Ezekiel 6

1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

A message from the Lord came to me that said,

2 “Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy to them.

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

3 Say, 'Mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord Yahweh! The Lord Yahweh says this to the mountains and to the hills, to the streambeds, and to the valleys: Behold! I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

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.

4 Then your altars will become desolate and your pillars will be destroyed, and I will throw down your dead in front of their idols.

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.

5 I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, and scatter your bones around your altars.

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

6 Everywhere you live, cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined, so that your altars will be laid waste and made desolate. Then they will be broken and disappear, your pillars will be cut down and your works will be wiped away.

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.

7 The dead will fall down in your midst and you will know that I am Yahweh.

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

8 But I will preserve a remnant among you, and there will be some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered throughout the countries.

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

9 Then those who escape will think of me among the nations where they will be held captive, that I was grieved by their promiscuous heart that turned away from me, and by their eyes that whored after their idols. Then they will show loathing on their face for the wickedness which they have committed with all their abominations.

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.

10 So they will know that I am Yahweh. It was for a reason that I said I would bring this evil to them.

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.

11 The Lord Yahweh says this: Clap your hands and stomp your foot! Say, 'Alas!' because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! For they will fall by sword, famine, and plague.

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.

12 The one far away will die by plague, and the one who is near will fall by the sword. Those who remain and survive will die by famine. In this way I will accomplish my fury against them.

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.

13 Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when their dead lie among their idols, around their altars, on every high hill—on all the mountain peaks, and under every flourishing tree and thick oak—the places where they burned incense to all their idols.

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.

14 I will strike with my hand and make the land desolate and a waste, from the wilderness to Diblah, throughout all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.”

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.”