Ezekiel 5

¹ 'Son of man, take a sharp sword, use it like a barber's razor and run it over your head and beard. Thentake scales and divide the hair you have cut off.

² Burn one-third inside the city, while the days of the siege are working themselves out. Then takeanother third and chop it up with the sword all round the city. The last third you are to scatter to the wind, while Iunsheathe the sword behind them.

³ Also take a few hairs and tie them up in the folds of your cloak;

⁴ and of these again take a few, and throw them on the fire and burn them. From them fire will come onthe whole House of Israel.

⁵ 'The Lord Yahweh says this, "This is Jerusalem, which I have placed in the middle of the nations,surrounded with foreign countries.

⁶ She has rebelled more perversely against my observances than the nations have, and against my lawsthan the surrounding countries have; for they have rejected my observances and not kept my laws."

⁷ 'Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says this, "Because your disorders are worse than those of the nationsround you, since you do not keep my laws or respect my observances, and since you do not respect even theobservances of the surrounding nations,

⁸ very wel , the Lord Yahweh says this: I, too, am against you and shal execute my judgements on youfor the nations to see.

⁹ Because of al your loathsome practices I shal do such things as I have never done before, nor shallever do again.

¹⁰ Those of you who are parents wil eat their children, and children wil eat their parents. I shall executejudgement on you and disperse what remains of you to the winds.

¹¹ For, as I live -- declares Lord Yahweh -- as sure as you have defiled my sanctuary with al your horrorsand all your loathsome practices, so I too shal reject you without a glance of pity, I shal not spare you.

¹² A third of your citizens wil die of plague or starve to death inside you; a third wil fall by the swordround you; and a third I shal scatter to the winds, unsheathing the sword behind them.

¹³ I shal sate my anger and bring my fury to rest on them until I am avenged; and when I have sated myfury on them, then they wil know that I, Yahweh, spoke out of jealousy for you.

¹⁴ Yes, I shal reduce you to a ruin, an object of derision to the surrounding nations, in the eyes of al whopass by.

¹⁵ You will be an object of derision and insults, an example, an object of amazement to the surroundingnations, when I execute judgement on you in furious anger and furious punishments. I, Yahweh, have spoken.

¹⁶ On them I shal send the deadly arrows of famine, which wil destroy you -- for I shall send them todestroy you; then I shall make the famine worse and cut off your food supply.

¹⁷ I shal send famine and wild animals on you to rob you of your children; plague and bloodshed wilsweep through you, and I shal bring the sword down on you. I, Yahweh, have spoken." '