Jezekiel 21

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto 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 thy face unto Jerusalem, and prophesy unto the holy places, and prophesy unto 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 thou hast said unto the ground of Israel: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I [am] against thee, And have brought out My sword from its scabbard, And have cut off from thee righteous and 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:

Because that I have cut off from thee righteous and wicked, Therefore go out doth My sword from its scabbard, Unto 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 known have all flesh that I, Jehovah, Have brought out My sword from its scabbard, It doth not turn back any more.

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

And thou, son of man, sigh with breaking of loins, yea, with bitterness thou dost 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 hath come to pass, when they say unto thee, For what art thou sighing? that thou hast said: Because of the report, for it is coming, And melted hath every heart, And feeble hath been all hands, And weak is every spirit, And all knees go — waters, Lo, it is coming, yea, it hath been, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto 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 thou hast said, Thus said Jehovah, 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.

So as to slaughter a slaughter it is sharpened. So as to have brightness it is polished, Desire hath rejoiced the sceptre of my son, It is despising 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 giveth 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 hath been among My people, It [is] among all the princes of Israel, Cast unto the sword have been My people. Therefore strike on thy 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 even the sceptre it is despising? It shall not be, an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

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 thou, son of man, prophesy, And smite hand on hand, And bent is the sword 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, By all their gates I have set the point of a sword. Ah, 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 thyself at the left, Whither thy 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 smite My hand on my hand, And have caused My fury to rest; I, Jehovah, have spoken.'

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

And there is a word of Jehovah unto 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 thou, son of man, appoint for thee two ways, for the coming in of the sword of the king of Babylon; from one land they come forth, both of them, and a station prepare thou, at the top of the way of the city prepare [it].

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

A way appoint for the coming of the sword, Unto Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, And to Judah, in Jerusalem — the fenced.

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 stood hath the king of Babylon at the head of the way, At the top of the two ways, to use divination, He hath moved lightly with the arrows, He hath asked at the teraphim, He hath 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.

At his right hath been the divination — Jerusalem, 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 mount, 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 hath been to them as a false divination in their eyes, Who have sworn oaths to them, And he is causing iniquity to be remembered to be 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 the Lord Jehovah: 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, By the hand ye are caught.

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 thou, wounded, wicked one, Prince of Israel, whose day hath 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 the Lord Jehovah: Turn aside the mitre, and bear away the crown, This — not this — the low make high, And the high make 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.

An overturn, overturn, overturn, I make it, Also this hath not been till 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 thou, son of man, prophesy, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their reproach: and thou hast 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 the seeing for thee of a vain thing, In the divining for thee of a lie, To put thee on the necks of the wounded of the wicked, whose day hath 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 unto its scabbard, In the place where thou wast produced, In the land of thy birth I do judge thee.

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 on thee Mine indignation, With fire of My wrath I blow against thee, And have given thee into the hand of brutish men — artificers 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].

To the fire thou art for fuel, Thy blood is in the midst of the land, Thou art not remembered, For I, Jehovah, have spoken!'