by Septuagint
[64] Wherefore it is neither to be supposed nor said that they are gods, seeing, they are able neither to judge causes, nor to do good unto men. [65] Knowing therefore that they are no gods, fear them not,
[66] For they can neither curse nor bless kings: [67] Neither can they shew signs in the heavens among the heathen, nor shine as the sun, nor give light as the moon. [68] The beasts are better than they: for they can get under a cover and help themselves. [69] It is then by no means manifest unto us that they are gods: therefore fear them not.
[70] For as a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers keepeth nothing: so are their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold. [71] And likewise their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold, are like to a white thorn in an orchard, that every bird sitteth upon; as also to a dead body, that is east into the dark. [72] And ye shall know them to be no gods by the bright purple that rotteth upon them: and they themselves afterward shall be eaten, and shall be a reproach in the country.
[73] Better therefore is the just man that hath none idols: for he shall be far from reproach.
Ezekiel
Chapter 1
[1] Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, that I was in the midst of the captivity by the river of Chobar; and the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. [2] On the fifth day of the month; this was the fifth year of the captivity of king Joakim. [3] And the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river of Chobar; and the hand of the Lord was upon me.
[4] And I looked, and, behold, a sweeping wind came from the north, and a great cloud on it, and there was brightness round about it, and gleaming fire, and in the midst of it as it were the appearance of amber in the midst of the fire, and brightness in it.
[5] And in the midst as it were the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; the likeness of a man was upon them. [6] And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. [7] And their legs were straight; and their feet were winged, and there were sparks, like gleaming brass, and their wings were light. [8] And the hand of a man was under their wings on their four sides. [9] And the faces of them four turned not when they went; they went everyone straight forward. [10] And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right of the four; and the face of a calf on the left of the four; and the face of an eagle to the four. [11] And the four had their wings spread out above; each one had two joined to one another, and two covered their bodies. [12] And each one went straight forward: wherever the spirit was going they went, and turned not back.
[13] And in the midst of the living creatures there was an appearance as of burning coals of fire, as an appearance of lamps turning among the living creatures; and the brightness of fire, and out of the fire came forth lightning. [14]
[15] And I looked, and, behold, the four had each one wheel on the ground near the living creatures. [16] And the appearance of the wheels was as the appearance of beryl: and the four had one likeness: and their work was as it were a wheel in a wheel. [17] They went on their four sides: they turned not as they went; [18] neither did their backs turn: and they were high: and I beheld them, and the backs of them four were full of eyes round about.
[19] And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures lifted themselves off the earth. the wheels were lifted off. [20] Wherever the cloud happened to be, there was the spirit ready to go: the wheels went and were lifted up with them; because the spirit of life was in the wheels. [21] When those went, the wheels went; and when those stood, the wheels stood; and when those lifted themselves off the earth, they were lifted off with them: for the spirit of life was in the wheels.
[22] And the likeness over the heads of the living creatures was as a firmament, as the appearance of crystal, spread out over their wings above. [23] And their wings were spread out under the firmament, reaching one to the other; two wings to each, covering their bodies. [24] And I heard the sound of their wings when they went, as the sound of much water: and when they stood, their wings were let down.
[25] And lo! a voice from above the firmament [26] that was over their head, there was as the appearance of a sapphire stone, and the likeness of a throne upon it: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as an appearance of a man above. [27] And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber from the appearance of the loins and upwards, and from the appearance of the loins and under I saw an appearance of fire, and the brightness thereof round about. [28] As the appearance of the bow when it is in the cloud in days of rain, so was the form of brightness round about.
Chapter 2
[1] This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And I saw and fell upon my face, and heard the voice of one speaking: and he said to me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak to thee. [2] And the Spirit came upon me, and took me up, and raised me, and set me on my feet: and I heard him speaking to me. [3] And he said to me, Son of Man, I send thee forth to the house of Israel, them that provoke me; who have provoked me, they and their fathers to this day. [4] And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord. [5] Whether then indeed they shall hear or fear. (for it is a provoking house,)yet they shall know that thou art a prophet in the midst of them.
[6] And thou, son of man, fear them not, nor be dismayed at their face; (for they will madden and will rise up against thee round about, and thou dwellest in the midst of scorpions): be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their countenance, for it is a provoking house. [7] And thou shalt speak my words to them, whether they will hear or fear: for it is a provoking house.
[8] And thou, son of man, hear him that speaks to thee; be not thou provoking, as the provoking house: open thy mouth, and eat what I give thee. [9] And I looked, and behold, a hand stretched out to me, and in it a volume of a book. [10] And he unrolled it before me: and in it the front and the back were written upon: and there was written in it Lamentation, and mournful song, and woe.
