Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your wrongdoing is great And your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you.

你为何因损伤哀号呢？你的痛苦无法医治。我因你的罪孽甚大，罪恶众多，曾将这些加在你身上。

你为何因所受的损伤哀号呢？你的痛苦无法医治。我因你罪孽甚大，罪恶众多，曾将这些加在你身上。

你为何因所受的损伤哀号呢？你的痛苦无法医治。我因你罪孽甚大，罪恶众多，曾将这些加在你身上。

你们为何因自己无法医治的创伤而哭泣呢？因为你们罪大恶极，罪过无数，我才这样惩罚你们。

你为什么因你的损伤哀叫呢？你的病痛无法痊愈。我这样对你，是因你的罪孽甚多，你的罪恶无数。

你為何因損傷哀號呢？你的痛苦無法醫治。我因你的罪孽甚大，罪惡眾多，曾將這些加在你身上。

你為何因所受的損傷哀號呢？你的痛苦無法醫治。我因你罪孽甚大，罪惡眾多，曾將這些加在你身上。

你為何因所受的損傷哀號呢？你的痛苦無法醫治。我因你罪孽甚大，罪惡眾多，曾將這些加在你身上。

你們為何因自己無法醫治的創傷而哭泣呢？因為你們罪大惡極，罪過無數，我才這樣懲罰你們。

你為甚麼因你的損傷哀叫呢？你的病痛無法痊愈。我這樣對你，是因你的罪孽甚多，你的罪惡無數。

你為甚麼因你的破爛而哀呼你痛苦之無法醫治呢？我將這些刑罰施在你身上、都因你罪孽之眾多，你罪惡之重大呀。

爾曷因創傷而哀號乎、爾之痛苦、不可療也、我之待爾若此、以爾愆尤重大、罪惡增多也、

爾既遭難、何哭泣若此、因爾咎戾眾多、故予責爾、傷殘殊甚。

爾雖受傷損、痛苦難堪、豈可鳴冤、爾愆尤甚多、罪惡加增、故我待爾若是、

Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you.

Why do you cry out about your wound? Your pain can’t be healed. Your guilt is very great. And you have committed many sins. That is why I have done all these things to you.

Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you.

Why do you protest your punishment— this wound that has no cure? I have had to punish you because your sins are many and your guilt is great.

Why do you cry out about your injury? Your pain has no cure! I have done these things to you because of your enormous guilt and your innumerable sins.

Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.

Why criest thou for thy hurt? thy pain is incurable: for the greatness of thine iniquity, because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.

Why do you cry out about your injury? Your pain has no cure! I have done these things to you because of your enormous guilt and your innumerable sins.

Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow[ is] incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity:[ because] thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.

Why do you complain about your injuries, that your pain is incurable? I have done all this to you because your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

Why do you cry over your injury? Your pain is incurable. For the greatness of your iniquity, because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.

All your lovers have forgotten you, They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the punishment of a cruel one, Because your wrongdoing is great, And your sins are numerous.

“ For this is what the Lord says:‘ Your broken limb is irreparable, And your wound is incurable.

Should I lie about my right? My wound is incurable, though I am without wrongdoing.’

I will endure the rage of the Lord Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me out to the light, And I will look at His righteousness.

For your gods are as many as your cities, Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars for burning incense to Baal.

For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,‘ Because they have called you an outcast, saying:“ It is Zion; no one cares for her.” ’

“ Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, offer sacrifices to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say,‘ We are saved!’— so that you may do all these abominations?Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I Myself have seen it,” declares the Lord.

Her adversaries have become her masters, Her enemies are secure; For the Lord has caused her grief Because of the multitude of her wrongdoings; Her little ones have gone away As captives led by the enemy.

Your wrongdoings have turned these away, And your sins have kept good away from you.For wicked people are found among My people, They watch like fowlers lying in wait; They set a trap, They catch people.Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of deceit; Therefore they have become great and rich.They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, so that they may be successful; And they do not defend the rights of the poor.Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the Lord,‘ Or shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?’“ An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land:The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it this way! But what will you do when the end comes?

