them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me?
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by
you.
26:020:004 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause
them to know the abominations of their fathers:
26:020:005 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I
chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the
house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of
Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the
LORD your God;
26:020:006 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them
forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for
them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all
lands:
26:020:007 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations
of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of
Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
26:020:008 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me:
they did not every man cast away the abominations of their
eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I
said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my
anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
26:020:009 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be
polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose
sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth
out of the land of Egypt.
26:020:010 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt,
and brought them into the wilderness.
26:020:011 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments,
which if a man do, he shall even live in them.
26:020:012 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me
and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that
sanctify them.
26:020:013 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness:
they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my
judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and
my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour
out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
26:020:014 But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be
polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them
out.
26:020:015 Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that
I would not bring them into the land which I had given them,
flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
26:020:016 Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my
statutes, but polluted my sabbaths: for their heart went after
their idols.
26:020:017 Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them,
neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.
26:020:018 But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not
in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their
judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
26:020:019 I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my
judgments, and do them;
26:020:020 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me
and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
26:020:021 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked
not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them,
which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted
my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them,
to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
26:020:022 Nevertheless I withdrew mine hand, and wrought for my name's
sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the
heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
26:020:023 I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I
would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them
through the countries;
26:020:024 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised
my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes were
after their fathers' idols.
26:020:025 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and
judgments whereby they should not live;
26:020:026 And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to
pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might
make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am
the LORD.
26:020:027 Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say
unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers
have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass
against me.
26:020:028 For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I
lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every
high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there
their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of
their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and
poured out there their drink offerings.
26:020:029 Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go?
And the name whereof is called Bamah unto this day.
26:020:030 Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and
commit ye whoredom after their abominations?
26:020:031 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass
through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols,
even unto this day: and shall I be enquired of by you, O house
of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be
enquired of by you.
26:020:032 And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that
ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the
countries, to serve wood and stone.
26:020:033 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and
with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I
rule over you:
26:020:034 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you
out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty
hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
26:020:035 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and
there will I plead with you face to face.
26:020:036 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the
land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
26:020:037 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring
you into the bond of the covenant:
26:020:038 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that
transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the
country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the
land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
26:020:039 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye,
serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will
not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with
your gifts, and with your idols.
26:020:040 For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of
Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of
Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept
them, and there will I require your offerings, and the
firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.
26:020:041 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out
from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein
ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before
the heathen.
26:020:042 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you
into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I
lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.
26:020:043 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings,
wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in
your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
26:020:044 And ye shall know that I am the LORD when I have wrought with
you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor
according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith
the Lord GOD.
26:020:045 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
26:020:046 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word
toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south
field;
26:020:047 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD;
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee,
and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry
tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces
from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
26:020:048 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it
shall not be quenched.
26:020:049 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak
parables?
26:021:001 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
26:021:002 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word
toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of
Israel,
26:021:003 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I
am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his
sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the
wicked.
26:021:004 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and
the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his
sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
26:021:005 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my
sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
26:021:006 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy
loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
26:021:007 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest
thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it
cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be
feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be
weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to
pass, saith the Lord GOD.
26:021:008 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
26:021:009 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A
sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
26:021:010 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that
it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the
rod of my son, as every tree.
26:021:011 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled:
this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into
the hand of the slayer.
26:021:012 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it
shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of
the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy
thigh.
26:021:013 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the
rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.
26:021:014 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands
together and let the sword be doubled the third time, the
sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are
slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
26:021:015 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates,
that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah!
it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.
26:021:016 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the
left, whithersoever thy face is set.
26:021:017 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my
fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
26:021:018 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
26:021:019 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword
of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth
out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the
head of the way to the city.
26:021:020 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the
Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
26:021:021 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at
the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his
arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the
liver.
26:021:022 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint
captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the
voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the
gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.
26:021:023 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their
sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to
remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
26:021:024 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your
iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are
discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear;
because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be
taken with the hand.
26:021:025 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come,
when iniquity shall have an end,
26:021:026 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the
crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and
abase him that is high.
