Ezekiel 7

1Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.

3Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations.footnote a

4And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

5Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.

6An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.footnote b

7The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains.footnote c

8Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations.

9And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.footnote d

10Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.

11Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them.footnote e

12The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

13For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life.footnote ffootnote gfootnote h

14They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

15The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him.

16But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.

17All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.footnote i

18They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.

19They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.footnote jfootnote k

20As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.footnote l

21And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it.

22My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.footnote m

23Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.

24Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled.footnote n

25Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.footnote o

26Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.

27The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.footnote p

The Hour of Doom

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“O son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says to the land of Israel:‘The end! The end has comeupon the four corners of the land. 3The end is now upon you,and I will unleash My anger against you.I will judge you according to your waysand repay you for all your abominations. 4I will not look on you with pity,nor will I spare you,but I will punish you for your waysand for the abominations among you.Then you will know that I am the LORD.’

5This is what the Lord GOD says:‘Disaster! An unprecedented disasterfootnote a—behold, it is coming! 6The end has come!The end has come!It has roused itself against you.Behold, it has come! 7Doom has come to you,O inhabitants of the land.The time has come;the day is near;there is panic on the mountainsinstead of shouts of joy.

8Very soon I will pour out My wrath upon youand vent My anger against you;I will judge you according to your waysand repay you for all your abominations. 9I will not look on you with pity,nor will I spare you,but I will punish you for your waysand for the abominations among you.Then you will know that it is I, the LORD,who strikes the blow.

10Behold, the day is here!It has come!Doom has gone out,the rod has budded,arrogance has bloomed. 11Their violence has grown into a rodto punish their wickedness.footnote bNone of them will remain:none of their multitude,none of their wealth,and nothing of value.

12The time has come;the day has arrived.Let the buyer not rejoiceand the seller not mourn,for wrath is upon the whole multitude. 13The seller will surely not recover what he soldwhile both remain alive.For the vision concerning the whole multitudewill not be revoked,and because of their iniquity,not one of them will preserve his life.

The Desolation of Israel

14They have blown the trumpetand made everything ready,but no one goes to war,for My wrath is upon the whole multitude. 15The sword is outside;plague and famine are within.Those in the country will die by the sword,and those in the city will be devouredby famine and plague.

16The survivors will escapeand live in the mountains,moaning like doves of the valley,each for his own iniquity. 17Every hand will go limp,and every knee will turn to water. 18They will put on sackcloth,and terror will overwhelm them.Shame will cover all their faces,and all their heads will be shaved.

19They will throw their silver into the streets,and their gold will seem unclean.Their silver and gold cannot save themin the day of the wrath of the LORD.They cannot satisfy their appetitesor fill their stomachs with wealth,for it became the stumbling blockthat brought their iniquity.

20His beautiful ornamentsthey transformed into prideand used them to fashiontheir vile images and detestable idols.Therefore I will make theseinto something unclean for them. 21And I will hand these things overas plunder to foreignersand loot to the wicked of the earth,who will defile them. 22I will turn My face away from them,and they will defile My treasured place.Violent men will enter it,and they will defile it.

23Forge the chain,for the land is full of crimes of bloodshed,and the city is full of violence. 24So I will bring the most wicked of nationsto take possession of their houses.I will end the pride of the mighty,and their holy places will be profaned.

25Anguish is coming!They will seek peace, but find none. 26Disaster upon disaster will come,and rumor after rumor.Then they will seek a vision from a prophet,but instruction from the priests will perish,as will counsel from the elders. 27The king will mourn,the prince will be clothed with despair,and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.I will deal with them according to their conduct,and I will judge them by their own standards.Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”