Idolatrous Worship and Idolatrous Objects Denounced

¹ And the word of Yahweh ⌞came⌟¹ to me, saying,

1. Literally “was”

² “Son of man,¹ set your face to the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them,

1. Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”

³ and you must say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys: “Look, I am bringing upon you the sword, and I will destroy your high places,

⁴ and your altars will be desolate, and your incense altars will be broken, and I will throw down your slain ones ⌞before⌟¹ your idols,

1. Literally “to the face of”

⁵ and I will place¹ the corpses of the children of Israel ⌞before⌟² their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars.

1. Or “give”
2. Literally “to the face of”

⁶ In all of your dwellings, the cities will be desolate and the high places will be ruined, so that your altars will be desolate and will suffer punishment. Your idols will be broken and will come to an end, and your incense altars will be cut down, and your works will be destroyed,

⁷ and the slain one will fall in the midst of you, and then you will know that I am Yahweh.

⁸ But¹ I will spare some, ⌞so there will be⌟² for you fugitives from the sword among the nations ⌞when you are scattered⌟³ in the countries.

1. Or “And”
2. Literally “at their being”
3. Literally “at you to be scattered”

⁹ And your fugitives will remember me among the nations to which they were taken captive, that I was shattered by ⌞their adulterous heart⌟¹ which departed from me, and by ⌞their adulterous eyes⌟² which went after their idols, and they will feel loathing ⌞for themselves⌟,³ for the evil that they did, for all of their detestable things.

1. Literally “heart their which was prostituting itself”
2. Literally “eyes their which were prostituting”
3. Literally “for their face”

¹⁰ And they will know that I am Yahweh; not ⌞in vain⌟¹ I spoke to bring to them this evil.” ’

1. Literally “to nothing”

¹¹ Thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Clap your hand and stamp with your foot, and say, “Alas, for all of the detestable things of the evil of the house of Israel, ⌞because of which⌟¹ they will fall with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague.

1. Literally “which”

¹² The one who is far away will die by the plague, and the one who is near will fall by the sword, and the one who is being left behind and being spared will die by the famine, and I will complete my rage on¹ them.

1. Or “toward”

¹³ And you will know that I am Yahweh ⌞when their slain ones are in the midst of their idols⌟¹ around their altars at every high hill, on the tops of all the mountains and under every green tree and under every leafy oak—the place at which they gave a pleasing scent for all of their idols.

1. Literally “in the being of their slain ones in the midst of their idols”

¹⁴ And I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land a desolation and a wasteland from the desert to Riblah in all of their dwellings, and they will know that I am Yahweh.” ’ ”