Ezekiel Prophesies Against the Mountains of Israel

¹A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ² “Son of man, turn your attention to the mountains of Israel. Prophesy against them. ³ Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, listen to the message of the Lord and King. Here is what he says to the mountains and hills. And here is what he says to the canyons and valleys. He tells them, “I will send swords to kill your people. I will destroy the high places where you worship other gods. ⁴ Your altars will be torn down. Your incense altars will be smashed. And I will kill your people in front of the statues of your gods. ⁵ I will put the dead bodies of Israelites in front of those statues. I will scatter your bones around your altars. ⁶ No matter where you live, the towns will be destroyed. The high places will be torn down. So your altars will be completely destroyed. The statues of your gods will be smashed to pieces. Your incense altars will be broken down. And everything you have made will be wiped out. ⁷ Your people will fall down dead among you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁸ “ ‘ “But I will spare some of you. Some will escape from being killed by swords. You will be scattered among other lands and nations. ⁹ You will be taken away to those nations as prisoners. Those of you who escape will remember me. You will recall how much pain your unfaithful hearts gave me. You turned away from me. Your eyes longed to see the statues of your gods. You will hate yourselves because of all the evil things you have done. I hate those things too. ¹⁰ You will know that I am the Lord. I said I would bring trouble on you. And my warning came true.” ’ ”

¹¹ The Lord and King said to me, “Clap your hands. Stamp your feet. Cry out, ‘How sad!’ Do this because the people of Israel have done so many evil things. I hate those things. Israel will be destroyed by war, hunger and plague. ¹² The one who is far away will die of the plague. The one who is near will be killed by swords. Anyone who is left alive and is spared will die of hunger. And in this way I will pour out my great anger on them. ¹³ Then they will know that I am the Lord. Their people will lie dead among the statues of their gods around their altars. Their bodies will lie on every high hill and every mountaintop. They will lie under every green tree and leafy oak tree. They used to offer sweet-smelling incense to all their gods at those places. ¹⁴ I will reach out my powerful hand against them. The land will become dry and empty. Those people will live from the desert all the way to Diblah. They will know that I am the Lord.”