¹ And there came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.

² And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

³ Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their face: should I be inquired of at all by them?

⁴ Therefore speak to them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, I Jehovah will answer him according to this, according to the multitude of his idols:

⁵ that I may take the house of Israel by their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

⁶ Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Return ye, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

⁷ For every one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, who separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet to inquire of me by him, I Jehovah will answer him by myself;

⁸ and I will set my face against that man, and will make him desolate, [so that he shall be] for a sign and for proverbs, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people: and ye shall know that I [am] Jehovah.

⁹ And if the prophet be enticed and shall speak a word, I Jehovah have enticed that prophet; and I will stretch out my hand against him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

¹⁰ And they shall bear their iniquity: the iniquity of the prophet shall be even as the iniquity of the inquirer;

¹¹ that the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither make themselves any more unclean with all their transgressions; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, saith the Lord Jehovah.

¹² And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

¹³ Son of man, when a land sinneth against me by working unfaithfulness, and I stretch out my hand upon it, and break the staff of the bread thereof, and send famine upon it, and cut off man and beast from it;

¹⁴ though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, should be in it, they should deliver [but] their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord Jehovah.

¹⁵ If I cause evil beasts to pass through the land, and they bereave it, and it become a desolation, so that no one passeth through because of the beasts;

¹⁶ -- though these three men should be in it, [as] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters: they only should be delivered, and the land should be a desolation.

¹⁷ Or [if] I bring the sword upon that land, and say, sword, go through the land, so that I cut off man and beast from it,

¹⁸ and these three men should be in it, [as] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only themselves should be delivered.

¹⁹ Or [if] I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast,

²⁰ and Noah, Daniel, and Job should be in it, [as] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter: they should [but] deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

²¹ For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the evil beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!

²² But behold, there shall be left in it those that escape, who shall be brought out of [it], sons and daughters. Behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings; and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, as to all that I have brought upon it.

²³ And they shall comfort you, when ye see their way and their doings; and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord Jehovah.

¹ And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

² Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

³ Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him are guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.

⁴ Hear the word of Jehovah, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.

⁵ Thus saith Jehovah: What injustice have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and become vain?

⁶ And they said not, Where is Jehovah, that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and of pits, in a land of drought and of the shadow of death, in a land that no one passeth through, and Where no man dwelleth?

⁷ And I brought you into a fruitful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof; and ye entered and defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.

⁸ The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handled the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.

⁹ Therefore will I yet plead with you, saith Jehovah, and with your children's children will I plead.

¹⁰ For pass over to the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there have been such a thing.

¹¹ Hath a nation changed [its] gods? and they are no gods; -- but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.

¹² Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and shudder; be amazed very much, saith Jehovah.

¹³ For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water.

¹⁴ Is Israel a bondman? Is he a home-born [slave]? Why is he become a spoil?

¹⁵ The young lions roared against him, they gave forth their voice, and they made his land desolate: his cities are burned, without inhabitant.

¹⁶ Even the children of Noph and Tahapanes have fed on the crown of thy head.

¹⁷ Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, at the time he was leading thee in the way?

¹⁸ And now, what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? And what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?

¹⁹ Thine own wickedness chastiseth thee, and thy backslidings reprove thee: know then and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

²⁰ For of old thou hast broken thy yoke, [and] burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not serve. For upon every high hill, and under every green tree, thou bowest down, playing the harlot.

²¹ And I, -- I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate shoots of a strange vine unto me?

²² For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much potash, thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord Jehovah.

²³ How sayest thou, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals? See thy way in the valley, acknowledge what thou hast done -- a swift dromedary traversing her ways!

²⁴ -- a wild ass, used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind in her desire! In her ardour, who shall turn her away? All they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

²⁵ Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst. But thou saidst, There is no hope; no, for I love strangers, and after them will I go.

²⁶ As a thief is ashamed when he is found, so shall the house of Israel be ashamed -- they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets --

²⁷ saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth; for they have turned the back unto me, and not the face; and in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us!

²⁸ Where then are thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for as the number of thy cities, are thy gods, O Judah.

²⁹ Wherefore would ye contend with me? Ye all have transgressed against me, saith Jehovah.

³⁰ In vain have I smitten your children: they received no correction. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

³¹ O generation, mark ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Wherefore say my people, We have dominion; we will come no more unto thee?

³² Doth a virgin forget her ornaments, a bride her attire? But my people have forgotten me days without number.

³³ How dost thou trim thy way to seek love! Therefore hast thou also accustomed thy ways to wickedness.

³⁴ Yea, in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor, whom thou didst not encounter breaking in, but [it is found] upon all these.

³⁵ And thou sayest, Indeed I am innocent; his anger will turn from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

³⁶ Why dost thou gad about so much, and change thy way? Thou shalt also be brought to shame by Egypt, as thou wast brought to shame by Assyria.

³⁷ Thou shalt indeed go forth from her with thy hands upon thy head; for Jehovah hath rejected those thou confidest in, and thou shalt not prosper by them.