Jerusalem Will Be Punished

I’ll spend my wrath on them. 13 You’ll know that I am the L when they are slain— among their idols, around their altars, on every lofty height, on the top of every hill, beneath every lush tree, and beneath every leafy oak— the places where they gave a pleasing aroma to all their idols. 14 In every place where they live I’ll punish them and make the land a desolation, more desolate than the wilderness of Diblah. Then they will know that I am the L.’ ”

Ezekiel 7

The End Has Come

1 The word of the L came to me: 2 “As for you, son of man, the Lord G says this regarding the land of Israel: ‘The end! The end has come to the four corners of the land! 3 Now the end is upon you, and I’m sending my anger against you. I’ll judge you according to your ways, and I’ll put the consequences of all your abominations upon you. 4 My eye will have no pity on you, nor will I spare you. For I’ll put the consequences of your ways upon you, and the consequences of your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I am the L.’ 5 “The Lord G says this: ‘One disaster after another disastera is coming! Believe me! 6 The end is coming! The end has come! It has awakened against you. Look, it is coming! 7 Doom has come to you who live in the land. The time has come; the day is near. There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.b 8 “ ‘Now soon I will pour out my wrath upon you, and I’ll spend my anger on you. I’ll judge you according to your ways, and I’ll put all the consequences of your abominations upon you. 9 My eye won’t have pity on you, nor will I spare you. I will put the consequences of your ways upon you, and the consequences of your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I am the L who strikes you.

10 “ ‘Pay attention! The day of doom! Beware, it’s coming! The doom has gone out. The branch has budded; arrogance has blossomed! 11 Violence has growna into a rod of wickedness. None of them will be left—not their people, wealth, or anything of value among them. 12 “ ‘The time has come! The day has arrived! Let the buyer not rejoice nor the seller mourn, for wrath is coming upon the whole multitude. 13 The seller will not return to the ancestral property that was sold as long as both buyer and seller live,b for the vision concerns the whole crowd and will not turn back. Due to their sins, none of them will preserve their life. 14 “ ‘They have sounded the trumpet.

Everyone is ready, but no one goes to battle, for my wrath is against their whole crowd. 15 The sword is outside, and plague and famine are inside. Whoever is in the field will die by the sword; famine and plague will devour those in the city.

Judgment on Israel for Their Sin

16 “ ‘Their survivors will escape, but they’ll be on the mountains like doves of the valleys—all of them mourning, each one for their sin. 17 Every hand will become limp, and every leg will be wet with urine.c 18 They’ll put on sackcloth, and they’ll be covered with horror. Shame will be on every face, and all of their heads will be shaved.d 19 They will throw their silver out in the streets, and their gold will be as worthless as a used menstrual cloth. Their silver and gold won’t be able to save them on the day of the L’s wrath. Their appetites for wealth won’t be satisfied, nor will their stomachs be filled, for their sin will be a stumbling block. 20 They were proud of their beautiful jewelrye and used it to make their abominable idols. Therefore I will make it used menstrual cloth. 21 I’ll make it plunder in the hand of foreigners—spoil for the wicked people of the earth—and they’ll profane it.

a Literally, “has arisen.” b A reference to the Jubilee Year land redemption described in Leviticus 25:13–34. c Literally, “every knee will go with water.” d Literally, “on all of their heads will be baldness.” Shaving one’s head was a sign of deep distress. e Literally, “They used their beautiful jewelry for pride.”