Ezekiel 6

1 A message from the Lord came to me that said,

The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, face towards of Israel's mountains and prophesy against them.

“Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy to them,

3 Tell them: Mountains of Israel, listen to the message from the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and the hills, to the gorges and the valleys: I'm going to attack you and destroy your high places.

and say, ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! The Lord GOD says to the mountains and to the hills, to the watercourses and to the valleys: “Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword on you, and I will destroy your high places.

4 Your pagan altars will be torn down, and your incense altars will be smashed to pieces. I will kill your idol worshipers right in front of their idols.

Your altars will become desolate, and your incense altars will be broken. I will cast down your slain men before your idols.

5 I will put the dead bodies of you Israelites in front of your idols and scatter your bones around your altars.

I will lay the dead bodies of the children of Israel before their idols. I will scatter your bones around your altars.

6 Everywhere you live, the towns will be turned into rubble and the high places torn down. Your altars will be demolished and defiled. Your idols will be smashed and completely destroyed. Your incense altars will be knocked down, and all that you made will be ruined.

In all your dwelling places, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

7 People will be killed all throughout your country. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.

8 However, I will let some of you survive and scatter you among the different nations and countries.

“‘“Yet I will leave a remnant, in that you will have some that escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries.

9 Once they are they are there as prisoners in the nations, then the survivors will remember me. They will realize how sad they made me by their spiritual adultery as they deserted me with their eyes full of lust as they worshiped idols. They will hate themselves for the evil things they did, for all their disgusting sins.

Those of you that escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and with their eyes, which play the prostitute after their idols. Then they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

10 Then they will know that I am the Lord, and that I was not pretending when I warned them about bringing this disaster upon them.

They will know that I am the LORD. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”’

11 This is what the Lord God says: Hit yourself with your hands, stomp your feet, and shout out ‘Oh no!’ Do this because of all the terrible wickedness of the people of Israel. They are going to die by the sword and famine and disease.

“The Lord GOD says: ‘Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, “Alas!”, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel; for they will fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.

12 Those living far away will die from of disease, those who are close by will be killed by the sword, and those who are left will die of starvation. This is how I will express my anger towards them.

He who is far off will die of the pestilence. He who is near will fall by the sword. He who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus I will accomplish my wrath on them.

13 Then you will know that I am the Lord—when the idol worshipers lie dead among their idols and altars on the top of every hill and mountain, and under every green tree and large oak. These were the pagan shrines where they offered sweet-smelling incense to all their idols.

You will know that I am the LORD when their slain men are among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains, under every green tree, and under every thick oak—the places where they offered pleasant aroma to all their idols.

14 I'm going to lift up my hand to punish them. In every place they live I will make their country a wasteland, all the way from the desert in the south to Diblah in the north. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

I will stretch out my hand on them and make the land desolate and waste, from the wilderness toward Diblah, throughout all their habitations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”