Et factum est verbum Domini ad me in anno nono, in mense decimo, decima die mensis, dicens:

And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, saying:

And so the ninth year came, and the tenth month, and the tenth day of it. And the Lord gave me this message:

Fili hominis, scribe tibi nomen diei hujus, in qua confirmatus est rex Babylonis adversum Jerusalem hodie.

Son of man, write thee the name of this day, on which the king of Babylon hath set himself against Jerusalem to day.

Son of man, write down this day as The Day Itself. This day, this very day, the king of Babylon has closed his grip on Jerusalem.

Et dices per proverbium ad domum irritatricem parabolam, et loqueris ad eos: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Pone ollam; pone, inquam, et mitte in eam aquam.

And thou shalt speak by a figure a parable to the provoking house, and say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Set on a pot, set it on, I say, and put water in to it.

A riddle, a parable, for the rebellious brood! Tell them the Lord God this bidding gave thee: Set a pot on the fire, but filling it first with water;

Congere frusta ejus in eam, omnem partem bonam, femur et armum, electa et ossibus plena.

Heap together into it the pieces thereof, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder, choice pieces and full of bones.

slice after slice goes in, all that is best; thigh and shoulder, the best joints of all, to fill the pot;

Pinguissimum pecus assume, compone quoque strues ossium sub ea: efferbuit coctio ejus, et discocta sunt ossa illius in medio ejus.

Take the fattest of the flock, and lay together piles of bones under it: the seething thereof is boiling hot, and the bones thereof are thoroughly sodden in the midst of it.

and fat be the sheep that yields them. Pile high the fuel beneath; now boil pot, and see the stew, there in the heart of it!

Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Væ civitati sanguinum, ollæ cujus rubigo in ea est, et rubigo ejus non exivit de ea! per partes et per partes suas ejice eam: non cecidit super eam sors.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is in it, and its rust is not gone out of it: cast it out piece by piece, there hath no lot fallen upon it.

But ah, says the Lord God, what of the city that is stained with blood? It is no better than a pot covered with rust, that cannot be scraped off any longer; broken in pieces that must be cast away one by one; never shall the lot fall upon it.

Sanguis enim ejus in medio ejus est; super limpidissimam petram effudit illum: non effudit illum super terram, ut possit operiri pulvere.

For her blood is in the midst of her, she hath shed it upon the smooth rock: she hath not shed it upon the ground, that it might be covered with dust.

Blood plain for all to see, spilt on the polished rock, not on earth that might hide it away under the dust;

Ut superinducerem indignationem meam, et vindicta ulciscerer, dedi sanguinem ejus super petram limpidissimam, ne operiretur.

And that I might bring my indignation upon her, and take my vengeance: I have shed her blood upon the smooth rock, that it should not be covered.

rock, not earth, so I would have it; blood unconcealed, to warrant my angry frown, my avenging punishments!

Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Væ civitati sanguinum, cujus ego grandem faciam pyram!

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, of which I will make a great bonfire.

Out upon the blood-stained city, says the Lord God, the great pyre I mean to kindle!

Congere ossa, quæ igne succendam: consumentur carnes, et coquetur universa compositio, et ossa tabescent.

Heap together the bones, which I will burn with fire: the flesh shall be consumed, and the whole composition shall be sodden, and the bones shall be consumed.

Pile high the fuel for its burning! Why, how is this, meat wasted, the whole dish charred, the very bones calcined?

Pone quoque eam super prunas vacuam, ut incalescat, et liquefiat æs ejus, et confletur in medio ejus inquinamentum ejus, et consumatur rubigo ejus.

Then set it empty upon burning coals, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may be melted: and let the filth of it be melted in the midst thereof, and let the rust of it be consumed.

Empty of water it must be set on the coals, till it is red-hot, and copper melts away, and the stain on it is burnt out, and it is rusty no more!

Multo labore sudatum est, et non exivit de ea nimia rubigo ejus, neque per ignem.

Great pains have been taken, and the great rust thereof is not gone out, not even by fire.

Alas, it is but labour spent in vain; so deep is that rust, even the fire will not drive it out.

Immunditia tua execrabilis, quia mundare te volui, et non es mundata a sordibus tuis: sed nec mundaberis prius, donec quiescere faciam indignationem meam in te.

Thy uncleanness is execrable: because I desired to cleanse thee, and thou art not cleansed from thy filthiness: neither shalt thou be cleansed, before I cause my indignation to rest in thee.

A curse lies on this uncleanness of thine; purge thee I would, yet purged thou wilt never be, never till I have taken full toll of my vengeance on thee.

Ego Dominus locutus sum: veniet, et faciam: non transeam, nec parcam, nec placabor: juxta vias tuas, et juxta adinventiones tuas judicabo te, dicit Dominus.

