Prophecy against Israel’s Idolatry
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, face the mountains of Israel 6:2 Ezk 36:1 and prophesy against them. 3 You are to say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 6:3–4 Lv 26:304 Your altars will be desolated and your shrines 6:4 Or incense altars, also in v. 6 smashed. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols. 5 I will lay the corpses of the Israelites in front of their idols and scatter your bones around your altars. 6 Wherever you live the cities will be in ruins and the high places will be desolate, so that your altars will lie in ruins and be desecrated, 6:6 Hb obscure your idols smashed and obliterated, your shrines cut down, and what you have made wiped out. 7 The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.
8 "Yet I will leave a remnant when you are scattered among the nations, for throughout the countries there will be some of you who will escape the sword. 6:8 Jr 44:14,28; Ezk 7:169 Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are taken captive, 6:9 Dt 4:29 how I was crushed by their promiscuous hearts that turned away from me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. 6:9 Ps 78:40 They will loathe themselves because of the evil things they did, 6:9 Ezk 20:43; 36:31 their detestable actions of every kind. 10 And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten to bring this disaster on them without a reason.
Lament over the Fall of Jerusalem
11 "This is what the Lord God says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, 6:11 Ezk 21:14,17; 25:6 and cry out over all the evil and detestable practices of the house of Israel, who will fall by the sword, famine, and plague. 6:11 Ezk 5:1212 The one who is far off will die by plague; the one who is near will fall by the sword; and the one who remains and is spared 6:12 Or besieged will die of famine. In this way I will exhaust my wrath on them. 6:12 Ezk 5:1313 You will all know that I am the Lord when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, 6:13 Ezk 6:4–7 on every high hill, 6:13 Is 57:5–7; Jr 2:20; Ezk 20:28; Hs 4:13 on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and every leafy oak — the places where they offered pleasing aromas to all their idols. 14 I will stretch out my hand against them, 6:14 Is 5:25 and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Riblah. 6:14 Some Hb mss, some LXX mss; other Hb mss read Diblah; 2Kg 23:33; Jr 39:5 Then they will know that I am the Lord."