Chapter 3
[1] And he said to me, Son of Man, eat this volume, and go and speak to the children of Israel. [2] So he opened my mouth, and caused me to eat the volume.
And he said to me, Son of man, [3] thy mouth shall eat, and thy belly shall be filled with this volume that is given to thee. So I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
[4] And he said to me, Son of man, go thy way, and go in to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. [5] For thou art not sent to a people of hard speech, but to the house of Israel; [6] neither to many nations of other speech and other tongues, nor of harsh language, whose words thou wouldest not understand: although if I had sent thee to such, they would have hearkened to thee. [7] But the house of Israel will not be willing to hearken to thee; for they will not hearken to me: for all the house of Israel are stubborn and hard-hearted. [8] And, behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and I will strengthen thy power against their power. [9] And it shall be continually stronger than a rock: be not afraid of them, neither be dismayed at their faces, because it is a provoking house.
[10] And he said to me, Son of man, receive into thine heart all the words that I have spoken to thee, and hear them with thine ears. [11] And go thy way, go in to the captivity, to the children of thy people, and thou shalt speak to them, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
[12] Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me the voice as of a great earthquake, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place. [13] And I perceived the sound of the wings of the living creatures clapping one to the other, and the sound of the wheels was near them, and the sound of the earthquake. [14] And the Spirit lifted me, and took me up, and I went in the impulse of my spirit; and the hand of the Lord was mighty upon me.
[15] Then I passed through the air and came into the captivity, and went round to them
that dwelt by the river of Chobar who were there; and I sat there seven days, conversant in the midst of them.
[16] And after the seven days the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, [17] I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel; and thou shalt hear a word of my mouth, and shalt threaten them from me. [18] When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou hast not warned him, to give warning to the wicked, to turn from his ways, that he should live; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. [19] But if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, and from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, and thou shalt deliver thy soul.
[20] And when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits a trespass, and I shall bring punishment before him, he shall die, because thou didst not warn him: he shall even die in his sins, because his righteousness shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. [21] But if thou warn the righteous not to sin, and he sin not, the righteous shall surely live, because thou hast warned him; and thou shalt deliver thine own soul.
[22] And the hand of the Lord came upon me; and he said to me, Arise, and go forth into the plain, and there shalt thou be spoken to.
[23] And I arose, and went forth to the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, according to the vision, and according to the glory of the Lord, which I saw by the river of Chobar: and I fell on my face. [24] Then the Spirit came upon me, and set me on my feet, and spoke to me, and said to me, Go in, and shut thyself up in the midst of thine house. [25] And thou, son of man, behold, bonds are prepared for thee, and they shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not come forth of the midst of them. [26] Also I will bind thy tongue, and thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: because it is a provoking house. [27] But when I speak to thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord, He that hears, let him hear; and he that is disobedient, let him be disobedient: because it is a provoking house.
Chapter 4
[1] And thou, son of man, take thee a brick, and thou shalt set it before thy face, and shalt portray on it the city, even Jerusalem. [2] And thou shalt besiege it, and build works against it, and throw up a mound round about it, and pitch camps against it, and set up engines round about. [3] And take thou to thyself an iron pan, and thou shalt set it for an iron wall between thee and the city: and thou shalt set thy face against it, and it shall be in a siege, and thou shalt besiege it. This is a sign to the children of Israel.
[4] And thou shalt lie upon thy left side, and lay the iniquities of the house of Israel upon it, according to the number of the hundred and fifty days during which thou shalt lie upon it: and thou shalt bear their iniquities. [5] For I have appointed thee their iniquities for a number of days, for a hundred and ninety days: so thou shalt bear the iniquities of the house of Israel. [6] And thou shalt accomplish this, and then shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquities of the house of Juda forty days: I have appointed thee a day for a year.
[7] So thou shalt set thy face to the siege of Jerusalem, and shalt strengthen thine arm, and shalt prophesy against it. [8] And, behold, I have prepared bonds for thee, land thou mayest not turn from thy one side to the other, until the days of thy siege shall be accomplished.
[9] Take thou also to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and bread-corn; and thou shalt cast them into one earthen vessel, and shalt make them into loaves for thyself; and thou shalt eat them a hundred and ninety days, according to the number of the days during which thou sleepest on thy side. [10] And thou shalt eat thy food by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat them. [11] And thou shalt drink water by measure, even from time to time thou shalt drink the sixth part of a hin. [12] And thou shalt eat them as a barley cake: thou shalt bake them before their eyes in man’s dung.
