Jezekiel 21

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

And there is a word of YHWH 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 prophesy to the holy places, and prophesy to the ground 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 you have said to the ground of Israel, Thus said YHWH: Behold, I [am] against you, And have brought out My sword from its scabbard, And have cut off righteous and wicked from you.

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 that I have cut off righteous and wicked from you, Therefore My sword goes out from its scabbard, To all flesh, from south to 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 has known that I, YHWH, Have brought out My sword from its scabbard, It does not turn back anymore.

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

And you, son of man, sigh with breaking of loins, indeed, sigh before their eyes with bitterness,

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 has come to pass, when they say to you, Why are you sighing? That you have said: Because of the report, for it is coming, And every heart has melted, And all hands have been feeble, And every spirit is weak, And all knees go [as] waters, Behold, it is coming, indeed, it has been, A declaration of Lord YHWH.”

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

And there is a word of YHWH 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 you have said, Thus said YHWH: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also 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 is sharpened so as to slaughter a slaughter. It is polished so as to have brightness, Or do we rejoice? It is despising the scepter 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 gives it for polishing, For laying hold of by the hand. It is sharpened—the sword—and polished, To give it into the hand of a 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 has been among My people, It [is] among all the princes of Israel, My people have been cast to the sword. Therefore strike on your thigh,

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

Because [it is] a trier, And what if it is even despising the scepter? It will not be, a declaration of Lord YHWH.

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

And you, son of man, prophesy, And strike hand on hand, And the sword is bent a third time, The sword of the wounded! It [is] the sword of the wounded—the great one, That is entering the inner chamber to 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.

To melt the heart, and to multiply the ruins, I have set the point of a sword by all their gates. Aah! It is made for brightness, Wrapped up for slaughter.

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

Take possession of the right, place yourself at the left, To where your face is appointed.

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

And I also, I strike My hand on My hand, And have caused My fury to rest; I, YHWH, have spoken.”

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

And there is a word of YHWH to me, 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, appoint two ways for yourself, for the coming in of the sword of the king of Babylon; they come forth from one land, both of them. And create a station; create [it] at the top of the way of 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 for the coming of the sword, To Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, And to Judah, in fortified Jerusalem.

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 has stood at the head of the way, At the top of the two ways, to use divination, He has moved lightly with the arrows, He has inquired of the teraphim, He has looked on 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.

The divination [for] Jerusalem has been at his right, To place battering-rams, To open the mouth with slaughter, To lift up a voice with shouting, To place battering-rams against the gates, To pour out a mound, to build a fortification.

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 has been to them as a false divination in their eyes, Who have sworn oaths to them, But he is causing iniquity to be remembered [so they] are caught.

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 said Lord YHWH: Because of your causing your iniquity to be remembered, In your transgressions being revealed, For your sins being seen, in all your doings, Because of your being remembered, You are caught by 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, wounded, wicked one, Prince of Israel, whose day has come, In the time of the iniquity of the 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 said Lord YHWH: Turn aside the turban, and carry away the crown, This—not this—make high the low, And make low the 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.

An overturn, overturn, overturn, I make it, Also this has not been until the coming of Him, Whose [is] the judgment, and I have given it.

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 you have said, Thus said Lord YHWH concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their reproach, and you have said: A sword, a sword, open for slaughter, Polished to the utmost for brightness!

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.

In seeing a vain thing for you, In divining a lie for you, To put you on the necks of the wounded of the wicked, whose day has come, In the time of the iniquity of the end.

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

Turn [it] back to its scabbard; I judge you In the place where you were produced, In the land of your birth.

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 have poured My indignation on you, I blow against you with [the] fire of My wrath, And have given you into the hand of brutish men—craftsmen of 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 are fuel for the fire, Your blood is in the midst of the land, You are not remembered, For I, YHWH, have spoken!”