26:021:027 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no
more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
26:021:028 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord
GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach;
even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the
slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the
glittering:
26:021:029 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie
unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are
slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity
shall have an end.
26:021:030 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee
in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy
nativity.
26:021:031 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow
against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into
the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.
26:021:032 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the
midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the
LORD have spoken it.
26:022:001 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
26:022:002 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the
bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.
26:022:003 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD, The city sheddeth
blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh
idols against herself to defile herself.
26:022:004 Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed; and
hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and
thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto
thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the
heathen, and a mocking to all countries.
26:022:005 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall
mock thee, which art infamous and much vexed.
26:022:006 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their
power to shed blood.
26:022:007 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst
of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in
thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.
26:022:008 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my
sabbaths.
26:022:009 In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee
they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit
lewdness.
26:022:010 In thee have they discovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee
have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution.
26:022:011 And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife;
and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and
another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's
daughter.
26:022:012 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken
usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy
neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord
GOD.
26:022:013 Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest
gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in
the midst of thee.
26:022:014 Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the
days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it,
and will do it.
26:022:015 And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee
in the countries, and will consume thy filthiness out of thee.
26:022:016 And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight
of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
26:022:017 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
26:022:018 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all
they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of
the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
26:022:019 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become
dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of
Jerusalem.
26:022:020 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,
into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to
melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury,
and I will leave you there, and melt you.
26:022:021 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my
wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst therof.
26:022:022 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye
be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the
LORD have poured out my fury upon you.
26:022:023 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
26:022:024 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not
cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
26:022:025 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof,
like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured
souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they
have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
26:022:026 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy
things: they have put no difference between the holy and
profane, neither have they shewed difference between the
unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my
sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
26:022:027 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the
prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest
gain.
26:022:028 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter,
seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith
the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
26:022:029 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised
robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have
oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
26:022:030 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the
hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I
should not destroy it: but I found none.
26:022:031 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have
consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I
recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
26:023:001 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
26:023:002 Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:
26:023:003 And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed
whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed,
and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.
26:023:004 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her
sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters.
Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem
Aholibah.
26:023:005 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted
on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
26:023:006 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them
desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.
26:023:007 Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that
were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she
doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.
26:023:008 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her
youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her
virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.
26:023:009 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers,
into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.
26:023:010 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her
daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous
among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.
26:023:011 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in
her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than
her sister in her whoredoms.
26:023:012 She doted upon the Assyrians her neighbours, captains and
rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses,
all of them desirable young men.
26:023:013 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they took both one way,
26:023:014 And that she increased her whoredoms: for when she saw men
pourtrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans
pourtrayed with vermilion,
26:023:015 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire
upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the
manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their
nativity:
26:023:016 And as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon
them, and sent messengers unto them into Chaldea.
26:023:017 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they
defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with
them, and her mind was alienated from them.
26:023:018 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness:
then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was
alienated from her sister.
26:023:019 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance
the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in
the land of Egypt.
26:023:020 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the
flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
26:023:021 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth,
in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy
youth.
26:023:022 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will
raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is
alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
26:023:023 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and
Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable
young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all
of them riding upon horses.
26:023:024 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and
wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set
against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I
will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee
according to their judgments.
26:023:025 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal
furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine
ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take
thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured
by the fire.
26:023:026 They shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away
thy fair jewels.
26:023:027 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy
whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt
not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more.
26:023:028 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into
the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from
whom thy mind is alienated:
26:023:029 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away
all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the
nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy
lewdness and thy whoredoms.
26:023:030 I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a
whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with
their idols.
26:023:031 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I
give her cup into thine hand.
26:023:032 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup
deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in
derision; it containeth much.
26:023:033 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup
of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister
Samaria.
26:023:034 Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break
the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I
have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
26:023:035 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten
me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy
lewdness and thy whoredoms.
26:023:036 The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge
Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their
abominations;
26:023:037 That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their
hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and
have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass
for them through the fire, to devour them.