Ezekiel 21
1 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel
Son of man, direct thy face toward Jerusalem, and preach toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
3 and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
And say to the land of Israel, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will be against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath; and I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
4 Because I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.
But because I shall have cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked: therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north;
5 Then all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have taken My sword from its sheath, not to return it again.’
That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.
6 But you, son of man, groan! Groan before their eyes with a broken heart and bitter grief.
But thou, son of man, do thou sigh: as though with broken loins, and with bitterness [of grief] shalt thou sigh before their eyes.
7 And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.’ Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD.”
And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, For the report, because it cometh, when every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be made feeble, and every spirit shall become faint, and all knees shall be changed into water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord Eternal.
8 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9 “Son of man, prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord says: ‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord, Say, The sword, the sword is sharpened, and also polished;
10 it is sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every such stick.
In order to make a thorough slaughter is it sharpened; in order that it may glitter is it polished: how can we now rejoice, [when] the rod which reacheth my son excelleth in hardness every tree?
11 The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished, to be placed in the hand of the slayer.
And he hath given it to be polished, to make it fit to grasp it in the hand: it is the sword which is sharpened, and it is polished, to place it into the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry out and wail, O son of man, for the sword is wielded against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel! They are tossed to the sword with My people; therefore strike your thigh.
Cry aloud and wail, O son of man; for it cometh against my people, it cometh against all the princes of Israel; brought together for the sword are they with my people: therefore strike [thy hand] upon thy thigh.
13 Surely testing will come! And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue?’
For a purification taketh place: and what if the irresistible rod will also come? [my son] would not be able to exist, saith the Lord Eternal.
14 ‘So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike two times, even three. It is a sword that slays, a sword of great slaughter closing in on every side!
But thou, son of man, prophesy, and strike thy hands together, and let “The sword” be repeated the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great that are slain, which lieth in wait for them everywhere.
15 So that their hearts may melt and many may stumble, I have appointed at all their gates a sword for slaughter. Yes, it is ready to flash like lightning; it is drawn for slaughter.
In order to make timid the heart, and to multiply the stumbling-blocks, do I bring the howling of the sword against all their gates: ah! it is made bright, it is made thin-edged for the slaughter.
16 Slash to the right; set your blade to the left— wherever your blade is directed.
Gather up thy strength, go to the right hand, direct thyself, go to the left, whithersoever thy edge is turned.
17 I too will strike My hands together, and I will satisfy My wrath.’
And I also, —I will strike my hands together, and I will cause my fury to be assuaged: I the Lord have spoken it.
18 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
19 “Now you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same land. And make a signpost where the road branches off to each city.
But thou, O son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; out of one land shall both of them come forth: and select a place; at the head of the way to a city do thou select it.
20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
A way shalt thou appoint, that the sword may come against Rabbah of the children of 'Ammon, and [the other] against Judah [dwelling] in Jerusalem the fortified.
21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the liver.
For the king of Babylon hath halted at the parting of the way, at the commencement of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh the arrows, he consulteth with images, he looketh at the liver.
22 In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.
At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to erect battering-rams, to open the mouth with the [cry for] murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to place battering-rams against the gates, to cast up a mound, and to build works of attack.
23 It will seem like a false omen to the eyes of those who have sworn allegiance to him, but it will draw attention to their guilt and take them captive.
And it will appear unto them as a false divination in their eyes, to those that had sworn oaths; but he will bring to remembrance their iniquity, that they may be caught.
24 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds—because you have come to remembrance—you shall be taken in hand.
Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Because ye have brought your iniquity to remembrance, as your transgressions are discovered, so that your sins do appear in all your doings: because ye are thus brought to remembrance, ye shall be caught by [his] hand.
25 And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your final punishment.’
And thou, death-deserving wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end, —
26 This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are: Exalt the lowly and bring low the exalted.
Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Remove the mitre, and take off the crown: this shall not be always so; exalt him that is low, and make him low that is high.
27 A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! And it will not be restored until the arrival of Him to whom it belongs, to whom I have assigned the right of judgment.’
Overthrown, overthrown, overthrown will I render it: also this shall not belong [to any one], until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.
28 Now prophesy, son of man, and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt: ‘A sword! A sword is drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning—
And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal concerning the children of 'Ammon, and concerning their reproach: even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn; for the slaughter is it polished, to destroy, that it may continue to glitter;
29 while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you— to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.
While they foresee unto thee falsehood, while they divine unto thee lies, to lay thee by the necks of the slain wicked, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end.
30 Return the sword to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.
Put back [the sword] into its sheath! in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy origin, will I judge thee.
31 I will pour out My anger upon you; I will breathe the fire of My fury against you; I will hand you over to brutal men, skilled in destruction.
And I will pour out over thee my indignation, with the fire of my wrath will I blow against thee, and I will give thee up into the hand of brutish men, skilful in destroying.
32 You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will stain your own land. You will not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.’”
To the fire shalt thou be given to be devoured; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land: thou shalt not be remembered [any more]; for I the Lord have spoken it.
