¹ And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, using it like a haircutter's blade, and making it go over your head and the hair of your chin: and take scales for separating the hair by weight.

² You are to have a third part burned with fire inside the town, when the days of the attack are ended; and a third part you are to take and give blows with the sword round about it; and give a third part for the wind to take away, and let loose a sword after them.

³ And take from them a small number of hairs, folding them in your skirts.

⁴ And again take some of these and put them in the fire, burning them up in the fire; and say to all the children of Israel,

⁵ This is what the Lord has said: This is Jerusalem: I have put her among the nations, and countries are round her on every side;

⁶ And she has gone against my orders by doing evil more than the nations, and against my rules more than the countries round her: for they have given up my orders, and as for my rules, they have not gone in the way of them.

⁷ For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have been more uncontrolled than the nations round about you, and have not been guided by my rules or kept my orders, but have kept the orders of the nations round about you;

⁸ For this cause the Lord has said: See, I, even I, am against you; and I will be judging among you before the eyes of the nations.

⁹ And I will do in you what I have not done and will not do again, because of all your disgusting ways.

¹⁰ For this cause fathers will take their sons for food among you, and sons will make a meal of their fathers; and I will be judge among you, and all the rest of you I will send away to every wind.

¹¹ For this cause, by my life, says the Lord, because you have made my holy place unclean with all your hated things and all your disgusting ways, you will become disgusting to me; my eye will have no mercy and I will have no pity.

¹² A third of you will come to death from disease, wasting away among you through need of food; a third will be put to the sword round about you; and a third I will send away to every wind, letting loose a sword after them.

¹³ So my wrath will be complete and my passion will come to rest on them; and they will be certain that I the Lord have given the word of decision, when my wrath against them is complete.

¹⁴ And I will make you a waste and a name of shame among the nations round about you, in the eyes of everyone who goes by.

¹⁵ And you will be a name of shame and a cause of bitter words, an example and a wonder to the nations round about you, when I give effect to my judging among you in wrath and in passion and in burning protests: I the Lord have said it:

¹⁶ When I send on you the evil arrows of disease, causing destruction, which I will send to put an end to you; and, further, I will take away your necessary food.

¹⁷ And I will send on you need of food and evil beasts, and they will be a cause of loss to you; and disease and violent death will go through you; and I will send the sword on you: I the Lord have said it.

¹ And the teaching I gave you, my brothers, was such as I was able to give, not to those who have the Spirit, but to those who are still in the flesh, even to children in Christ.

² I gave you milk and not meat, because you were, then, unable to take it, and even now you are not able;

³ Because you are still in the flesh: for when there is envy and division among you, are you not still walking after the way of the flesh, even as natural men?

⁴ For when one says, I am of Paul; and another says, I am of Apollos; are you not talking like natural men?

⁵ What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They are but servants who gave you the good news as God gave it to them.

⁶ I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God gave the increase.

⁷ So then the planter is nothing, and the waterer is nothing; but God who gives the increase.

⁸ Now the planter and the waterer are working for the same end: but they will have their separate rewards in the measure of their work.

⁹ For we are workers with God: you are God's planting, God's building.

¹⁰ In the measure of the grace given to me, I, as a wise master-builder, have put the base in position, and another goes on building on it. But let every man take care what he puts on it.

¹¹ For there is no other base for the building but that which has been put down, which is Jesus Christ.

¹² But on the base a man may put gold, silver, stones of great price, wood, dry grass, cut stems;

¹³ Every man's work will be made clear in that day, because it will be tested by fire; and the fire itself will make clear the quality of every man's work.

¹⁴ If any man's work comes through the test, he will have a reward.

¹⁵ If the fire puts an end to any man's work, it will be his loss: but he will get salvation himself, though as by fire.

¹⁶ Do you not see that you are God's holy house, and that the Spirit of God has his place in you?

¹⁷ If anyone makes the house of God unclean, God will put an end to him; for the house of God is holy, and you are his house.

¹⁸ Let no man have a false idea. If any man seems to himself to be wise among you, let him become foolish, so that he may be wise.

¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolish before God. As it is said in the holy Writings, He who takes the wise in their secret designs:

²⁰ And again, The Lord has knowledge of the reasonings of the wise, that they are nothing.

²¹ So let no one take pride in men. For all things are yours;

²² Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

²³ And you are Christ's; and Christ is God's.