The Prophet Ezekiel

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 7 -

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

“And as for you, son of man: Thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: The end is coming, the end is coming, over the four regions of the earth.

Now the end is over you, and I will send my fury upon you. And I will judge you according to your ways. And I will place all your abominations before you.

And my eye will not be lenient over you, and I will not take pity. Instead, I will set your ways upon you, and your abominations will be in your midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Thus says the Lord God: “One affliction, behold, one affliction is approaching.

The end is coming, the end is coming. It has been vigilant against you. Behold, it is approaching.

Destruction is coming over you, who live upon the earth. The time is approaching, the day of slaughter is near, and it is not of the glory of the mountains.

Now, very soon, I will pour out my wrath upon you, and I will fulfill my fury in you. And I will judge you according to your ways, and I will set upon you all your crimes.

And my eye will not be lenient, nor will I take pity. Instead, I will place your ways upon you, and your abominations will be in your midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord, who is striking.

Behold, the day! Behold, it approaches! Destruction has gone forth, the rod has blossomed, arrogance has germinated.

Iniquity has risen up into a rod of impiety. There shall be nothing left of them, and of their people, and of the sound of them. And there shall be no rest for them.

The time is approaching; the day is very near. Whoever buys should not rejoice. And whoever sells should not mourn. For wrath is over all of their people.

For whoever sells will not return to what he has sold, but as yet their life will be among the living. For the vision concerning their entire multitude will not turn back. And man will not be strengthened in the iniquity of his life.

The Desolation of Israel

Sound the trumpet! Let everyone be prepared! And yet there is no one who may go to battle. For my wrath is over all their people.

The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine are inside. Whoever is in the field will die by the sword. And whoever is in the city will be devoured by the pestilence and the famine.

And those who flee from among them will be saved. And they will be among the mountains, like doves in steep valleys, with every one of them trembling, each one because of his iniquity.

All hands will be weakened, and all knees will flow with water.

And they will wrap themselves with haircloth, and dread will cover them. And shame will be upon every face, and baldness will be upon all of their heads.

Their silver will be thrown away, and their gold will be like a dunghill. Their silver and their gold will have no power to free them in the day of the fury of the Lord. They will not satisfy their soul, and their bellies will not be filled, because of the scandal of their iniquity.

And they have set arrogance as the ornament of their necklaces, and they have made images of their abominations and graven idols. Because of this, I have let it be an uncleanness for them.

And I will give it into the hands of foreigners as a spoil, and to the impious of the earth as a prey, and they will defile it.

And I will avert my face from them, and they will violate my place of mystery. And untamed persons will enter into it, and they will defile it.(a)

Cause it to be closed. For the land has been filled with the judgment of blood, and the city is full of iniquity.(b)

And I will lead in the most sinful among the Gentiles, and they will possess their houses. And I will cause the arrogance of the powerful to be quieted. And they will possess their sanctuaries.

When anguish overwhelms them, they will seek peace, and there will be none.

Disturbance will follow after disturbance, and rumor after rumor. And they will seek the vision of the prophet, and the law will perish from the priest, and counsel will perish from the elders.

The king will mourn, and the prince will be clothed with grief, and the hands of the people of the earth will be greatly disturbed. I will act toward them in accord with their own way, and I will judge them in accord with their own judgments. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Footnotes

(a)7:22 Secret place, etc:Viz., the inward sanctuary, the holy of holies.(Challoner)

(b)7:23 Make a shutting up:In Hebrew, a chain, viz., for imprisonment and captivity.(Challoner)

Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“You, son of man, the Lord GOD says to the land of Israel, ‘An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land.

Now the end is on you, and I will send my anger on you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations.

My eye will not spare you, neither will I have pity; but I will bring your ways on you, and your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’

“The Lord GOD says: ‘A disaster! A unique disaster! Behold, it comes.

An end has come. The end has come! It awakes against you. Behold, it comes.

Your doom has come to you, inhabitant of the land! The time has come! The day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, on the mountains.

Now I will shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations.

My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways. Your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I, the LORD, strike.

“‘Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has gone out. The rod has blossomed. Pride has budded.

Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness. None of them will remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth. There will be nothing of value among them.

The time has come! The day draws near. Don’t let the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is on all its multitude.

For the seller won’t return to that which is sold, although they are still alive; for the vision concerns the whole multitude of it. None will return. None will strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.

The Desolation of Israel

They have blown the trumpet, and have made all ready; but no one goes to the battle, for my wrath is on all its multitude.

“‘The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine within. He who is in the field will die by the sword. He who is in the city will be devoured by famine and pestilence.

But of those who escape, they will escape and will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, everyone in his iniquity.

All hands will be feeble, and all knees will be weak as water.

They will also clothe themselves with sackcloth, and horror will cover them. Shame will be on all faces, and baldness on all their heads.

They will cast their silver in the streets, and their gold will be as an unclean thing. Their silver and their gold won’t be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath. They won’t satisfy their souls or fill their bellies; because it has been the stumbling block of their iniquity.

As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty; but they made the images of their abominations and their detestable things therein. Therefore I have made it to them as an unclean thing.

I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a plunder; and they will profane it.

I will also turn my face from them, and they will profane my secret place. Robbers will enter into it, and profane it.

“‘Make chains, for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

Therefore I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the pride of the strong to cease. Their holy places will be profaned.

Destruction comes! They will seek peace, and there will be none.

Mischief will come on mischief, and rumor will be on rumor. They will seek a vision of the prophet; but the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.

The king will mourn, and the prince will be clothed with desolation. The hands of the people of the land will be troubled. I will do to them after their way, and according to their own judgments I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”