1 And thou sonne of man, take thee a sharpe knife, or take thee a barbours rasor and cause it to passe vpon thine head, and vpon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and deuide the heare. 2 Thou shalt burne with fire the thirde part in the middes of the citie, when the dayes of the siege are fulfilled, and thou shalt take the other thirde part, and smite about it with a knife, and the last thirde part thou shalt scatter in the winde, and I will drawe out a sworde after them. 3 Thou shalt also take thereof a fewe in nomber, and binde them in thy lappe. 4 Then take of them againe and cast them into the middes of the fire, and burne them in the fire: for thereof shall a fire come foorth into all the house of Israel. 5 Thus saith the Lord God, This is Ierusalem: I haue set it in the middes of the nations and countreyes, that are rounde about her. 6 And she hath changed my iudgements into wickednes more then the nations, and my statutes more then the countreis, that are round about her: for they haue refused my iudgemets and my statutes, and they haue not walked in them. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Because your multitude is greater then the nations that are rounde about you, and ye haue not walked in my statutes, neither haue ye kept my iudgements: no, ye haue not done according to the iudgements of the nations, that are rounde about you, 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Beholde, I, euen I come against thee, and will execute iudgement in the middes of thee, euen in the sight of the nations. 9 And I will doe in thee, that I neuer did before, neither will do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. 10 For in the middes of thee, the fathers shall eate their sonnes, and the sonnes shall eate their fathers, and I will execute iudgement in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the windes. 11 Wherefore, as I liue, saith the Lord God, Surely because thou hast defiled my Sanctuarie with all thy filthinesse, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also destroy thee, neither shall mine eye spare thee, neither will I haue any pitie. 12 The third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they bee consumed in the middes of thee: and another third part shall fall by the sword round about thee: and I will scatter the last third part into all windes, and I will drawe out a sword after them. 13 Thus shall mine anger bee accomplished, and I will cause my wrath to cease in them, and I will be comforted: and they shall knowe, that I the Lord haue spoke it in my zeale, when I haue accomplished my wrath in them. 14 Moreouer, I will make thee waste, and abhorred among the nations, that are round about thee, and in the sight of all that passe by. 15 So thou shalt bee a reproche and shame, a chastisement and an astonishment vnto the nations, that are rounde about thee, when I shall execute iudgements in thee, in anger and in wrath, and in sharpe rebukes: I the Lord haue spoken it. 16 When I shall sende vpon them the euill arrowes of famine, which shalbe for their destruction, and which I will sende to destroy you: and I will encrease the famine vpon you, and wil breake your staffe of bread. 17 So will I send vpon you famine, and euill beastes, and they shall spoyle thee, and pestilence and blood shall passe through thee, and I will bring the sworde vpon thee: I the Lord haue spoken it.
Ezekiel Cuts His Hair
1 The Lord said, “Mortal man, take a sharp sword and use it to shave off your beard and all your hair. Then weigh the hair on scales and divide it into three parts. 2 Burn up a third of it in the city when the siege is over. Take another third and chop it up with your sword as you move around outside the city. Scatter the remaining third to the winds, and I will pursue it with my sword. 3 Keep back a few hairs and wrap them in the hem of your clothes. 4 Then take a few of them out again, throw them in the fire, and let them burn up. From them fire will spread to the whole nation of Israel.”
5 The Sovereign Lord said, “Look at Jerusalem. I put her at the center of the world, with other countries all around her. 6 But Jerusalem rebelled against my commands and showed that she was more wicked than the other nations, more disobedient than the countries around her. Jerusalem rejected my commands and refused to keep my laws. 7 Now listen, Jerusalem, to what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying. By not obeying my laws or keeping my commands, you have caused more trouble than the nations around you. You have followed the customs of other nations. 8 And so I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling you that I am your enemy. I will pass judgment on you where all the nations can see it. 9 Because of all the things you do that I hate, I will punish Jerusalem as I have never done before and will never do again. 10 As a result, parents in Jerusalem will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and scatter in every direction any who are left alive.
11 “Therefore, as I am the living God—this is the word of the Sovereign Lord—because you defiled my Temple with all the evil, disgusting things you did, I will cut you down without mercy. 12 A third of your people will die from sickness and hunger in the city; a third will be cut down by swords outside the city; and I will scatter the last third to the winds and pursue them with a sword.
13 “You will feel all the force of my anger and rage until I am satisfied. When all this happens, you will be convinced that I, the Lord, have spoken to you because I am outraged at your unfaithfulness. 14 Everyone from the nations around you who passes by will sneer at you and keep their distance.
15 “When I am angry and furious with you and punish you, all the nations around you will be terrified. They will look at you with disgust and make fun of you. 16 I will cut off your supply of food and let you starve. You will feel the pains of hunger like sharp arrows sent to destroy you. 17 I will send hunger and wild animals to kill your children, and will send sickness, violence, and war to kill you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”