45 ¹ And the word of the Lord came to me: 46 ^k“Son of man, ^lset your face toward the southland;^{2 m}preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. 47 Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, ⁿI will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every ^ogreen tree in you and every ^odry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and ^pall faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. 48 ^qAll flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” 49 Then I said, ^r“Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ^s‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”