[13] And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Thus shall the children of Israel eat unclean things among the Gentiles. [14] Then I said, Not so, Lord God of Israel: surely my soul has not been defiled with uncleanness; nor have I eaten, that which died of itself or was torn of beasts from my birth until now; neither has any corrupt flesh entered into my mouth.
[15] And he said to me, Behold, I have given thee dung of oxen instead of man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy loaves upon it.
[16] And he said to me, Son of man, behold, I break the support of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight and in want; and shall drink water by measure, and in a state of ruin: [17] that they may want bread and water; and a man and his brother shall be brought to ruin, and they shall pine away in their iniquities.
Chapter 5
[1] And thou, son of man, take thee a sword sharper than a barber’s razor; thou shalt procure it for thyself, and shalt bring it upon thine head, and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take a pair of scales, and shalt separate the hair. [2] A fourth part thou shalt burn in the fire in the midst of the city, at the fulfillment of the days of the siege: and thou shalt take a fourth part, and burn it up in the midst of it: and a fourth part thou shalt cut with a sword round about it: and a fourth part thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
[3] And thou shalt take thence a few in number, and shalt wrap them in the fold of thy garment. [4] And thou shalt take of these again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them up with fire: from thence shall come forth fire; and thou shalt say to the whole house of Israel,
[5] Thus saith the Lord; This is Jerusalem: I have set her and the countries round about her in the midst of the nations. [6] And thou shalt declare mine ordinances to the lawless one from out of the nations; and my statutes to the sinful one of the countries round about her: because they have rejected mine ordinances, and have not walked in my statutes.
[7] Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because your occasion for sin has been taken from the nations round about you, and ye have not walked in my statutes, nor kept mine ordinances, nay, ye have not even done according to the ordinances of the nations round about you; therefore thus saith the Lord; [8] Behold, I am against thee, and I will execute judgement in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. [9] And I will do in thee things which I have not done, and the like of which I will not do again, for all thine abominations. [10] Therefore the fathers shall eat their children in the midst of thee, and children shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgements in thee, and I will scatter all that are left of thee to every wind.
[11] Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord; surely, because thou hast defiled my holy things with all thine abominations, I also will reject thee; mine eye shall not spare, land I will have no mercy. [12] A fourth part of thee shall be cut off by pestilence, and a fourth part of thee shall be consumed in the midst of thee with famine: and as for another fourth part of thee, I will scatter them to every wind; and a fourth part of thee shall fall by sword round about thee, and I will draw out a sword after them.
[13] And my wrath and mine anger shall be accomplished upon them: and thou shalt know that I the Lord have spoken in my jealousy, when I have accomplished mine anger upon them.
[14] And I will make thee desolate, and thy daughters round about thee, in the sight of every one that passes through. [15] And thou shalt be mourned over and miserable among the nations round about thee, when I have executed judgements in thee in the vengeance of my wrath. I the Lord have spoken. [16] And when I have sent against them shafts of famine, then they shall be consumed, and I will break the strength of thy bread. [17] So I will send forth against thee famine and evil beasts, and I will take vengeance upon thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through upon thee; and I will bring a sword upon thee round about. I the Lord have spoken.
Chapter 6
[1] And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them; [3] and thou shalt say,
Ye mou
ntains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the valleys, and to the forests; Behold, I bring a sword upon you, and your high places shall be utterly destroyed. [4] And your altars shall be broken to pieces, and your consecrated plats; and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. [5] And I will scatter your bones round about your altars, [6] and in all your habitations: the cities shall be made desolate, and the high places utterly laid waste; that your altars may be destroyed, and your idols be broken to pieces, and your consecrated plats be abolished. [7] And slain men shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
[8] When there are some of you escaping from the sword among the Gentiles, and when ye are scattered in the countries; [9] then they of you that escape among the nations whither they were carried captive shall remember me; (I have sworn an oath against their heart that goes a-whoring from me, and their eyes that go a-whoring after their practices;)and they shall mourn over themselves for all their abominations. [10] And they shall know that I the Lord have spoken.
[11] Thus saith the Lord; Clap with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot and say, Aha, aha! for all the abominations of the house of Israel: they shall fall by the sword, and by pestilence, and by famine. [12] He that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that is far off shall die by the pestilence; and he that is in the siege shall be consumed with famine: and I will accomplish mine anger upon them.
[13] Then ye shall know that I am the Lord, when your slain are in the midst of your idols round about your altars, on every high hill, and under every shady tree, where they offered a sweet savour to all their idols. [14] And I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land desolate and ruined from the wilderness of Deblatha, in all their habitations: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.