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Chapter 7

The End Is Near. This word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel:

It is finished. The end is coming
    upon the four corners of the land.
Now the end is upon you.
    I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct,
    and punish you for all your loathsome deeds.
I will not look upon you with pity
    or be merciful to you.
I will punish you for your evil conduct
    and for your abominable practices.
Then you will know
    that I am the Lord.

Thus says the Lord God:

Disasters are coming, one after another.
    The end is coming; it is coming upon you.
    Behold its approach!
Your doom is coming upon you,
    O inhabitant of the land.
The time is coming, the day is near—
    a time of panic and not of rejoicing.
Soon I will pour out my wrath upon you
    and vent my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
    and punish you for your abominable deeds.
I will not look upon you with mercy,
    nor will I have pity on you.
I will repay you for your conduct
    and for the abominations in your midst.
Then you will know
    that it is I, the Lord, who strike.
10 Now is the day of the Lord.
    Behold, the end is at hand.
The scepter has blossomed;
    insolence is at its peak.
11 Violence has now become the means
    to punish wickedness.
None of the people will be left,
    nor their wealth nor anything of value.
12 The time has come; the day is near.
    Let not the buyer rejoice nor the seller mourn,
    for fury engulfs the entire populace.

13 The seller will not be able to recover what he has sold as long as he lives. Neither party will be willing to cancel out the transaction.

14 They have sounded the trumpet
    and made everything ready,
but no one goes to battle,
    my wrath falls upon all alike.
15 The sword is outside;
    pestilence and famine are within.
Those in the country will die by the sword;
    those in the city will be devoured
    by famine and pestilence.
16 If any manage to survive,
    they will escape to the mountains
    like doves of the valleys.
There I will slaughter them all,
    each one for his iniquity.
17 All their hands will be limp,
    and all their knees will turn to water.
18 They will put on sackcloth,
    their entire body trembling.
Shame shall be on all their faces,
    and their heads will be shaved.
19 They shall fling their silver into the streets,
    and their gold shall be considered as refuse.
Their silver and gold will not be able to save them
    on the day of the Lord’s wrath.
They will not be able to satisfy their hunger
    or to fill their bellies,
    for wealth was the reason for their iniquity.
20 They used to take pride
    in their beautiful jewelry
from which they would fashion
    vile, abominable images.
Therefore, I will regard their jewelry
    as nothing more than filth.
21 I will hand it all over to foreigners as plunder
    and as booty to the wicked of the earth,
    and they will defile it.
22 I will turn my face away from them
    while they profane my treasured land;
    the violent shall enter and defile it.
23 Prepare chains,
    because the land is full of bloodshed
    and the city is filled with violence.
24 I will bring in the cruelest of the nations
    to seize their houses.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the strong,
    and their sanctuaries will be profaned.
25 When terror comes, they will seek peace,
    but there will be none.
26 There will be disaster after disaster
    and rumor upon rumor.
Prophets will be pestered endlessly for a vision;
    priests will fail to offer guidance,
    and the elders will provide no counsel.
27 The king will go into mourning;
    the prince will be enveloped in despair;
    the hands of the common people will tremble.
I will deal with them as their conduct deserves,
    and I will judge them in accordance with their judgments.
    Thus they will know that I am the Lord.

The End Has Come

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:

“‘The end!(A) The end has come
    upon the four corners(B) of the land!
The end is now upon you,
    and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct(C)
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.(D)
I will not look on you with pity;(E)
    I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.

“‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’(F)

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Disaster!(G) Unheard-of[a] disaster!
    See, it comes!
The end(H) has come!
    The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
    See, it comes!
Doom has come upon you,
    upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day(I) is near!(J)
    There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
I am about to pour out my wrath(K) on you
    and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.(L)
I will not look on you with pity;
    I will not spare you.(M)
I will repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.(N)

“‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.(O)

10 “‘See, the day!
    See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
    the rod(P) has budded,
    arrogance has blossomed!
11 Violence(Q) has arisen,[b]
    a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
    none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
    nothing of value.(R)
12 The time has come!
    The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer(S) rejoice
    nor the seller grieve,
    for my wrath is on the whole crowd.(T)
13 The seller will not recover
    the property that was sold—
    as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
    will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
    will preserve their life.(U)

14 “‘They have blown the trumpet,(V)
    they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
    for my wrath(W) is on the whole crowd.
15 Outside is the sword;
    inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
    will die by the sword;
those in the city
    will be devoured by famine and plague.(X)
16 The fugitives(Y) who escape
    will flee to the mountains.
Like doves(Z) of the valleys,
    they will all moan,
    each for their own sins.(AA)
17 Every hand will go limp;(AB)
    every leg will be wet with urine.(AC)
18 They will put on sackcloth(AD)
    and be clothed with terror.(AE)
Every face will be covered with shame,
    and every head will be shaved.(AF)

19 “‘They will throw their silver into the streets,(AG)
    and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
    will not be able to deliver them
    in the day of the Lord’s wrath.(AH)
It will not satisfy(AI) their hunger
    or fill their stomachs,
    for it has caused them to stumble(AJ) into sin.(AK)
20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
    and used it to make(AL) their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;(AM)
    therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.(AN)
21 I will give their wealth as plunder(AO) to foreigners
    and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
    who will defile it.(AP)
22 I will turn my face(AQ) away from the people,
    and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
    and will defile it.(AR)

23 “‘Prepare chains!
    For the land is full of bloodshed,(AS)
    and the city is full of violence.(AT)
24 I will bring the most wicked of nations
    to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
    and their sanctuaries(AU) will be desecrated.(AV)
25 When terror comes,
    they will seek peace in vain.(AW)
26 Calamity upon calamity(AX) will come,
    and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,(AY)
    priestly instruction in the law will cease,
    the counsel of the elders will come to an end.(AZ)
27 The king will mourn,
    the prince will be clothed with despair,(BA)
    and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,(BB)
    and by their own standards I will judge them.

“‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.(BC)’”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 7:5 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Disaster after
  2. Ezekiel 7:11 Or The violent one has become