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,“ Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations,and say,‘ This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem:“ Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.“ When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood,‘ Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood,‘ Live!’I made you very numerous, like plants of the field. Then you grew up, became tall and reached the age for fine jewelry; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Yet you were naked and bare.“ Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love; so I spread My garment over you and covered your nakedness. I also swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became Mine,” declares the Lord God.“ Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you, and anointed you with oil.I also clothed you with colorfully woven cloth and put sandals of fine leather on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk.I adorned you with jewelry, put bracelets on your wrists, and a necklace around your neck.I also put a ring in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your dress was of fine linen, silk, and colorfully woven cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil; so you were exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.Then your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.“ But you trusted in your beauty and became unfaithful because of your fame, and you poured out your obscene practices on every passer by to whom it might be tempting.You took some of your clothes, made for yourself high places of various colors, and committed prostitution on them, which should not come about nor happen.You also took your beautiful jewels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself male images so that you might commit prostitution with them.Then you took your colorfully woven cloth and covered them, and offered My oil and My incense before them.Also My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you, you would offer before them for a soothing aroma; so it happened,” declares the Lord God.“ Furthermore, you took your sons and daughters whom you had borne to Me and sacrificed them to idols to be devoured. Were your obscene practices a trivial matter?You slaughtered My children and offered them to idols by making them pass through the fire.And besides all your abominations and obscene practices, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare and squirming in your blood.“ Then it came about after all your wickedness(‘ Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord God),that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every public square.You built yourself a high place at the beginning of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer by and multiplied your obscene practice.You also committed prostitution with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, and multiplied your obscene practice to provoke Me to anger.So behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and cut back your rations. And I turned you over to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your outrageous conduct.Moreover, you committed prostitution with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you committed prostitution with them and still were not satisfied.You also multiplied your obscene practice with the land of merchants, Chaldea; yet even with this you were not satisfied.” ’ ”“ How feverish is your heart,” declares the Lord God,“ while you do all these things, the action of a bold prostitute!When you built your shrine at the beginning of every street and made your high place in every public square, in spurning a prostitute’s fee, you were not like a prostitute.You adulteress wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband!Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you give your gifts to all your lovers and lavish favors on them so that they will come to you from every direction for your obscene practices.So it is the opposite for you from those women in your obscene practices, in that you are not approached for prostitution, and in the fact that you pay a prostitute’s fee, and no fee is paid to you; so you are the opposite.”Therefore, you prostitute, hear the word of the Lord.This is what the Lord God says:“ Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene practices with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to idols,therefore, behold, I am going to gather all your lovers whom you pleased, all those whom you loved as well as all those whom you hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness.So I will judge you as women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.I will also hand you over to your lovers, and they will tear down your shrines, demolish your high places, strip you of your clothing, take away your jewels, and will leave you naked and bare.They will incite a crowd against you, and they will stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.And they will burn your houses with fire and execute judgments against you in the sight of many women. Then I will put an end to your prostitution, and you will also no longer pay your lovers.So I will satisfy My fury against you and My jealousy will leave you, and I will be pacified and no longer be angry.Since you have not remembered the days of your youth but have caused Me unrest by all these things, behold, I in turn will bring your conduct down on your own head,” declares the Lord God,“ so that you will not commit this outrageous sin in addition to all your other abominations.“ Behold, everyone who quotes proverbs will quote this proverb about you, saying,‘ Like mother, like daughter.’You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters.Yet you have not merely walked in their ways and committed their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you also acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.As I live,” declares the Lord God,“ Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done!Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, plenty of food, and carefree ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.So they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. So you have made your sisters appear innocent by all your abominations which you have committed.Also, bear your disgrace in that you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent.“ Nevertheless, I will restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters, the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own fortunes,so that you will bear your disgrace and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them.Your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state.As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride,before your wickedness was uncovered, so now you have become the disgrace of the daughters of Edom and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines— those surrounding you who despise you.You have suffered the penalty of your outrageous sin and abominations,” the Lord declares.For this is what the Lord God says:“ I will also do with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.“ Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant.So I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord,so that you may remember and be ashamed, and not open your mouth again because of your disgrace, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord God declares.

Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces, Because their wrongdoings are many, Their apostasies are numerous.“ Why should I forgive you? Your sons have forsaken Me And sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They committed adultery And stayed at the prostitute’s house.They were well fed lusty horses, Each one neighing at his neighbor’s wife.Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord,“ And shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?

