Jezekiel 21
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Therefore prophesy, son of man, set your face steadfastly towards Jerusalem, and look towards their holy places, and you shall prophesy against the land of Israel,
“Son of man, face towards Jerusalem and condemn their places of worship. Prophesy against the people living in Israel
3 and you shall say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord; Behold, I am against you, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and I will destroy out of you the transgressor and unrighteous.
and tell them that this is what the Lord says: Watch out, because I'm going to attack you! I'm going to take out my sword and destroy you, both the good and the bad.
4 Because I will destroy out of you 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'm going to destroy both the good and the bad, I will attack everyone from the north to the south.
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.
Then the whole world will know that I, the Lord, have taken out my sword, and won't put it back again.
6 And you, son of man, groan with the breaking of your loins; you shall even groan heavily in their sight.
You, son of man, you are to groan. Groan as if you're broken up inside, showing terrible sadness while they watch you.
7 And it shall come to pass, if they shall say to you, Therefore do you groan? that you shall 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, says the Lord.
When they ask, ‘What are you groaning for?’ you are to tell them, ‘Because of the news that's coming. All of you will lose your courage and you'll be paralyzed with fear. All of you will be weak with worry—you won't be able to stand up!’ Watch out, because it's coming! It's going to happen! declares the Lord God.”
8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
9 Son of man, prophesy, and you shall say, Thus says the Lord; Say, Sword, sword, be sharpened and rage,
“Son of man, prophesy! Tell them this is what the Lord says: There's a sword, a sword that's being sharpened and polished.
10 that you may kill victims; be sharpened that you may be bright, ready for slaughter, kill, set at nothing, despise every tree.
It's sharpened for killing and polished so it will flash like lightning! (Are we to be happy, saying, ‘The scepter of my son despises every other stick’?)
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.
The sword is being polished right now, ready to be used. It's sharp and polished, ready to be handed over to the killer.
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: [judgement] with the sword is come upon my people: therefore clap your hands, for sentence has been passed:
Weep and wail, son of man, and slap your thigh in grief, for the sword is going to be used to attack my people, to attack all the leaders of Israel! They will be thrown away, killed by the sword along with my people.
13 and what if even the tribe be rejected? it shall not be, says the Lord God.
They will be tested. What if the scepter that despises others doesn't continue? declares the Lord God.
14 And you, son of man, prophesy, and clap your hands, and take a second sword: the third sword is [the sword] of the slain, the great sword of the slain: and you shall strike them with amazement, lest the heart should faint
So son of man, prophesy and clap your hands. The sword will attack twice, and then a third time. It is a sword of death, killing many people by coming at them from every direction.
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 placed a sword at all the gates of their city so that they may lose their courage, and many may fall. Oh no! It's made to flash like lightning and used to kill.
16 And do you go on, sharpen yourself on the right and on the left wherever your face may set itself.
Slash right and left, whichever way you're facing.
17 And I also will clap my hands, and let loose my fury: I the Lord have spoken [it].
I will also clap my hands, and then my anger will be over. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
19 and you, son of man, appoint you 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, you shall set [it] at the top of the way,
“Son of man, mark the two roads that the king of Babylon's army could take, beginning from the same country. Make a signpost where the road forks, leading to two different cities.
20 that the sword may enter in upon Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and upon Judea, and upon Jerusalem in the midst thereof.
Have one sign point down the road for an attack on the Ammonite city of Rabbah, and another to attack Judah and the fortified city of 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].
The king of Babylon is standing at the fork in the road where the two roads meet looking for a prophetic sign: he casts lots using arrows, he asks advice from idols, and he examines the liver of sacrificial animals.
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.
He holds the sign for Jerusalem in his right hand. This is where he is going to set up battering rams, to give the command to attack, to shout the war-cry. There he will order the battering rams to smash the gates, set up an attack ramp, and build a siege wall.
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.
To those who have sworn to be loyal to Nebuchadnezzar this will look like a false sign, but it will reveal their guilt and they will be taken prisoner.
24 Therefore thus says the Lord, Because you 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 you have caused remembrance [of them], in these shall you be taken.
So this is what the Lord God says: Because you have revealed your guilt and demonstrated your rebellion, showing your sins in everything you've done, now that you've made all this clear, you will be taken prisoner.
25 And you profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day, [even] an end, is come in a sea of iniquity, thus says the Lord;
As for you, you unclean, wicked prince of Israel, the time has come to complete your punishment.
26 You have taken off the mitre and put on the crown, it shall not have such [another] after it: you have abased that which was high, and exalted that which was low.
This is what the Lord God says: Take off your turban, and your crown. Things won't continue as they were. Give power to the common people and bring down the powerful!
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'm going to destroy everything, make it all a ruin! It won't be restored until its owner arrives, the one I've given the authority to judge.
28 And you, son of man, prophesy, and you shall say, Thus says the Lord, concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and you shall say, O sword, sword, drawn for slaughter, and drawn for destruction, awake, that you may gleam.
Prophesy, son of man, and announce that this is what the Lord God says about the Ammonites and their insults: A sword! A sword is ready for killing, polished to destroy, to flash like lightning,
29 While you are seeing vain [visions], and while you are prophesying falsehoods, to bring yourself upon the necks of ungodly transgressors, the day is come, [even] an end, in a season of iniquity.
even as your prophets give you false visions and prophecies that are lies. This sword will cut the necks of the wicked, killing them—those whose day has come for their punishment to be completed.
30 Turn, rest not in this place wherein you were born: in your own land will I judge you.
Sword, go back to where you came from! I'm going to judge you right where you were created, in your homeland.
31 And I will pour out my wrath upon you, I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of barbarians skilled in working destruction.
I will deal with you in my anger; I will breathe my fire of anger on you; I will hand you over to cruel men who are experts in destruction.
32 You shall be fuel for fire; your blood shall be in the midst of your land; there shall be no remembrance at all of you: for I the Lord have spoken [it].
You will be burned up like firewood. Your blood will be shed where you live. You will be forgotten, for I, the Lord, have spoken.”
