[The sections in this entry correspond to the chapters in the King James Bible like so: 14 = 24; 15 = 28; 16 = 29; 17 = 31; 18 = 33.]
14
One day, Yahweh came and said to me: “Mortal, listen. I am going to kill your wife. But don’t mourn over her: don’t even shed a single tear.”
So, early the next day, I told this prophecy to the people. Then, when evening came, my wife died. And I did as I was instructed: I abstained from weeping.
The people said to me: “Please tell us what this portends.”
So I answered them, saying: “Yahweh God came to me and said: ‘Tell the caravan that I will profane my sanctuary, even the Temple, which, in the sight of the caravan, is like a beautiful wife that you love. She’ll be gone in a night, because invaders will come and destroy her. And you will not be able to show how sad this makes you, because the invaders will threaten you, saying: “Anyone who cries for the temple will be chopped into pieces.” At that point, you will recall that Lord Yahweh predicted all this.’”
15
Two prophecies against Tyre.
Yahweh came to me and said: “Mortal, deliver the following speech unto the president of Tyre. Thus says the Volcano:
“Your heart was lifted up, and you said, ‘I am the One True God, I sit on the divine throne in the midst of the seas.’ But you are only a man, and not God, though you have tried to make your heart look as big as the heart of God. Lo, you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; your wisdom and understanding has gained you riches, and you have heaped gold and silver into your treasures: By your expertise in overseas trade, you have increased your wealth; and your heart is all puffed up because of your success. Therefore, the volcano of potential says to you: ‘Watch out, O President of Tyre, for I will cause strange monsters to come out of the deep, and they shall show you their fangs, which are larger than sabers, and they will eat up your wisdom, and dim your brightness. They shall bring you with them down into the pit, and you shall die a terrible sea-death.’ Will you yet argue with the beasts that are slaying you, and will you say to them: ‘Stop; I am God!’ Ha, no: you are a man, and not God. But keep trying to plead with the claw that is slaughtering you.”
§
Then Yahweh taught me a second prophecy against Tyre – he said:
“Mortal, take up a lamentation upon the president of Tyre, and tell him the following. Thus says the Volcano:
“You were the image of perfection, full of wisdom, and flawless in beauty. You were stationed in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, the diamond, the beryl, onyx, jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of your tabrets and of your pipes was pristine from the day of their making. You are the anointed cherub that covers with outstretched wings. You stood on the holy mountain of God. You walked up and down within the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until hubris was found in you. By the multitude of your merchandise and your international commerce, you have grown lawless: now your inwards are filled with violence. Therefore, I will cast you as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy you, O covering cherub, from amid the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness: I will cast you to the ground, and let the other nations stare at you. You have defiled yourself by way of dishonest trading; therefore, I will bring forth a fire from the midst of you, and it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all the rest of the world. They who knew you will be shocked and appalled at your downfall. Look: you will become a horror. You will never again exist.”
16
The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, you great dragon: you who hover in the midst of the rivers, who have said: ‘All this water belongs to me, and I have made it for myself.’
“Ah, is that so, you great big dragon? But I will put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers. And I will toss you into the wilderness, and I will leave you wherever you fall. After hoisting you up, I will throw you there. And you will remain there, writhing in the open fields, not knowing what to do, since you have been hefted there by me, the Lord of Heaven. You shall not be gathered by fishermen nor tossed back into the water: I have given you for meat to the beasts of the field. You will be a sight of pity and terror. Anyone who happens to pass by and see you writhing there shall lose control of their loins.”
17
Yahweh gave me this prophecy as well:
“Behold, there was a cedar with fair branches that was of high stature, which cast a huge shadow: his top was among the thick boughs. Who was like him for greatness! The waters gave him strength, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his roots. His height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the sources of water that fed him. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs. The beasts of the field brought forth their young beneath the protection of his branches. And under his shadow were established the greatest nations.
“Thus, he was the fairest tree in the forest, because of the length of his limbs; and his roots drank up great waters. None of the plants growing nearby could hide him: the firs were envious of his boughs; the chestnuts desired his branches: no other tree possessed his beauty. The entire garden of Eden envied him.
“Nonetheless, this fair cedar shall be brought down, with all the trees of Eden, unto the nether parts of the earth. Thus, Yahweh judges every Empire.”
18
Yahweh also said: “Mortal, tell the children of your people: The righteousness of a good man shall not deliver him on the day he turns bad. And the wickedness of a bad man shall not cause him to fall if he turns toward the good.
“If I say to a good man: ‘You shall surely live,’ but then he turns bad and commits atrocities, all his goodness shall not be remembered; but for his harmful acts he shall reap misfortune.
“Again, if I say to a bad man: ‘You shall surely die,’ but then he turns good and acts harmoniously with compassion, and he stops following Mammon; instead he begins performing what is beautiful and humane, and he restores what he has robbed through the collecting of interest, and he returns what he has deceitfully gained by way of other financial fees; then, for his righteous behavior, he shall be happified. None of his offenses shall be remembered.
“Now the children of your people will say: ‘The way of God is not fair!’ But I say to them: ‘Your way is not fair.’ When the good turns bad and does harm, he shall meet his demise. But if the bad turns good and helps others, he shall live thereby.
“If, at this point, there is anyone left questioning the fairness of my judgment, I will come forth and judge you personally by slapping your face.”
§
Also the Lord Yahweh said to me: “Listen, mortal. The people of your country are still talking about you with suspicion, whispering about you behind closed doors and around the corners of their houses: They speak one to another, saying: ‘Come and hear what this mad prophet claims the Volcano has said.’ And they come in groups to observe what you shall speak, and they sit before you and hear your words, but they will never do them: They will never change their harmful ways and act harmoniously, because they are addicted to money, and the opportunists care only about advancing their careers. So, you are to them like a lovely song sung by a pleasant voice: for they enjoy the mere sound of your words, but they will never consider your meaning and perform lovingkindness. But when the present age passes (and, lo, it will pass), then shall they know that a prophet has been among them.”
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