And after everything that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have spared us by inflicting less than our wrongdoing deserves, and have given us such an escaped remnant as this,

Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me.Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,“ Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them,‘ This is what the Lord God says:“ Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord God,“ I certainly will not be inquired of by you.” ’Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Make known to them the abominations of their fathers;and say to them,‘ This is what the Lord God says:“ On the day when I chose Israel and swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God,on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands.And I said to them,‘ Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away, each of them, the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they abandon the idols of Egypt.“ Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.But I acted for the sake of My name, that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them.Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out.Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands,because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their heart continually followed their idols.Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their annihilation in the wilderness.“ Instead, I said to their children in the wilderness,‘ Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.I am the Lord your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and follow them.Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to follow My ordinances which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to use up My anger against them in the wilderness.But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands,because they had not complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.I also gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they could not live;and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they made all their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the Lord.” ’“ Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them,‘ This is what the Lord God says:“ Again, in this your fathers have blasphemed Me by being disloyal to Me.When I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every tree thick with branches, and there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings.Then I said to them,‘ What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.” ’Therefore, say to the house of Israel,‘ This is what the Lord God says:“ Will you defile yourselves in the way of your fathers and adulterously pursue their detestable things?And when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Lord God,“ I certainly will not be inquired of by you.And whatever comes into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say:‘ We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, serving wood and stone.’“ As I live,” declares the Lord God,“ with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be king over you.I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out;and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face.Just as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God.“ I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;and I will purge from you the rebels and those who revolt against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside, but they will not enter the land of Israel. So you will know that I am the Lord.“ As for you, house of Israel,” this is what the Lord God says:“ Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer defile with your gifts and your idols.For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God,“ there the entire house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will accept them and there I will demand your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things.As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will show Myself to be holy among you in the sight of the nations.And you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers.And there you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you in behalf of My name, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’ ”Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,“ Son of man, set your face toward the south, and speak prophetically against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev,and say to the forest of the Negev,‘ Hear the word of the Lord: this is what the Lord God says:“ Behold, I am going to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not go out and the entire surface from south to north will be scorched by it.And all mankind will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it will not go out.” ’ ”Then I said,“ Oh, Lord God! They are saying of me,‘ Is he not just speaking in riddles?’ ”

Your own wickedness will correct you, And your apostasies will punish you; Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter For you to abandon the Lord your God, And the fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord God of armies.

Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.Yet the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place;but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people, until there was no remedy.So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or frail; He handed them all over to him.

The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us, for we have sinned!Because of this our heart is faint, Because of these things our eyes are dim;

Of what can any living mortal, or any man, Complain in view of his sins?

Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The oppressive city!She obeyed no voice, She accepted no discipline. She did not trust in the Lord, She did not approach her God.Her leaders within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They have no bones to gnaw in the morning.Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.The Lord is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the criminal knows no shame.

Go up to Gilead and obtain balm, Virgin daughter of Egypt! You have used many remedies in vain; There is no healing for you.

For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only evil in My sight since their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares the Lord.“ Indeed this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath since the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be removed from My sight,because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger— they, their kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen to accept discipline.But they put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.They built the high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben hinnom to make their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them, nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to mislead Judah to sin.

How the faithful city has become a prostitute, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once dwelt in her, But now murderers.Your silver has become waste matter, Your drink diluted with water.Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after gifts. They do not obtain justice for the orphan, Nor does the widow’s case come before them.Therefore the Lord God of armies, The Mighty One of Israel, declares,“ Ah, I will have satisfaction against My adversaries, And avenge Myself on My enemies.

When He keeps quiet, who can condemn? And when He hides His face, who then can look at Him, That is, regarding both nation and a person?—

and I said,“ My God, I am ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongful deeds have risen above our heads, and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and because of our wrongful deeds we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to open shame, as it is this day.

Therefore this wrongdoing will be to you Like a breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar, So ruthlessly shattered That a shard will not be found among its pieces To take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern.”

