¹And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

²Son of man, you are dwelling in the middle of the house of rebellion, who have eyes to see and do not see, and have ears to hear and do not hear, for they are a house of rebellion.

³And you, son of man, prepare for yourself the articles of exile, and go into exile by day before their eyes; and you shall go into exile from your place to another place before their eyes. Perhaps they will see, for they are a house of rebellion.

⁴You shall bring out your articles like the articles of exile by day before their eyes, and you yourself shall go out in the evening before their eyes, like the goings-out of exile.

⁵Before their eyes, dig for yourself through the wall, and bring them out through it.

⁶Before their eyes you shall lift it onto your shoulder; in the darkness you shall bring it out. You shall cover your face and not see the land, for I have set you as a sign for the house of Israel.

⁷So I did as I was commanded: I brought out my articles like the articles of exile by day, and in the evening I dug for myself through the wall with my hand; in the darkness I brought it out, and I lifted it onto my shoulder before their eyes.

⁸And the word of Yahweh came to me in the morning, saying,

⁹Son of man, did not the house of Israel, the house of rebellion say to you, 'What are you doing?'

¹⁰Say to them, 'This is what the Adonai Yahweh says: This burden is for the prince in Jerusalem and for all the house of Israel who are in the midst of them.'

¹¹Say, 'I am your sign: as I have done, so it will be done to them; into exile, into captivity they will go.'

¹²As for the prince who is in their midst, he will lift it onto his shoulder in the darkness and go out; they will dig through the wall to bring it out through it. He will cover his face, because he will not see the land with his own eye.

¹³I will spread my net over him, and he will be caught in my hunting net; I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.

¹⁴All who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, I will scatter to every wind, and I will draw a sword after them.

¹⁵They will know that I am Yahweh when I scatter them among the nations, and I will disperse them through the lands.

¹⁶But I will leave over some of them, men few enough to count, from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, so that they may recount all their abominations among the nations where they have come; and they will know that I am Yahweh.

¹⁷And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

¹⁸Son of man, you shall eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with anxiety.

¹⁹You shall say to the people of the land, 'This is what the Adonai Yahweh says to the dwellers of Jerusalem, concerning the ground of Israel: They will eat their bread in anxiety and drink their water in dread, so that her land may become desolate, stripped of its fullness, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it.'

²⁰The cities that are dwelt in will lie waste, and the land will become a wasteland, and you will know that I am Yahweh.

²¹And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

²²Son of man, what is this proverb you have about the ground of Israel, saying, 'The days grow long, and every vision perishes'?

²³Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Adonai Yahweh says: I will put an end to this proverb, and they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel. But speak to them: The days have drawn near, and the word of every vision.'

²⁴For there will no longer be any empty vision or smooth divination in the midst of the house of Israel.

²⁵For I, Yahweh, will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be done; it will not be drawn out any longer. For in your days, house of rebellion, I will speak a word and do it—the utterance of the Adonai Yahweh.

²⁶And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

²⁷Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, 'The vision that he sees is for many days to come, and he is prophesying for times far off.'

²⁸Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Adonai Yahweh says: None of my words will be drawn out any longer; the word that I will speak will be done—the utterance of the Adonai Yahweh.'