Ezekiel

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

1The LORD spoke his message to me. He said:

2Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,

2"Son of man, turn and face the mountains of Israel. Speak my words against them.

3And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.

3Say this: 'Mountains of Israel, listen to what the Lord GOD says. This is his message to the mountains and hills, to the valleys and the deep ravines: I am going to send an army with swords against you, and I will destroy your worship places on the high ground.

Note"High places" were shrines built on hilltops, where people offered sacrifices to idols. The word does not mean anything good or lofty here.

4And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols.

4Your altars will be torn down and your incense altars smashed. I will throw down your dead in front of your idols.

5And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars.

5I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel in front of their idols. I will scatter your bones around your altars.

6In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

6Everywhere you live, the towns will be left in ruins and the high worship places torn down. Your altars will be wrecked and left unclean. Your idols will be smashed and gone, your incense altars cut down, and everything you made wiped out.

7And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

7People will be killed and fall among you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

8Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.

8But I will leave some of you alive. Some will escape being killed when you are scattered among other nations and lands.

9And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.

9In those far countries where they are taken as prisoners, the survivors will remember me. They will see how I was hurt by their unfaithful hearts that turned away from me, and by their eyes that chased after idols. Then they will hate themselves for the evil and disgusting things they did.

NoteThe KJV says God is "broken" with their "whorish heart." The picture is of a marriage: Israel promised to belong to God alone, and going after idols was like cheating on a husband. God is grieved by it.

10And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.

10And they will know that I am the LORD. My warning that I would bring this trouble on them was not empty talk.'"

11Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.

11This is what the Lord GOD says: "Clap your hands, stamp your foot, and cry out, 'Oh no!' Cry out because of all the evil and disgusting things the people of Israel have done. They will die by the sword, by hunger, and by disease.

NoteIn the KJV, "smite with thine hand" does not mean hitting someone. It means clapping or striking your hands together as a loud sign of grief and alarm.

12He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.

12The one far away will die of disease. The one nearby will be killed by the sword. The one who is left and trapped in a surrounded city will die of hunger. That is how I will pour out my anger on them.

13Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.

13Then you will know that I am the LORD. You will know it when their dead lie among their idols, around their altars, on every high hill, on every mountaintop, and under every green tree and leafy oak. Those are the places where they burned sweet-smelling incense to all their idols.

14So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

14I will reach out my hand against them. Everywhere they live I will leave the land empty and ruined, from the desert all the way to Diblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

NoteDiblah is a place name. Nobody today knows for certain where it was; the point is a stretch of land emptied from one end to the other.