Ezekiel 7

¹ The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fol ows,

² 'Son of man, say, "Lord Yahweh says this to the land of Israel: Finished! The end is coming for the fourcorners of the country.

³ This is the end for you; I shall unleash my anger on you, and judge you as your conduct deserves andcal you to account for al your loathsome practices.

⁴ I shall show you no pity, I shall not spare you; I shall repay you for your conduct and for the loathsomepractices in which you persist. Then you wil know that I am Yahweh.

⁵ "The Lord Yahweh says this: Disaster, a unique disaster, is coming.

⁶ The end is coming, the end is coming, it is on the move towards you, it is coming now.

⁷ Now it is your turn, you who dwel in this country. Doom is coming, the day is near; no joy now, onlytumult, on the mountains.

⁸ Now I shal soon vent my fury on you and sate my anger on you: I shal judge you as your conductdeserves and repay you for al your loathsome practices.

⁹ I shall show neither pity nor mercy, but shall repay you for your conduct and the loathsome practices inwhich you persist. Then you wil know that I am Yahweh and that I strike.

¹⁰ "Now is the day, your turn has come, it has come, it appears, the sceptre has blossomed, pride is at itspeak.

¹¹ Violence has risen to become the scourge of wickedness . . .

¹² Doom is coming, the day is near. Neither should buyer rejoice, nor sel er regret, for the fury rests oneveryone alike.

¹³ The sel er wil not be able to go back on his bargain; each persists in his sins; they take no defensivemeasures.

¹⁴ The trumpet sounds, all is ready, but no one goes into battle, since my fury rests on all alike.

¹⁵ "Outside, the sword; inside, plague and famine. Whoever is living in the countryside wil die by thesword; whoever is living in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.

¹⁶ And those who escape wil escape to the mountains and there, like doves of the valleys, I shalslaughter them al , each one for his sin.

¹⁷ Every hand wil grow limp, every knee turn to water.

¹⁸ They wil put on sackcloth, each one trembling. Every face wil be ashamed and every head beshaved.

¹⁹ They wil throw their silver away in the streets and their gold they wil regard as a pollution; neithertheir silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of Yahweh's fury. Never again wil they haveenough to eat, never again wil they fil their bellies, since that was the occasion for their guilt.

²⁰ They used to pride themselves on the beauty of their jewel ery, out of which they made theirloathsome images, their horrors; so now I have made it pol ute them.

²¹ I shal hand it over as plunder to foreigners, as loot to the most evil people on earth. They wil profaneit.

²² I shal turn my face away from them, while my treasure-house is profaned and robbers wil force theirway in and profane it.

²³ "Forge yourself a chain; for the country is full of bloody executions and the city ful of deeds ofviolence,

²⁴ so I shall bring the cruel est of the nations to seize their houses. I shal put an end to the pride of theire'lite, and their sanctuary wil be profaned.

²⁵ Terror is on the way: they will look for peace and there wil be none.

²⁶ Disaster will fol ow on disaster, rumour on rumour; they will pester the prophet for a vision; the priestwil be at a loss over the law and the elders on how to advise.

²⁷ The king wil go into mourning, the prince be plunged in grief, the hands of the country people tremble.I shal treat them as their conduct deserves, and judge them as their own verdicts merit. Then they wil know thatI am Yahweh!" '