Ezekiel 6

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

Suddenly, I felt a profound message from the Lord wash over me, whispering,

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

Human child, turn your gaze to Israel's peaks, and speak words of warning against them.

And 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.

Listen, mountains of Israel, to the voice of the Lord. The Lord speaks to the mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys. He warns, "I will bring the sword upon you, and I will tear down your hilltop shrines."

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

Your sacred places will be left in ruins, your idols shattered. I will lay the bodies of your fallen before your false gods.

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

I will place the lifeless bodies of Israel's children before their false gods, and your bones will be strewn around your places of worship.

In 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.

In every place you call home, cities will crumble, and sacred sites will be abandoned. Your altars will be destroyed, your idols shattered, your images removed, and all your deeds will be undone.

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

Those who perish will lie among you, and you will truly understand that I am your God.

Yet 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.

Yet I will leave a few of you alive. Some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the nations and through foreign lands.

And 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.

Those of you who survive will remember me in the foreign lands where you are taken as captives. You'll remember how your unfaithful hearts and idolatrous desires broke me. You'll feel deep regret for the wrongs you've done and the disgraceful acts you've committed.

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

They will realize that I am God, and my warnings of their impending hardships were not empty words.

Thus 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.

The Lord God says, "Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and cry out in sorrow over all the wicked, disgusting things the people of Israel have done! They will die by war, hunger, and disease."

He 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.

Those distant will perish from disease, those close will fall to violence, and those trapped will succumb to hunger. This is how I will unleash my wrath upon them.

Then 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.

You will truly understand that I am the Lord when you see the fallen men lying among their idols, scattered around their altars. On every hilltop, mountain peak, beneath every lush tree and thick oak, where they once offered fragrant offerings to their false gods.

So 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.

I will extend my hand over them, leaving their land barren, even more barren than the desolate wilderness of Diblath. Everywhere they live will reflect this desolation. Then, they will truly understand that I am the Lord.