Ezekiel 7:1-27

YAHWEH spoke to me and said, “Son of man, tell the people of Israel what I, Lord YAHWEH, say to the land of Israel: ‘Finished! The end has come over all the land. Now the end has come. I will unleash my anger on you and judge you for the way you have lived. I will judge you for all your loathsome practices. I will not show you pity nor spare you. Indeed, I will punish you for your conduct—the despicable evil you have done. Then you all will be convinced that I am YAHWEH.’ “The Lord YAHWEH says: ‘Look! An unheard-of disaster is coming. It’s all over for you! The end is near! Doom is awakened against you. Behold, the fateful day! Now it is your turn to be punished. You who dwell in this land, doom is coming, for the day of YAHWEH is near. The people will be shouting in panic, not shouting with joy at the shrines on the mountaintops. Very soon I will vent my fury on you and punish you until my anger is finished. I will judge you for the way you live and punish you for all your loathsome practices. I will show you no mercy nor spare you, but I will punish you for your conduct and for all your detestable deeds. Then you will know that I am YAHWEH who has punished you.’ ” “ ‘Now is the day of disaster. Behold, your doom has come! Brutality has blossomed, and pride is at its peak. Violence has grown up into a rod to punish their wickedness. None of these proud, evil people will survive. All their wealth and prestige will be swept away. The time of your doom is before you; the day of reckoning has come. Let not the buyer be happy nor the seller be sad, for wrath is upon the entire multitude. For the seller will not be able to return to what has been sold while they live. For the vision concerns them all. Each persists in sin, and no one will hold on to their lives. The trumpet sounds, everyone gets ready, but no one goes into battle, since my anger rests on everyone alike.’ ” “ ‘Enemies are lurking outside the city; inside are disease and starvation. Anyone out in the countryside will die in battle; anyone in the city will die by starvation and plague. And those who escape will flee to the mountains, moaning like doves of the valleys, each one moaning for his sin. Every hand will grow weak. Gripped with fear, they wet themselves. Terror covers them as they put on sackcloth. Shame covers their faces as they shave their heads bald. They will throw their silver away in the streets and their gold like filthy menstrual rags. Their wealth will not be able to save them on the day of YAHWEH’s fury. For it will be worthless on that day to buy food to fill their stomachs since it was their wealth that led them into sin. Once they were so proud of their beautiful jewelry, out of which they made their disgusting, horrible idols. Now I have made their wealth and jewels repulsive to them. I will give your wealth to foreigners, as spoils of war to the evilest people on earth, and they will profane it. I will turn my face away from them while my hidden, treasured place is profaned and thugs force their way in and defile it. “ ‘Prepare plenty of chains to bind up the captives. For the country is full of bloodshed and murders, and the city is full of violence, so I will bring evil nations here to seize their homes. I will put an end to the pride of their elite, and their sanctuary will be profaned. Panic is on the way! They will look for peace but never find it. One disaster will follow another, with rumor upon rumor. They will seek a vision from the prophet but in vain. The priestly teaching of the divine law will be destroyed, along with the counsel of the elders. The king will go into mourning, the officials will be wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people will tremble in terror. I will punish them for the way they have lived and judge them the same way as they have judged others. Then they will be convinced that I am YAHWEH!’ ”