Ezekiel 5

1 And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, using it like a haircutter's blade, and making it go over your head and the hair of your chin: and take scales for separating the hair by weight.

And thou, son of man, take thee a sword sharper than a barber's razor; thou shalt procure it for thyself, and shalt bring it upon thine head, and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take a pair of scales, and shalt separate the hair.

2 You are to have a third part burned with fire inside the town, when the days of the attack are ended; and a third part you are to take and give blows with the sword round about it; and give a third part for the wind to take away, and let loose a sword after them.

A fourth part thou shalt burn in the fire in the midst of the city, at the fulfillment of the days of the siege: and thou shalt take a fourth part, and burn it up in the midst of it: and a fourth part thou shalt cut with a sword round about it: and a fourth part thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

3 And take from them a small number of hairs, folding them in your skirts.

And thou shalt take thence a few in number, and shalt wrap them in the fold of thy garment.

4 And again take some of these and put them in the fire, burning them up in the fire; and say to all the children of Israel,

And thou shalt take of these again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them up with fire: from thence shall come forth fire; and thou shalt say to the whole house of Israel,

5 This is what the Lord has said: This is Jerusalem: I have put her among the nations, and countries are round her on every side;

Thus saith the Lord; This is Jerusalem: I have set her and the countries round about her in the midst of the nations.

6 And she has gone against my orders by doing evil more than the nations, and against my rules more than the countries round her: for they have given up my orders, and as for my rules, they have not gone in the way of them.

And thou shalt declare mine ordinances to the lawless one from out of the nations; and my statutes [to the sinful one] of the countries round about her: because they have rejected mine ordinances, and have not walked in my statutes.

7 For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have been more uncontrolled than the nations round about you, and have not been guided by my rules or kept my orders, but have kept the orders of the nations round about you;

Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because your occasion [for sin has been taken] from the nations round about you, and ye have not walked in my statutes, nor kept mine ordinances, nay, ye have not even done according to the ordinances of the nations round about you; therefore thus saith the Lord;

8 For this cause the Lord has said: See, I, even I, am against you; and I will be judging among you before the eyes of the nations.

Behold, I am against thee, and I will execute judgment in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

9 And I will do in you what I have not done and will not do again, because of all your disgusting ways.

And I will do in thee things which I have not done, and the like of which I will not do again, for all thine abominations.

10 For this cause fathers will take their sons for food among you, and sons will make a meal of their fathers; and I will be judge among you, and all the rest of you I will send away to every wind.

Therefore the fathers shall eat [their] children in the midst of thee, and children shall eat [their] fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and I will scatter all that are left of thee to every wind.

11 For this cause, by my life, says the Lord, because you have made my holy place unclean with all your hated things and all your disgusting ways, you will become disgusting to me; my eye will have no mercy and I will have no pity.

Therefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord; surely, because thou hast defiled my holy things with all thine abominations, I also will reject thee; mine eye shall not spare, and I will have no mercy.

12 A third of you will come to death from disease, wasting away among you through need of food; a third will be put to the sword round about you; and a third I will send away to every wind, letting loose a sword after them.

A fourth part of thee shall be cut off by pestilence, and a fourth part of thee shall be consumed in the midst of thee with famine: and [as for another] fourth part of thee, I will scatter them to every wind; and a fourth part of thee shall fall by sword round about thee, and I will draw out a sword after them.

13 So my wrath will be complete and my passion will come to rest on them; and they will be certain that I the Lord have given the word of decision, when my wrath against them is complete.

And my wrath and mine anger shall be accomplished upon them: and thou shalt know that I the Lord have spoken in my jealousy, when I have accomplished mine anger upon them.

14 And I will make you a waste and a name of shame among the nations round about you, in the eyes of everyone who goes by.

And I will make thee desolate, and thy daughters round about thee, in the sight of every one that passes through.

15 And you will be a name of shame and a cause of bitter words, an example and a wonder to the nations round about you, when I give effect to my judging among you in wrath and in passion and in burning protests: I the Lord have said it:

And thou shalt be mourned over and miserable among the nations round about thee, when I have executed judgments in thee in the vengeance of my wrath. I the Lord have spoken.

16 When I send on you the evil arrows of disease, causing destruction, which I will send to put an end to you; and, further, I will take away your necessary food.

And when I have sent against them shafts of famine, then they shall be consumed, and I will break the strength of thy bread.

17 And I will send on you need of food and evil beasts, and they will be a cause of loss to you; and disease and violent death will go through you; and I will send the sword on you: I the Lord have said it.

So I will send forth against thee famine and evil beasts, and I will take vengeance upon thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through upon thee; and I will bring a sword upon thee round about. I the Lord have spoken.