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, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop your word toward the holy places, and prophesy 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, Thus says the LORD; Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.

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:

Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath 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.

That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.

6 And thou, son of man, groan with the breaking of thy loins; thou shalt even groan heavily in their sight.

Sigh therefore, you son of man, with the breaking of your loins; and with bitterness sigh 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 it shall be, when they say to you, Why sigh you? that you shall answer, For the tidings; because 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 shall be brought to pass, says the Lord GOD.

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

Again 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, prophesy, and say, Thus says the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:

10 that thou mayest slay victims; be sharpened that thou mayest be bright, ready for slaughter, slay, set at nought, despise every tree.

It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it scorns the rod of my son, as every tree.

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 he has given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

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:

Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be on my people, it shall be on all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be on my people: smite therefore on your thigh.

13 and what if even the tribe be rejected? it shall not be, saith the Lord God.

Because it is a trial, and what if the sword scorn even the rod? it shall be no more, says 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

You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite your hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which enters into their privy chambers.

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.

I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.

16 And do thou go on, sharpen thyself on the right and on the left whithersoever thy face may set itself.

Go you one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, wherever your face is set.

17 And I also will clap my hands, and let loose my fury: I the Lord have spoken [it].

I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.

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

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,

Also, you son of man, appoint you two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both two shall come forth out of one land: and choose you a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

20 that the sword may enter in upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and upon Judea, and upon Jerusalem in the midst thereof.

Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defended.

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 stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.

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 divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.

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 it shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, 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.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that you are come to remembrance, you shall be taken with the hand.

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, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,

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.

Thus says the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.

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 overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it 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, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say you, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:

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.

Whiles they see vanity to you, whiles they divine a lie to you, to bring you on the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.

30 Turn, rest not in this place wherein thou wert born: in thine own land will I judge thee.

Shall I cause it to return into his 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 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 pour out my indignation on you, I will blow against you in the fire of my wrath, and deliver you into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy.

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 shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the middle of the land; you shall be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.