Ezekiel 21

1 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

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

2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel.

“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and pour in drops toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the soil of Israel.

3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus says Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee. And will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

And you shall say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will cast my sword from its sheath, and I will slay the just and the impious among you.

4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword shall go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north.

But in as much as I have slain among you the just and the impious, for this reason my sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.

5 And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath. It shall not return any more.

So may all flesh know that I, the Lord, have led my sword out of its sheath irrevocably.

6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man. With the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness thou shall sigh before their eyes.

And as for you, son of man, groan in the breaking of your back, and groan in bitterness before them.

7 And it shall be, when they say to thee, Why do thou sigh? That thou shall say, Because of the news. For it comes, and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water. Behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the lord Jehovah.

And when they will say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say: ‘On behalf of the report, for it is approaching. And every heart will waste away, and every hand will be broken, and every spirit will be weakened, and water will flow across every knee.’ Behold, it is approaching and it will happen, says the Lord God.”

8 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

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

9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword. It is sharpened, and also furbished.

“Son of man, prophesy, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Speak: The sword! The sword has been sharpened and polished!

10 It is sharpened that it may make a slaughter. It is polished that it may be as lightning. Shall we then make mirth? It scorns the scepter of my son, every tree.

It has been sharpened, so that it may cut down victims! It has been polished, so that it may shine! You are disturbing the scepter of my son. You have cut down every tree.

11 And it is given to be polished, that it may be handled. The sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

And I have sent it to be made smooth, so that it may be handled. This sword has been sharpened, and it has been polished, so that it may be in the hand of the one who kills.

12 Cry and wail, son of man, for it is upon my people. It is upon all the rulers of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Smite therefore upon thy thigh.

Cry out and wail, O son of man! For this has been done among my people, this is among all the leaders of Israel, who have fled. They have been handed over to the sword, with my people. Therefore, slap your thigh,

13 For there is a trial, and what if even the rod that scorns shall be no more? says the lord Jehovah.

for it has been tested. And this one, when he will have overthrown the scepter, will not be, says the Lord God.

14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together. And let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded. It is the sword of the great man who is deadly wounded, which enters into their chambers.

You therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike hand against hand, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled. This is the sword of the great slaughter, which causes them to be utterly stupefied,

15 I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied. Ah! It is made as lightning. It is pointed for slaughter.

and to waste away in heart, and which multiplies ruin. At all their gates, I have presented the consternation of the sword, which has been sharpened and polished so as to shine, which has been dressed for the slaughter.

16 Gather thee together. Go to the right. Set thyself in array. Go to the left, wherever thy face is set.

Be sharpened! Go to the right or to the left, whichever way is the desire of your face.

17 I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

And then I will clap hand against hand, and I will fulfill my indignation. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

18 The word of Jehovah came to me again, saying,

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

19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. Those two shall come forth out of one land. And mark out a place. Mark it out at the head of the way to the city.

“And as for you, son of man, set for yourself two ways, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may approach. Both shall go forth from one land. And with a hand, he will grasp and cast lots; he will cast at the head of the way of the community.

20 Thou shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.

You shall appoint a way, so that the sword may approach to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, or to Judah, into Jerusalem, greatly fortified.

21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shook the arrows to and fro. He consulted the teraphim. He looked in the liver.

For the king of Babylon stood at the fork, at the head of the two ways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows; he inquired of idols, and he consulted entrails.

22 In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.

To his right was set the divination over Jerusalem, to place battering rams so as to open a mouth for the slaughter, to lift up the voice of wailing, to place battering rams opposite the gates, to cast up a rampart, to build fortifications.

23 And it shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

And he shall be, in their eyes, like someone consulting an oracle in vain, or imitating the leisure of Sabbaths. But he will call to mind iniquities, so that it will be captured.

24 Therefore thus says the lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear, because ye have come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.

Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have been remembered in your iniquities, and you have revealed your betrayals, and your sins have appeared within all your plans, because, I say, you have been remembered, you will be captured by a hand.

25 And thou, O deadly wounded wicked man, the ruler of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,

But as for you, O impious leader of Israel, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity:

26 thus says the lord Jehovah: Remove the miter, and take off the crown. This shall be no more the same. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.

Thus says the Lord God: Take away the diadem, remove the crown. Is this not what has exalted the lowly one, and brought low the sublime one?

27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. This also shall be no more, until he comes whose right it is. And I will give it.

Iniquity, iniquity, iniquity I will make it. And this was not done until the one arrived to whom judgment belongs, and I will hand it over to him.

28 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their reproach. And say thou, A sword, a sword is drawn. It is polished for the slaughter, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning,

And as for you, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God to the sons of Ammon, and to their disgrace, and you shall say: O sword, O sword, unsheathe yourself so as to slay; polish yourself so as to kill and to shine,

29 while they see for thee false visions, while they divine lies to thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.

while they look upon you in vain, and they divine lies, so that you may be given over to the necks of the wounded impious, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity.

30 Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where thou were created, in the land of thy birth, I will judge thee.

Be returned to your sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your nativity.

31 And I will pour out my indignation upon thee. I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.

And I will pour out upon you my indignation. In the fire of my fury, I will fan you, and I will give you over to the hands of cruel men, who have devised destruction.

32 Thou shall be for fuel to the fire. Thy blood shall be in the midst of the land. Thou shall no more be remembered. For I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

You will be food for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land; you will be delivered to oblivion. For I, the Lord, have spoken.”