201 Now in the seventh year , in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month , certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord , and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me saying , 3 "Son of man , speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live ," declares the Lord GOD , " I will not be inquired of by you."' 4 "Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man ? Make them know the abominations of their fathers ;
5 and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "On the day when I chose Israel and swore e to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt , when I swore e to them, saying , I am the Lord your God , 6 on that day I swore e to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey , which is the glory of all lands . 7 "I said to them, ' Cast away , each of you, the detestable things of his eyes , and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt ; I am the Lord your God .' 8 "But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes , nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt . Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt . 9 "But I acted for the sake of My name , that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt .
10 "So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness . 11 "I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances , by which , if a man observes them, he will live . 12 "Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. 13 "But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness . They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances , by which , if a man observes them, he will live ; and My sabbaths they greatly profaned . Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness , to annihilate them. 14 "But I acted for the sake of My name , that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations , before whose sight I had brought them out. 15 "Also I swore e to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey , which is the glory of all lands , 16 because they rejected My ordinances , and as for My statutes , they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths , for their heart continually went after their idols . 17 "Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their annihilation in the wilderness . 18 "I said to their children in the wilderness , ' Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols . 19 ' I am the Lord your God ; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them. 20 ' Sanctify My sabbaths ; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God .' 21 "But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes , nor were they careful to observe My ordinances , by which , if a man observes them, he will live ; they profaned My sabbaths . So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness . 22 "But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name , that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 "Also I swore e to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands , 24 because they had not observed My ordinances , but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths , and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers . 25 "I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live ; 26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts , in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate , in order that they might know that I am the Lord ."'
27 "Therefore , son of man , speak to the house of Israel and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed Me by acting treacherously against Me. 28 "When I had brought them into the land which I swore e to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every leafy tree , and they offered there their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering . There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings . 29 "Then I said to them, 'What is the high place to which you go ?' So its name is called Bamah to this day ."' 30 "Therefore , say to the house of Israel , 'Thus says the Lord GOD , "Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and play the harlot after their detestable things ? 31 "When you offer your gifts , when you cause your sons to pass through the fire , you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day . And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel ? As I live ," declares the Lord GOD , "I will not be inquired of by you. 32 "What comes into your mind will not come about, when you say : 'We will be like the nations , like the tribes of the lands , serving wood and stone .'
33 "As I live ," declares the Lord GOD , "surely e with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. 34 "I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered , with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples , and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face . 36 "As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt , so I will enter into judgment with you," declares the Lord GOD . 37 "I will make you pass under the rod , and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant ; 38 and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn , but they will not enter the land of Israel . Thus you will know that I am the Lord . 39 "As for you, O house of Israel ," thus says the Lord GOD , " Go , serve everyone his idols ; but later you will surely e listen to Me, and My holy name you will profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols . 40 "For on My holy mountain , on the high mountain of Israel ," declares the Lord GOD , "there the whole house of Israel , all of them, will serve Me in the land ; there I will accept them and there I will seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts , with all your holy things . 41 "As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered ; and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations . 42 "And you will know that I am the Lord , when I bring you into the land of Israel , into the land which I swore e to give to your forefathers . 43 "There you will remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done . 44 "Then you will know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you for My name's sake , not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds , O house of Israel ," declares the Lord GOD .' "
45 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying , 46 "Son of man , set your face toward Teman , and speak out against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev , 47 and say to the forest of the Negev , 'Hear the word of the Lord : thus says the Lord GOD , "Behold , I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree ; the blazing flame will not be quenched and the whole surface from south to north will be burned by it. 48 "All flesh will see that I, the Lord , have kindled it; it shall not be quenched .""' 49 Then I said , "Ah Lord GOD ! They are saying of me, 'Is he not just speaking parables ?' "