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,“ And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then inform her of all her abominations.And you shall say,‘ This is what the Lord God says:“ A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time is coming; and a city that makes idols, contrary to her own good, for defilement!You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you have become defiled by your idols which you have made. So you have brought your days closer and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a disgrace to the nations, and an object of mocking to all the lands.Those who are near and those who are far from you will make fun of you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil.“ Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood.They have treated father and mother with contempt among you. They have oppressed the stranger in your midst; they have oppressed the orphan and the widow among you.You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.Slanderous men have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood, and among you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed outrageous sin.Among you they have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; among you they have abused her who was unclean in her menstruation.And one has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife, another has outrageously defiled his daughter in law, and another among you has sexually abused his sister, his father’s daughter.Among you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest, you have injured your neighbors by oppression, and you have forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.“ Behold, then, I strike with My hand your profit which you have made and the bloodshed which is among you.Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong for the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.And I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among the lands, and I will eliminate your uncleanness from you.Then you will defile yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,“ Son of man, the house of Israel has become waste metal to Me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the smelting furnace; they are the waste metal of silver.Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:‘ Because all of you have become waste metal, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you.And I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My wrath on you.’ ”And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Oh, that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For those slain of the daughter of my people!Oh that I had in the desert A travelers’ lodging place; So that I might leave my people And go away from them! For all of them are adulterers, An assembly of treacherous people.“ They bend their tongues like their bows; Lies and not truth prevail in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,” declares the Lord.“ Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; Because every brother utterly betrays, And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.Everyone deceives his neighbor And does not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves committing wrongdoing.Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord.Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says:“ Behold, I will refine them and put them to the test; For what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly he sets an ambush for him.Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord.“ Shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?

For her wound is incurable, For it has come to Judah; It has reached the gate of my people, Even to Jerusalem.

“ For from the least of them to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet to the priest Everyone deals falsely.

He dug it all around, cleared it of stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it, And also carved out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.

Because of the sins of her prophets And the wrongdoings of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous,

“ For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of armies,“ so that it will leave them neither root nor branches.But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall.

Oh, sinful nation, People weighed down with guilt, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The entire head is sick And the entire heart is faint.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with wrongdoing; Your lips have spoken deceit, Your tongue mutters wickedness.No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; They conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.

But where are your gods Which you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you In the time of your trouble! For as many as the number of your cities Are your gods, Judah.“ Why do you contend with Me? You have all revolted against Me,” declares the Lord.“ In vain I have struck your sons; They did not accept discipline. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion.

For our wrongful acts have multiplied before You, And our sins have testified against us; For our wrongful acts are with us, And we know our wrongdoings:Offending and denying the Lord, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And uprightness cannot enter.Truth is lacking, And one who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.

Why has my pain been endless And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?

and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was in Ashtaroth.So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying,‘ Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them,“ We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us.” ’

Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim, And like rottenness to the house of Judah.When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his sore, Ephraim then went to Assyria And sent word to King Jareb. But he is unable to heal you, Or to cure you of your sore.

For this is what the Lord of armies says:“ Cut down her trees And pile up an assault ramp against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, In whose midst there is only oppression.As a well keeps its waters fresh, So she keeps fresh her wickedness. Violence and destruction are heard in her; Sickness and wounds are constantly before Me.

“ But they became rebellious and revolted against You, And threw Your Law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who had admonished them In order to bring them back to You, And they committed great blasphemies.Therefore You handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them, But when they cried out to You in the time of their distress, You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them people who saved them from the hand of their enemies.But as soon as they had rest, they did evil again before You; Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them. When they cried out again to You, You heard from heaven, And many times You rescued them according to Your compassion,And admonished them in order to turn them back to Your Law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your ordinances, Which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them. And they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen.However, You remained patient with them for many years, And admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, Yet they would not listen. Therefore You handed them over to the peoples of the lands.Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or abandon them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God.“ Now then, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps His covenant and faithfulness, Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You, Which has happened to us, our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and to all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day.However, You are righteous in everything that has happened to us; For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly.For our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our fathers have not kept Your Law Or paid attention to Your commandments and Your admonitions with which You have admonished them.But they, in their own kingdom, With Your great goodness which You gave them, With the broad and rich land which You placed before them, Did not serve You or turn from their evil deeds.Behold, we are slaves today, And as for the land which You gave to our fathers to eat its fruit and its bounty, Behold, we are slaves on it.