1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Also,
thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel; An
end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now is the end
come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge
thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine
abominations.
4 And mine eye shall not
spare thee, neither will I have pity:but I will recompense thy ways upon
thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee:and ye shall
know that I am the Lord.
5 Thus saith
the Lord God; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. 6 An end is come,
the end is come:it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. 7 The morning
is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land:the time is come,
the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the
mountains.
8 Now will I shortly pour out
my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee:and I will judge
thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine
abominations.
9 And mine eye shall not
spare, neither will I have pity:I will recompense thee according to thy
ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall
know that I am the Lord that smiteth.
10
Behold the day, behold, it is come:the morning is gone forth; the rod
hath blossomed, pride hath budded. 11 Violence is risen up into a rod of
wickedness:none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of
any of theirs:neither shall there be wailing for them.
12
The time is come, the day draweth near:let not the buyer rejoice, nor
the seller mourn:for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 13 For the
seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet
alive:for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which
shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity
of his life.
14 They have blown the
trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle:for my
wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.
15
The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within:he that
is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city,
famine and pestilence shall devour him.
16 But
they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains
like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his
iniquity. 17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as
water. 18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror
shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon
all their heads.
19 They shall cast
their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed:their
silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of
the wrath of the Lord:they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill
their bowels:because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
20
As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty:but they made
the images of their abominations and of their detestable things
therein:therefore have I set it far from them. 21 And I will give it
into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the
earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. 22 My face will I turn
also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place:for the robbers
shall enter into it, and defile it.
23 Make a chain:for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.
24
Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess
their houses:I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and
their holy places shall be defiled.
25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.
26
Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour;
then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish
from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. 27 The king shall mourn,
and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the
people of the land shall be troubled:I will do unto them after their
way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall
know that I am the Lord.
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Comments by Joan Boney
The destruction was ordained by God because of the evil of their own ways against God. God gave them opportunity to repent and to turn. God even sent HIS prophets to give them opportunity to humble themselves and turn. Now they have purchased destruction and it would not end until the appointed time. For 70 years the captivity would continue. But even in this God gave them HIS mercy for God sent a prophet to tell them to plant vineyards, to marry, to multiply in the captivity for it would be a long captivity. And God even told them to seek good for their captors for it would go well with them in their captivity for the captivity was because of their disobedience to God and God had turned them over to their enemy and caused the enemy to prevail against them because of their evil. But in the end the captivity would end in the appointed time which for them was 70 years.