¹ Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

² You, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? then cause her to know all her abominations.

³ You shall say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: A city that sheds blood in the midst of her, that her time may come, and that makes idols against herself to defile her!

⁴ You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed, and are defiled in your idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and are come even to your years: therefore have I made you a reproach to the nations, and a mocking to all the countries.

⁵ Those who are near, and those who are far from you, shall mock you, you infamous one [and] full of tumult.

⁶ Behold, the princes of Israel, everyone according to his power, have been in you to shed blood.

⁷ In you have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of you have they dealt by oppression with the foreigner; in you have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.

⁸ You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.

⁹ Slanderous men have been in you to shed blood; and in you they have eaten on the mountains: in the midst of you they have committed lewdness.

¹⁰ In you have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you have they humbled her who was unclean in her impurity.

¹¹ One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

¹² In you have they taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me, says the Lord Yahweh.

¹³ Behold, therefore, I have struck my hand at your dishonest gain which you have made, and at your blood which has been in the midst of you.

¹⁴ Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and will do it.

¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations, and disperse you through the countries; and I will consume your filthiness out of you.

¹⁶ You shall be profaned in yourself, in the sight of the nations; and you shall know that I am Yahweh.

¹⁷ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

¹⁸ Son of man, the house of Israel is become dross to me: all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

²⁰ As they gather silver and brass and iron and lead and tin into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you.

²¹ Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.

²² As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so you will be melted in its midst; and you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my wrath on you.

²³ The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

²⁴ Son of man, tell her, You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained on in the day of indignation.

²⁵ There is a conspiracy of her prophets in its midst, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in its midst.

²⁶ Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

²⁷ Her princes in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, [and] to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.

²⁸ Her prophets have plastered for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, when Yahweh has not spoken.

²⁹ The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery; yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.

³⁰ I sought for a man among them, who should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.

³¹ Therefore have I poured out my indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I brought on their heads, says the Lord Yahweh.

¹ Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

² Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh, or fully declare all his praise?

³ Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is one who does what is right at all times.

⁴ Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people. Visit me with your salvation,

⁵ that I may see the prosperity of your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.

⁶ We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.

⁷ Our fathers didn't understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn't remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea.

⁸ Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power known.

⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.

¹⁰ He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹ The waters covered their adversaries. There was not one of them left.

¹² Then they believed his words. They sang his praise.

¹³ They soon forgot his works. They didn't wait for his counsel,

¹⁴ but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested God in the wasteland.

¹⁵ He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.

¹⁶ They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, Yahweh's saint.

¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.

¹⁸ A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹ They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image.

²⁰ Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that eats grass.

²¹ They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt,

²² Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome things by the Red Sea.

²³ Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn't destroy them.

²⁴ Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn't believe his word,

²⁵ but murmured in their tents, and didn't listen to Yahweh's voice.

²⁶ Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness,

²⁷ that he would overthrow their seed among the nations, and scatter them in the lands.

²⁸ They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

²⁹ Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke in on them.

³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up, and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped.

³¹ That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come.

³² They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes;

³³ because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips.

³⁴ They didn't destroy the peoples, as Yahweh commanded them,

³⁵ but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works.

³⁶ They served their idols, which became a snare to them.

³⁷ Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

³⁸ They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted with blood.

³⁹ Thus were they defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves in their deeds.

⁴⁰ Therefore Yahweh burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance.

⁴¹ He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴² Their enemies also oppressed them. They were brought into subjection under their hand.

⁴³ Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity.

⁴⁴ Nevertheless he regarded their distress, when he heard their cry.

⁴⁵ He remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.

⁴⁶ He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captive.

⁴⁷ Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise!

⁴⁸ Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, "Amen." Praise Yah! BOOK V