Jezekiel 21
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Therefore prophesy, son of man, set thy face steadfastly toward Jerusalem, and look toward their holy places, and thou shalt prophesy against the land of Israel,
Son of man, let your face be turned to Jerusalem, let your words be dropped in the direction of her holy place, and be a prophet against the land of Israel;
3 and thou shalt say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and I will destroy out of thee the transgressor and unrighteous.
And say to the land of Israel, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, and I will take my sword out of its cover, cutting off from you the upright and the evil.
4 Because I will destroy out of thee the unrighteous and the transgressor, [therefore] so shall my sword come forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
Because I am going to have the upright and the evil cut off from you, for this cause my sword will go out from its cover against all flesh from the south to the north:
5 and all flesh shall know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more.
And all flesh will see that I the Lord have taken my sword out of its cover: and it will never go back.
6 And thou, son of man, groan with the breaking of thy loins; thou shalt even groan heavily in their sight.
Make sounds of grief, son of man; with body bent and a bitter heart make sounds of grief before their eyes.
7 And it shall come to pass, if they shall say to thee, Wherefore dost thou groan? that thou shalt say, For the report; because it comes: and every heart shall break, and all hands shall become feeble, and all flesh and every spirit shall faint, and all thighs shall be defiled with moisture: behold, it comes, saith the Lord.
And when they say to you, Why are you making sounds of grief? then say, Because of the news, for it is coming: and every heart will become soft, and all hands will be feeble, and every spirit will be burning low, and all knees will be turned to water: see, it is coming and it will be done, says the Lord.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
9 Son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, Sword, sword, be sharpened and rage,
Son of man, say as a prophet, These are the words of the Lord: Say, A sword, a sword which has been made sharp and polished:
10 that thou mayest slay victims; be sharpened that thou mayest be bright, ready for slaughter, slay, set at nought, despise every tree.
It has been made sharp to give death; it is polished so that it may be like a thunder-flame: ...
11 And he made it ready for his hand to hold: the sword is sharpened, it is ready to put into the hand of the slayer.
And I have given it to the polisher so that it may be taken in the hand: he has made the sword sharp, he has had it polished, to put it into the hand of him who gives death.
12 Cry out and howl, son of man: for this [sword] is come upon my people, this [sword is come] upon all the princes of Israel: they shall be as strangers: [judgment] with the sword is come upon my people: therefore clap thine hands, for sentence has been passed:
Give loud cries and make sounds of grief, O son of man: for it has come on my people, it has come on all the rulers of Israel: fear of the sword has come on my people: for this cause give signs of grief.
13 and what if even the tribe be rejected? it shall not be, saith the Lord God.
14 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and clap thine hands, and take a second sword: the third sword is [the sword] of the slain, the great sword of the slain: and thou shalt strike them with amazement, lest the heart should faint
So then, son of man, be a prophet, and put your hands together with a loud sound, and give two blows with the sword, and even three; it is the sword of those who are wounded, even the sword of the wounded; the great sword which goes round about them.
15 and the weak ones be multiplied at every gate—they are given up to the slaughter of the sword: it is well fitted for slaughter, it is well fitted for glittering.
In order that hearts may become soft, and the number of those who are falling may be increased, I have sent death by the sword against all their doors: you are made like a flame, you are polished for death.
16 And do thou go on, sharpen thyself on the right and on the left whithersoever thy face may set itself.
Be pointed to the right, to the left, wherever your edge is ordered.
17 And I also will clap my hands, and let loose my fury: I the Lord have spoken [it].
And I will put my hands together with a loud sound, and I will let my wrath have rest: I the Lord have said it.
18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me again, saying,
19 and thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may enter in: the two shall go forth of one country; and [there shall be] a force at the top of the way of the city, thou shalt set [it] at the top of the way,
And you, son of man, have two ways marked out, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; let the two of them come out of one land: and let there be a pillar at the top of the road:
20 that the sword may enter in upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and upon Judea, and upon Jerusalem in the midst thereof.
Put a pillar at the top of the road for the sword to come to Rabbah in the land of the children of Ammon, and to Judah and to Jerusalem in the middle of her.
21 For the king of Babylon shall stand on the old way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination, to make bright the arrow, and to enquire of the graven images, and to examine [the victims].
For the king of Babylon took his place at the parting of the ways, at the top of the two roads, to make use of secret arts: shaking the arrows this way and that, he put questions to the images of his gods, he took note of the inner parts of dead beasts.
22 On his right was the divination against Jerusalem, to cast a mound, to open the mouth in shouting, to lift up the voice with crying, to cast a mound against her gates, to cast up a heap, and to build forts.
At his right hand was the fate of Jerusalem, to give orders for destruction, to send up the war-cry, to put engines of war against the doors, lifting up earthworks, building walls.
23 And he was to them as one using divination before them, and he himself recounting his iniquities, that they might be borne in mind.
And this answer given by secret arts will seem false to those who have given their oaths and have let them be broken: but he will keep the memory of evil-doing so that they may be taken.
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because ye have caused your iniquities to be remembered, in the discovery of your wickedness, so that your sins should be seen, in all your wickedness and in your [evil] practices; because ye have caused remembrance [of them], in these shall ye be taken.
For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have made your evil-doing come to mind by the uncovering of your wrongdoing, causing your sins to be seen in all your evil-doings; because you have come to mind, you will be taken in them.
25 And thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day, [even] an end, is come in a sea of iniquity, thus saith the Lord;
And you, O evil one, wounded to death, O ruler of Israel, whose day has come in the time of the last punishment;
26 Thou hast taken off the mitre and put on the crown, it shall not have such [another] after it: thou hast abased that which was high, and exalted that which was low.
This is what the Lord has said: Take away the holy head-dress, take off the crown: this will not be again: let that which is low be lifted up, and that which is high be made low.
27 Injustice, injustice, injustice, will I make it: woe to it: such shall it be until he comes to whom it belongs; and I will deliver [it] to him.
I will let it be overturned, overturned, overturned: this will not be again till he comes whose right it is; and I will give it to him.
28 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, O sword, sword, drawn for slaughter, and drawn for destruction, awake, that thou mayest gleam.
And you, son of man, say as a prophet, This is what the Lord has said about the children of Ammon and about their shame: Say, A sword, even a sword let loose, polished for death, to make it shining so that it may be like a flame:
29 While thou art seeing vain [visions], and while thou art prophesying falsehoods, to bring thyself upon the necks of ungodly transgressors, the day is come, [even] an end, in a season of iniquity.
Your vision is to no purpose, your use of secret arts gives a false answer, to put it on the necks of evil-doers who are wounded to death, whose day has come, in the time of the last punishment.
30 Turn, rest not in this place wherein thou wert born: in thine own land will I judge thee.
Go back into your cover. In the place where you were made, in the land from which you were taken, I will be your judge.
31 And I will pour out my wrath upon thee, I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver thee into the hands of barbarians skilled in working destruction.
And I will let loose my burning passion on you, breathing out on you the fire of my wrath: and I will give you up into the hands of men like beasts, trained to destruction.
32 Thou shalt be fuel for fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of thy land; there shall be no remembrance at all of thee: for I the Lord have spoken [it].
You will be food for the fire; your blood will be drained out in the land; there will be no more memory of you: for I the Lord have said it.
