes, your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all their people will be restored, and at that time you also will be restored.In your proud days you held Sodom in contempt.But now your greater wickedness has been exposed to all the world, and you are the one who is scorned— by Edom and all her neighbors and by Philistia.This is your punishment for all your lewdness and detestable sins, says the Lord.“ Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will give you what you deserve, for you have taken your solemn vows lightly by breaking your covenant.Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.Then you will remember with shame all the evil you have done. I will make your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, to be your daughters, even though they are not part of our covenant.And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord.You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

“ Go to the entrance of the Lord’s Temple, and give this message to the people:‘ O Judah, listen to this message from the Lord! Listen to it, all of you who worship here!

“ Do you think the Lord did not know that you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the people were burning incense to idols in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

They even sacrificed their own sons and daughters in the fire. They consulted fortune tellers and practiced sorcery and sold themselves to evil, arousing the Lord’s anger.Because the Lord was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained in the land.But even the people of Judah refused to obey the commands of the Lord their God, for they followed the evil practices that Israel had introduced.The Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel. He punished them by handing them over to their attackers until he had banished Israel from his presence.

On August 14, during the seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, some of the leaders of Israel came to request a message from the Lord. They sat down in front of me to wait for his reply.Then this message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, tell the leaders of Israel,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: How dare you come to ask me for a message? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing!’“ Son of man, bring charges against them and condemn them. Make them realize how detestable the sins of their ancestors really were.Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: When I chose Israel— when I revealed myself to the descendants of Jacob in Egypt— I took a solemn oath that I, the Lord, would be their God.I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to a land I had discovered and explored for them— a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere.Then I said to them,‘ Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, for I am the Lord your God.’“ But they rebelled against me and would not listen. They did not get rid of the vile images they were obsessed with, or forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I threatened to pour out my fury on them to satisfy my anger while they were still in Egypt.But I didn’t do it, for I acted to protect the honor of my name. I would not allow shame to be brought on my name among the surrounding nations who saw me reveal myself by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.So I brought them out of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.There I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could find life by keeping them.And I gave them my Sabbath days of rest as a sign between them and me. It was to remind them that I am the Lord, who had set them apart to be holy.“ But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days. So I threatened to pour out my fury on them, and I made plans to utterly consume them in the wilderness.But again I held back in order to protect the honor of my name before the nations who had seen my power in bringing Israel out of Egypt.But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would not bring them into the land I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful place on earth.For they had rejected my regulations, refused to follow my decrees, and violated my Sabbath days. Their hearts were given to their idols.Nevertheless, I took pity on them and held back from destroying them in the wilderness.“ Then I warned their children not to follow in their parents’ footsteps, defiling themselves with their idols.‘ I am the Lord your God,’ I told them.‘ Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations,and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’“ But their children, too, rebelled against me. They refused to keep my decrees and follow my regulations, even though obedience would have given them life. And they also violated my Sabbath days. So again I threatened to pour out my fury on them in the wilderness.Nevertheless, I withdrew my judgment against them to protect the honor of my name before the nations that had seen my power in bringing them out of Egypt.But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would scatter them among all the nationsbecause they did not obey my regulations. They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors.I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life.I let them pollute themselves with the very gifts I had given them, and I allowed them to give their firstborn children as offerings to their gods— so I might devastate them and remind them that I alone am the Lord.“ Therefore, son of man, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Your ancestors continued to blaspheme and betray me,for when I brought them into the land I had promised them, they offered sacrifices on every high hill and under every green tree they saw! They roused my fury as they offered up sacrifices to their gods. They brought their perfumes and incense and poured out their liquid offerings to them.I said to them,‘ What is this high place where you are going?’( This kind of pagan shrine has been called Bamah—‘ high place’— ever since.)“ Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Do you plan to pollute yourselves just as your ancestors did? Do you intend to keep prostituting yourselves by worshiping vile images?For when you offer gifts to them and give your little children to be burned as sacrifices, you continue to pollute yourselves with idols to this day. Should I allow you to ask for a message from me, O people of Israel? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing.“ You say,‘ We want to be like the nations all around us, who serve idols of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will rule over you with an iron fist in great anger and with awesome power.And in anger I will reach out with my strong hand and powerful arm, and I will bring you back from the lands where you are scattered.I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you face to face.I will judge you there just as I did your ancestors in the wilderness after bringing them out of Egypt, says the Sovereign Lord.I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant.I will purge you of all those who rebel and revolt against me. I will bring them out of the countries where they are in exile, but they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.“ As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols.For on my holy mountain, the great mountain of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord, the people of Israel will someday worship me, and I will accept them. There I will require that you bring me all your offerings and choice gifts and sacrifices.When I bring you home from exile, you will be like a pleasing sacrifice to me. And I will display my holiness through you as all the nations watch.Then when I have brought you home to the land I promised with a solemn oath to give to your ancestors, you will know that I am the Lord.You will look back on all the ways you defiled yourselves and will hate yourselves because of the evil you have done.You will know that I am the Lord, O people of Israel, when I have honored my name by treating you mercifully in spite of your wickedness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”Then this message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, turn and face the south and speak out against it; prophesy against the brushlands of the Negev.Tell the southern wilderness,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Hear the word of the Lord! I will set you on fire, and every tree, both green and dry, will be burned. The terrible flames will not be quenched and will scorch everything from south to north.And everyone in the world will see that I, the Lord, have set this fire. It will not be put out.’”Then I said,“ O Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me,‘ He only talks in riddles!’”