The history of Israel's walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; 20 And hallow cmy sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that 1 am the LORD your God. EZEKIEL, XX. manifold rebellions. when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day: t and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you. 32 And that which cometh u into your mind shall not v be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. A ch.6.9. 33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely w with a mighty hand, Ps. 119.37. and with a stretched-out arm, and l ver.39. with fury poured out, will I rule 25 Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; c Je. 17.22. e ver. 13.16. Le.26.33. 21 Notwithstanding the children d De.25.64. 27. De.9.23,24. 31.27. ness. Ps.81.12. 22 Nevertheless I withdrew mine 24 Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes k were after their fathers' idols. ICo. 10.22. r ch. 16. 19. 5 s or, told t ver.3. 26 And I polluted them in their mu ch. 11.5. own gifts, in that they caused to v ver.40. pass through the fire all n that w Je.21.5. openeth the womb, that I might De.30.5. make them desolate, to the endy Ho.2.14,15. that they might know that I am the LORD. z Je.2.9. a Is. 1.18. Je.33.13. La.3.1. 27 Therefore, son of man, speak Re.21.27. e Je. 44. 14. f Ju. 10.14. Am.4.4. 25.6,7. 29 Then I said unto them, What k Is.60.7. Zec.8.20, 7 or, chief. 8 savour of 30 TWherefore say unto the house Phi.4.18. 31 For when ye offer your gifts, vering. d ch.34.17. 39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ƒ ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearkeng unto me: but h pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.. 40 For in mine holy mountain, i in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will 1 accept k them, and there will 1 require your offerings, and the 7 first-fruits your oblations, with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you with your 8 sweet savour, i when I bring you out m from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified n in you before the heathen. 42 And ye shall know o that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up t 44 And ye shall know that I am s Ps. 103. 10. the LORD, when I have wrought Je.21.14. with you for my name's sake,r not s according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, Oye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. u ch.21.4. v Mar.9.44. b Job 9.22. c Ps.45.3. 45 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word tod Is.55.11. ward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; e Is.22.4. 47 And say to the forest of the f Is.28.19. south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, It will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from u the south to the north shall be burned therein. 1 go into. 48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.v h ver.19. 19 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables? 3 or, they are thrust down to the sword with my. i De.32.35. k Je.31.19. CHAPTER XXI. Ezekiel prophesieth against Jerusalem with a sign of sighing. AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop a thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel. 3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee b the right eous and the wicked. or, When the tria! hath been what then? shall they not also be long to the despising rod? 5 That all flesh may know the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath it shall not return d any more. 6 Sigh e therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. 4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword c go forth out of his sheath against allor, glitterflesh from the south to the north: ing, or, fear. Im ch.22.14. or, sharp ened. 5 hand to hand. set thyself, take the left hand. Mal.3.2.3. rest: I the LORD have said it. 1Co.3.13. n Je.49.2. 7 And it shall be, when they say 9 mother. unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? 10 or, knives. that thou shalt answer, for the tid-11 teraphim, ings; f because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all. against Jerusalem. hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall 1 be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GoD. 8 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying. 9 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: 10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter: it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it 2 contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. 11 And he hath given it to be furthat it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is fur bished, to give it into the hand of the h slaver. 12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: 3 terrors i by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite k therefore upon thy thigh. 134 Because it is a trial, land what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD. 14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thin 5 hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which en tereth into their privy chambers. 15 I have set the 6 point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, m and their ruins be multiplied. Ah! it is made bright, it is 7wrapped up for the slaughter. 16 Go the one way or other, either on the right hand, 8 or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. 17 I will also smite inine hands together, and I will cause my fury to 18 The word of the LORD came unto me again saying, 19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land; and choose thou a place. choose it at the head of the way to the city. 20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath n of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. 21 For the king of Babylon stood at the 9 parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use dr nation: he made his 10 arrows bright, he consulted with 11 gts, he looked in the liver. General corruption of 22 At his right hand was the divi- oaths made o Nu.32.23. 23 And it shall be unto them as a t Lu. 1.52. covered, so that in all q your doings EZEKIEL, XXII. 26 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt t him that is low, and abase him that is high. 27 14 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he u come whose right it is; and I will give it him. 28 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering; 12 rams, or, rams. perverted, will I u Ge.49. 10. 15 or, burn- 2 city of 3 make her 29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks a 2Ki.21.16. of them that are slain, of the wick-4 polluted ed, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. of name, much in vexation. of slanders. 8 or, every one. all orders of men. city? yea, thou shalt 3 show her all her abominations. 9 or, by 3 Then say thon, Thus saith the Lord GOD; The city sheddeth blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. 4 Thou art become guilty in thy a blood that thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a 5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art 4 infamous and much vexed. 5 arm. 6 or, deceit. 30 15 Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. 31 And I will pour out mine indig-b ch.18.6,&c. nation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of 16 brutish men, and skilful to destroy. 32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the Job 9.4. CHAPTER XXII. MOREOVER the word of the 10 or, be pro- thy filthiness out of the LORD came unto me, saying. 2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou 1judge, wilt thou judge the 2 bloody faned. 6 Behold the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their power to shed blood. 5 In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by 6 oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. 8 Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. 9 In thee bare men 7 that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. 10 In thee have they discovered their father's nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set, apart for pollution. 