Ezekiel 6

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

1God's message came to Ezekiel, a man who told people what God said. God told him:

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

2"Son of man, look toward the mountains of Israel. Speak my words against them." "Son of man" means "human being." That is what God calls Ezekiel.

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. He speaks to the mountains and hills, and to the valleys and streams. I am bringing war against you. I will destroy your high places, where people worshiped false gods."

Note"High places" were worship spots built on hills and mountains. People went there to worship idols.

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. Altars are tables where people gave gifts to a god. Your small incense altars will be smashed. I will throw down your dead in front of their idols.

NoteThe KJV says "images" here. It means small altars where people burned sweet-smelling smoke, not pictures or statues.

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 Israel's people in front of their idols. I will scatter your bones all 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 cities will be knocked down. The high places will be ruined. Your altars will be broken and left empty. Your idols will be smashed and gone. Your incense altars will be cut down. Everything you made will be wiped away.

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

7People will be killed all around 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 the war and live in other lands, spread far apart.

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.

9Those who escape will remember me in the far-off lands where they are taken. Their hearts left me and loved false gods. Their eyes chased after idols. That hurt me deeply. They will hate themselves for the evil things they did.

NoteThe KJV uses words about a husband and wife being unfaithful. Here they describe people leaving God to worship idols.

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.

10Then they will know that I am the LORD. I meant what I said when I warned them of this trouble.

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.

11The Lord GOD says: "Clap your hands. Stamp your feet. Cry out, 'Oh no!' Say it because of all the terrible things Israel's people have done. They will die by war, by hunger, and by a deadly sickness."

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 who is far away will die of the sickness. The one who is near will die in the fighting. Whoever is left inside a city, with enemies all around it, 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. Their dead will lie among their idols, around their altars. They will lie on every high hill and mountaintop. They will lie under every green tree and leafy oak. Those are the places where they burned sweet-smelling smoke as gifts to 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. I will make their land empty and ruined, everywhere they live. It will be emptier than the desert near Diblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD.