1. The Lord said, “Mortal man, take a sharp sword and use it to shave off your beard and all your hair. Then weigh the hair on scales and divide it into three parts.
2. Burn a third of it in the city when the siege is over. Take another third and chop it up with your sword as you move about outside the city. Scatter the remaining third to the winds, and I will pursue it with my sword.
3. Keep back a few hairs and wrap them in the hem of your clothes.
4. Then take a few of them out again, throw them in the fire, and let them burn up. From them fire will spread to the whole nation of Israel.”
5. The Sovereign Lord said, “Look at Jerusalem. I put her at the centre of the world, with other countries all round her.
6. But Jerusalem rebelled against my commands and showed that she was more wicked than the other nations, more disobedient than the countries around her. Jerusalem rejected my commands and refused to keep my laws.
7. Now listen, Jerusalem, to what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying. By not obeying my laws or keeping my commands, you have caused more trouble than the nations around you. You have followed the customs of other nations.
8. And so I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling you that I am your enemy. I will pass judgement on you where all the nations can see it.