1Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
2“You human, are you ready to condemn the people of Jerusalem? It is RHQ a city full of murderers MTY. Remind them of all the detestable things that they have done.
3Then say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says: By your murdering people and by ◄defiling yourselves/making yourselves unacceptable to God► by making idols, you people of this city APO have brought to yourselves the time when you will be destroyed.
4You have become guilty by doing both of those things DOU. You have brought to an end your time to remain alive DOU. Therefore I will cause you to become a group whom the people of other nations will scorn; they will all laugh at you DOU.
5People in countries that are near you and people who live far from you will make fun of you, because your city is full of lawless people and full of confusion.
6Think about how each of your Israeli kings have used their power to cause people to be murdered MTY.
7Your people do not respect/honor their parents; they have oppressed foreigners; they mistreat orphans and widows.
8You despise my sacred places and ◄dishonor/do not respect► the Sabbath days.
9Among you are men who tell lies in order to cause others to be executed MTY. There are those who eat food offered to idols at the hilltop shrines, and they perform disgusting sexual acts.
10There are men who have sex with their father's wives EUP, and men who have sex with women during their monthly menstrual periods.
11There are men who have sex with someone else's wife. Some men have sex with their daughters-in-law or with their sisters or half-sisters.
12There are among you men who accept bribes in order to cause someone to be executed MTY. You charge high interest when you lend people money. You become rich by forcing people to give you money. And the worst thing is that you have forgotten me, Yahweh the Lord.
13So I will shake my fists at you to show that I am angry with you because of your stealing money from people and murdering MTY people who live among you.
14When I finish punishing you, you will no longer RHQ be courageous/brave DOU. I, Yahweh, have said what I will do to you, and I will do it.
15I will cause you to be scattered among many nations DOU, and I will cause you to stop your sinful behavior.
16When the people of other nations see that you have been humiliated, you will know that I, Yahweh, have the power to do what I say that I will do.’ ”
17Yahweh also said to me,
18“You human, your Israeli people MTY have become useless to me. They are like MET dross/slag to me. They are like SIM the worthless copper, tin, iron, and lead that remains after silver is melted in a very hot furnace.
19Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: Because you have all become like dross/slag, I will gather you in Jerusalem.
20People put ore containing silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin in a very hot furnace and melt them in a blazing fire to burn up the impurities. Similarly SIM, I will gather you together inside Jerusalem, and because I am very angry with you, what I will do will be as though I am melting you.
21It will be as though I will blow on you with a hot breath that shows that I am very angry, and it will be as though you will be melted,
22as though you will be melted like SIM silver is melted in a furnace, and then you will know that I, Yahweh, have poured out my punishment MTY on you.”
23Yahweh gave me another message. He said,
24“You human, say to the Israeli people, ‘When Yahweh is angry with you, there has been no rain or showers in your country.’
25Your leaders are like SIM lions that tear apart the animals that they have killed. Your leaders destroy their people. They steal treasures and other valuable things from people, and they cause many women to become widows by murdering their husbands.
26Their priests disobey my laws and disrespect my sacred things by saying that there is no difference between things that are sacred and those that are not sacred, and by ignoring my laws about honoring the Sabbath days. As a result, they no longer honor me.
27Their officials are like SIM wolves that tear apart the animals that they have killed: They murder people DOU in order to get their money.
28Their prophets, by falsely saying they have received visions from God, and by giving false messages, try to ◄cover up MET/say that it is all right to commit►those sins. They say, ‘This is what Yahweh the Lord says,’ when I have said nothing to them.
29The Israeli people force others to give them money, and they rob people. They oppress poor DOU people, and they mistreat foreigners among them by not treating them fairly in the courts.
30I looked among them to find a man who would cause the people of the city to repent MET so that I would not need to get rid of them. But I did not find anyone.
31So because I am very angry with them, I will severely punish them MTY for all the wicked things that they have done. That will surely happen because I, Yahweh the Lord, have said it.”
