You were secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me.” Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray. You said to yourself, “I am, and there is no one else.”
He said to me, ‘Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, “The Lord does not see us. The Lord has abandoned the land.” ’
He answered me, ‘The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity. For they say, “The Lord has abandoned the land; he does not see.”
Can a person hide in secret places where I cannot see him? ’ #– #the Lord’s declaration. ‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? ’ #– #the Lord’s declaration.
No one has authority over the wind to restrain it, and there is no authority over the day of death; no one is discharged during battle, and wickedness will not allow those who practise it to escape.
For you said, ‘We have made a covenant with Death, and we have an agreement with Sheol; when the overwhelming catastrophe passes through, it will not touch us, because we have made falsehood our refuge and have hidden behind treachery.’
‘So now hear this, lover of luxury, who sits securely, who says to herself, “I am, and there is no one else. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.”
‘ “This is what the Lord says: The wise person should not boast in his wisdom; the strong should not boast in his strength; the wealthy should not boast in his wealth.
Therefore, may my advice seem good to you, my king. Separate yourself from your sins by doing what is right, and from your injustices by showing mercy to the needy. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.’
This is the jubilant city that lives in security, that says to herself: I exist, and there is no one else. What a desolation she has become, a place for wild animals to lie down! Everyone who passes by her scoffs and shakes his fist.