11 And 8 one hath committed abomination with his neighbour's wife; and another hath 9 lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedíly gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten c me, saith the Lord GOD. 13 T Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. 14 Cand thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the LORD have spoken it, and will do it. 15 And I will scattere thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume f shalt 10 take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of EZEKIEL, XXIII. B. C. 593. General corruption of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 17 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: g all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the 11dross h of silver. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jeru sudem. 20 12 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to biow the fire upon it, to melt it; so i will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. 21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 22 As silver is melted in the midstr Je.5.26-31. of the furnace, so shall ye be melt-11 or, deceit. ed in the midst thereof; and yes Ex.23.9. shall know that I the LORD have 15 without poured out k my fury upon you. right. 23 And the word of the LORD t Is.63.5. came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou~~~~ art the land that is not cleansed, u Je.5.1. nor rained upon in the day of indig v Pr. 1.31. & Ps. 119.119. Is. 1.22,25. 11 drosses, Je.6.30. h Is. 1.25. 12 According to the ga thering of. i Zec. 13.9. k ch.20.8,33. 1 Ho.6.9. m ch.13.18 20. 28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, q and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken. 29 The peopler of the land have used 14 oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have s oppressed the stranger 15 wrongfully. 30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the n ch.34.3. nation. 1 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; m they have taken n the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. 26 Her priests o have 13 violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no dif-2 ference p between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my subbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in the midst thereof ore like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. o Mal.2.7,8. 13 offered violence to, 2 Pe.3.16. P Le. 10.10. q La.2.14. Mi.3.11. Zep.3.3,4. (CHAP. 23.) a Je.3.7-11. b ch.20.8. Le. 17.7. Jos.24.14. c ch. 16.6,&c. 1 i. e. His tent, or, tabernacle. in her, 1K1.8.29. d 2Ki. 15. 19. 16.7. 17.3. Ho.8.9. bestowed 3 her whore doms upon. 4 choice of the children of Asshur. e2ki. 18.9-11. a name. 6 corrupted her inordinate love 5 more. f2Ch.33.9. g all orders of men. hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found u none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way u have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God. the whore doms of her sister. 2Ch.28. 16. CHAPTER XXIII. The whoredoms of Aholah and Aholibah. HE word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, there were two a women, the daughters of one mother: THE 3 And b they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: c there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. 4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names, Samaria is 1Aholah, and Jerusalem 2Aholibah. 5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians d her neighbours, 6 Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. 7 Thus she 3 committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the 4 chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself. 8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. 9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand e of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. 10 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: aud she became 5 famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her. 11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she 6 was more f corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than 7 her sister in her whoredoms. 12 She doted upon the Assyrians g her neighbours, captains and rulers clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding upon horses, and all of them desirable young men. The whoredom of EZEKIEL, XXIII. 13 Then I saw that she was de- B. C. 593. filed, that they took both one way, 14 And that she increased her h ch.8.10,11. whoredoms: for when she saw men portrayed upon h the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion, 15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity: Aholah and Aholihah. and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. 26 They q shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy 11 fair jewels. 27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to ceaser from thee, and thy whoredom brought s from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor children of remember Egypt any more. Babel. 18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated k from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. 8 at the sight i 2Ki.20.12, &c. 10 loosed, or, 16 And 8 as soon as she saw i them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messengers unto k Je. 15.1. them into Chaldea. 17 And the 9 Babylonians came to 1 Je.11.11,12. her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, m 2Sa. 13.15. and she was polluted with them, and her mind was 10 alienated from n La. 1.3. them. o Je.50.21. p Je.52.6,&c. 19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. 21 Thus thou calledst to remem-s ver.3, 19. brance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egypt ver. 17. tians for the paps of thy youth. 22 Therefore, O Aholibah, thus u La, 1.8. saith the Lord Gop; Behold, Il will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom m thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every n side; q Is.39.4-7. 11 instru- r ch. 16.41. 33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. 34 Thou shalt even drink z it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for 1 have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 35 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten a me, and b cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. x Je.25.15,&c. &c. 23 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, o and Shoa, and y ch.22.4,5, Koa, and all the Assyrians with them all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great z Ps.75.8. lords and renowned, all of them Is.51.17. riding upon horses. 36 T The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou 12 judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare c unto them their abominations; Je, 13.25. 24 And they shall come against a De.8.11,14. 37 That they have committed thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. c ch.20.4. 25 And I will set my jealousyd Ho.4.2. against thee, and they shall deal furiously p with thee they shall e Ps. 106.37. take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons f ch.5.11. 1Ti.5.24. w ch.6.9. b 1 Ki. 14.9. 12 or, plead 28 For thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom t thy mind is alienated: 29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness u of thy whoredoms shall be v discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. 30 I will do these things unto thee, because w thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. 31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. 32 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorny and had in derision; it containeth much. adultery, and blood d is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused e their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for then through the fire, to devour them. 38 Moreover this they have done unto me they have defiled my sanctuary ƒ in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. 39 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and lo, thus |