I the Lord have spoken: it shall come to pass, and I will do it: I will not pass by, nor spare, nor be pacified: I will judge thee according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, saith the Lord.

Such is my divine doom; come it must, executed it needs must be; indulgence is none, nor mercy, nor pity; I will pay thee what thy ill life, thy ill thoughts have earned.

Et factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens:

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

The Lord’s word came to me,

Fili hominis, ecce ego tollo a te desiderabile oculorum tuorum in plaga: et non planges, neque plorabis, neque fluent lacrimæ tuæ.

Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke: and thou shall not lament, nor weep: neither shall thy tears run down.

Son of man, I mean to smite thee down, by taking away from thee what thou most lovest. Dole make thou none, nor lament, shed never a tear.

Ingemisce tacens: mortuorum luctum non facies: corona tua circumligata sit tibi, et calceamenta tua erunt in pedibus tuis: nec amictu ora velabis, nec cibos lugentium comedes.

Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead: let the tire of thy head be upon thee, and thy shoes on thy feet, and cover not thy face, nor eat the meat of mourners.

Unmarked be thy sighing, with no funeral grief made; thy head covered, thy feet shod, no veil on thy face, no customary fare of mourners.

Locutus sum ergo ad populum mane, et mortua est uxor mea vespere: fecique mane sicut præceperat mihi.

So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening: and I did in the morning as he had commanded me.

And so it was; that morning I uttered my word to the people, and my wife died at set of sun. Next day, I did as the Lord bade me,

Et dixit ad me populus: Quare non indicas nobis quid ista significent quæ tu facis?

And the people said to me: Why dost thou not tell us what these things mean that thou doest?

and the people were all agog to know the meaning of what I did.

Et dixi ad eos: Sermo Domini factus est ad me, dicens:

And I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Why, I told them, the Lord has spoken to me,

Loquere domui Israël: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego polluam sanctuarium meum, superbiam imperii vestri, et desiderabile oculorum vestrorum, et super quo pavet anima vestra: filii vestri et filiæ vestræ quas reliquistis, gladio cadent.

Speak to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will profane my sanctuary, the glory of your realm, and the thing that your eyes desire, and for which your soul feareth: your sons, and your daughters, whom you have left, shall fall by the sword.

giving me a message for the race of Israel: he means to profane his own sanctuary, that proud boast of yours, which you love so, trembling ever for its safety. Sons and daughters of yours, left behind at Jerusalem, will die at the sword’s point.

Et facietis sicut feci: ora amictu non velabitis, et cibos lugentium non comedetis:

And you shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your faces, nor shall you eat the meat of mourners.

As I do now, you will do then; no veils on your faces, no customary fare of mourners;

coronas habebitis in capitibus vestris, et calceamenta in pedibus: non plangetis, neque flebitis, sed tabescetis in iniquitatibus vestris, et unusquisque gemet ad fratrem suum.

You shall have crowns on your heads, and shoes on your feet: you shall not lament nor weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities, and every one shall sigh with his brother.

heads covered, feet shod, you will make neither dole nor lament, but languish ever under the load of your guilt, sighing each of you in his neighbour’s ear.

Eritque Ezechiel vobis in portentum: juxta omnia quæ fecit, facietis cum venerit istud: et scietis quia ego Dominus Deus.

And Ezechiel shall be unto you for a sign of things to come: according to all that he hath done, so shall you do, when this shall come to pass: and you shall know that I am the Lord God.

In Ezechiel, says the Lord God, read your own doom; when that day comes, you will be at pains to do as he does now; you will have learned what power the Lord God has.

Et tu, fili hominis, ecce in die qua tollam ab eis fortitudinem eorum, et gaudium dignitatis, et desiderium oculorum eorum, super quo requiescunt animæ eorum, filios et filias eorum:

And thou, O son of man, behold in the day wherein I will take away from them their strength, and the joy of their glory, and the desire of their eyes, upon which their souls rest, their sons and their daughters.

Yes, son of man, the day is coming when I will rob them of that citadel of theirs, that proud boast of theirs, so well loved, the comfort of their thoughts; rob them, too, of sons and daughters.

in die illa, cum venerit fugiens ad te ut annuntiet tibi:

In that day when he that escapeth shall come to thee, to tell thee:

And what of thyself? Wait till a fugitive comes and tells thee the news;

in die, inquam illa, aperietur os tuum cum eo qui fugit, et loqueris, et non silebis ultra: erisque eis in portentum, et scietis quia ego Dominus.

In that day, I say, shall thy mouth be opened to him that hath escaped, and thou shalt speak, and shalt be silent no more: and thou shalt be unto them for a sign of things to come, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

then, when he utters his message, utter thou thine, dumb no longer. So thou shalt be the presage of their doom, and they shall learn my power at last.