Ezekiel Tells of the End

7 Again the Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ² “Human, the Lord God says this to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come on the four corners of the land. ³ Now the end has come for you, and I will send my anger against you. I will judge you for the way you have lived, and I will make you pay for all your actions that I hate. ⁴ I will have no pity on you; I will not hold back punishment from you. Instead, I will make you pay for the way you have lived and for your actions that I hate. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁵ “This is what the Lord God says: Disaster on top of disaster is coming. ⁶ The end has come! The end has come! It has stirred itself up against you! Look! It has come! ⁷ Disaster has come for you who live in the land! The time has come; the day of confusion is near. There will be no happy shouting on the mountains. ⁸ Soon I will pour out my anger against you; I will carry out my anger against you. I will judge you for the way you have lived and will make you pay for everything you have done that I hate. ⁹ I will show no pity, and I will not hold back punishment. I will pay you back for the way you have lived and the things you have done that I hate. Then you will know that I am the Lord who punishes.

¹⁰ “Look, the day is here. It has come. Disaster has come, violence has grown, and there is more pride than ever. ¹¹ Violence has grown into a weapon for punishing wickedness. None of the people will be left—none of that crowd, none of their wealth, and nothing of value. ¹² The time has come; the day has arrived. Don’t let the buyer be happy or the seller be sad, because my burning anger is against the whole crowd. ¹³ Sellers will not return to the land they have sold as long as they live, because the vision against all that crowd will not be changed. Because of their sins, they will not save their lives. ¹⁴ They have blown the trumpet, and everything is ready. But no one is going to the battle, because my anger is against all that crowd.

¹⁵ “The sword is outside, and disease and hunger are inside. Whoever is in the field will die by the sword. Hunger and disease will destroy those in the city. ¹⁶ Those who are left alive and who escape will be on the mountains, moaning like doves of the valleys about their own sin. ¹⁷ All hands will hang weakly with fear, and all knees will become weak as water. ¹⁸ They will put on rough cloth to show how sad they are. They will tremble all over with fear. Their faces will show their shame, and all their heads will be shaved. ¹⁹ The people will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be like trash. Their silver and gold will not save them from the Lord’s anger. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, because it caused them to fall into sin. ²⁰ They were proud of their beautiful jewelry and used it to make their idols and their evil statues, which I hate. So I will turn their wealth into trash. ²¹ I will give it to foreigners as loot from war and to the most evil people in the world as treasure, and they will dishonor it. ²² I will also turn away from the people of Israel, and they will dishonor my treasured place. Then robbers will enter and dishonor it.

²³ “Make chains for captives, because the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. ²⁴ So I will bring the worst of the nations to take over the people’s houses. I will also end the pride of the strong, and their holy places will be dishonored. ²⁵ When the people are suffering greatly, they will look for peace, but there will be none. ²⁶ Disaster will come on top of disaster, and rumor will be added to rumor. Then they will try to get a vision from a prophet; the teachings of God from the priest and the advice from the elders will be lost. ²⁷ The king will cry greatly, the prince will give up hope, and the hands of the people who own land will shake with fear. I will punish them for the way they have lived. The way they have judged others is the way I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”