“Son of man, set your face toward the southland; preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb.
Now therefore hear the word of the Lord. “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel
The cities of the Negeb are shut up, with none to open them; all Judah is taken into exile, wholly taken into exile.
Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars! Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled!
“Do not preach”—thus they preach— “one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us.”
“Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them,
And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city.
I will prepare destroyers against you, each with his weapons, and they shall cut down your choicest cedars and cast them into the fire.
An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.
After I spoke they did not speak again, and my word dropped upon them.
May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.