The Babylonian Exile

My eye will not spare you, I will have no pity; but will bring upon you what your ways deserve; and your disgusting practices will be among you. Then you will know it is I, ADONAI, striking you.

"'Here is the day! Here it comes! Doom has gone out, the rod has blossomed, arrogance has budded.

Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness. Nothing is left of them, nothing of their crowds, nothing of their wealth - there is nothing of importance in them.

The time has come, the day has arrived; let neither buyer rejoice nor seller regret; for wrath is coming to all her many people.

For the seller will not return to what he sold, even if he is still alive; for though the vision was brought to all her many people, nobody repented. Each kept living his own wicked life; they weren't strong enough [to repent].

The shofar has sounded, everything is ready, but no one goes out to the battle, for my wrath is coming to all her many people.

"'Outside is the sword, inside plague and famine. Those in the country will die by the sword. And as for those in the city, plague and famine will eat them up.

But if any of them manage to escape, they will head for the mountains like doves from the valleys, all of them moaning, each for his sin.

All hands will droop, all knees turn to water.

They will put on sackcloth; horror will cover them; every face will be ashamed, every head shaved bald.

They will throw their silver into the streets; their gold will be like something unclean. On the day of ADONAI's wrath their silver and gold won't be able to rescue them. These things won't satisfy their hunger, these things won't fill their stomachs, because these are what caused them to sin.

From their beautiful jewellery, in which they took such pride, they made their abominable idols and their other detestable things; therefore, for them I have caused it to be like something unclean.

I will hand it over to foreigners as booty, to the wicked of the earth as spoil, and they will profane it.

I will turn my face away from them; then [Bavel] will profane my secret place, robbers will enter and profane it.

"'Forge a chain, for the land is full of capital crimes and the city full of violence.

Therefore I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their homes; I will end the arrogance of the strong; and their holy places will be profaned.

When horror comes, they will seek peace; but there will be none.

Calamity will follow calamity, rumor will follow rumor; they will seek a vision from the prophet, but Torah will perish from the cohen and advice from the leaders.

The king will go into mourning, the prince will be clothed with fright, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble in terror. I will treat them as their way of life deserves and judge them as they have judged others. Then they will know that I am ADONAI.'"

On the fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year, as I was sitting in my house, and the leaders of Y'hudah were sitting there with me, the hand of Adonai ELOHIM fell on me.

I looked and saw what seemed like a man made of fire. From what appeared to be his waist downward was fire, and from his waist upward was what appeared to be a gleaming amber-colored brilliance.

The form of a hand was put out, which took me by a lock of my hair; and a spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me, in these visions from God, to Yerushalayim, to the entrance of the inner [courtyard] gate that faces north. There stood the idol that [arouses God's] jealousy and provokes [his] zealous indignation.

There before me was the glory of the God of Isra'el, as in the vision I had seen in the valley.

Then he said to me, "Human being, raise your eyes toward the north." I raised my eyes toward the north and saw, north of the Altar Gate, this image that [arouses God's] jealousy in the entryway.

He asked me, "Human being, do you see what they are doing, the horribly disgusting practices that the house of Isra'el is committing here, so that I must distance myself from my own sanctuary? But you will see even worse abominations."