Ezekiel 6

1 Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

2 “You human, turn toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy [what will happen to] them, and say,

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

3 ‘You mountains and hills of Israel [APO], listen to what Yahweh the Lord says to you: “I am about to [enemy soldiers with] swords to come and destroy [the shrines on] your hilltops.

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 They will smash all the [for worshiping idols] and the altars for burning incense. And they will [many Israeli] people in front of those idols.

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

5 Their corpses will lie in front of their idols, and their bones will be scattered around their altars.

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

6 Wherever the Israelis live, their towns will be ruined, and the shrines where they worship idols will be smashed. Their altars will be completely smashed [DOU], their idols will be completely smashed [DOU], and everything that they own will become a pile of ruins.

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 Many of their people will be killed; and then they will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do the things that I say that I will do].

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

8 But I will allow some of the Israelis to remain alive. They will escape being killed when their enemies scatter them among many other nations.

“‘“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 When that happens, in those nations to which they have been forced to go, those who have escaped from being killed will think about me. They will remember that I was very grieved because of their turning away from me [IDM] with their inner beings, and because they very much desired [IDM] to worship their idols. They will (hate/be very displeased with) themselves because of the evil and detestable things that they have done.

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 [they will realize that] I, Yahweh, [have punished them. They will realize that] when I threatened to punish them, I surely intended [LIT] to do that.

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

11 So this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, [to you, Ezekiel]: ‘Wring your hands and stamp your feet and cry [to show that you are distressed], and [about what will happen to] your Israeli people [MTY] because of all their wicked and detestable behavior. They will be killed [their enemies’] swords, they will die from hunger, and they will die from plagues.

“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 who are far [from Jerusalem] will die from plagues, those who are close [to Jerusalem] will be killed by [their enemies’] swords, and those who are still alive will die from hunger. That is how I will punish [MTY] 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 [Some of] your people’s corpses will lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hilltop and on all the mountaintops, under every big tree [DOU]—at all the places where they burned incense [honor] their idols. Then they will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].

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 And I will stretch out my arm and cause your entire country to become an empty wasteland, from the [in the far south] to [town in the far north]. Then they will realize that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do the things that I say that I will do].’”

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.’”