Ezekiel 21

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

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and pour in drops toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the soil of Israel.

Son of man, set thy face towards Jerusalem, and drop [thy word] towards the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,

3 And you shall say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will cast my sword from its sheath, and I will slay the just and the impious among you.

And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I [am] against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

4 But in as much as I have slain among you the just and the impious, for this reason my sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.

Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:

5 So may all flesh know that I, the Lord, have led my sword out of its sheath irrevocably.

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

6 And as for you, son of man, groan in the breaking of your back, and groan in bitterness before them.

Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of [thy] loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

7 And when they will say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say: ‘On behalf of the report, for it is approaching. And every heart will waste away, and every hand will be broken, and every spirit will be weakened, and water will flow across every knee.’ Behold, it is approaching and it will happen, says the Lord God.”

And it shall be, when they say to thee, Why sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: 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 cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith 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 you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Speak: The sword! The sword has been sharpened and polished!

Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:

10 It has been sharpened, so that it may cut down victims! It has been polished, so that it may shine! You are disturbing the scepter of my son. You have cut down every tree.

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

11 And I have sent it to be made smooth, so that it may be handled. This sword has been sharpened, and it has been polished, so that it may be in the hand of the one who kills.

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

12 Cry out and wail, O son of man! For this has been done among my people, this is among all the leaders of Israel, who have fled. They have been handed over to the sword, with my people. Therefore, slap your thigh,

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

13 for it has been tested. And this one, when he will have overthrown the scepter, will not be, says the Lord God.

Because [it is] a trial, and what if [the sword] contemneth even the rod? it shall be no [more], saith the Lord GOD.

14 You therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike hand against hand, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled. This is the sword of the great slaughter, which causes them to be utterly stupefied,

Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite [thy] 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 entereth into their private chambers.

15 and to waste away in heart, and which multiplies ruin. At all their gates, I have presented the consternation of the sword, which has been sharpened and polished so as to shine, which has been dressed for the slaughter.

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] sharpened for the slaughter.

16 Be sharpened! Go to the right or to the left, whichever way is the desire of your face.

Go thee one way or other, [either] on the right hand, [or] on the left, whithersoever thy face [is] set.

17 And then I will clap hand against hand, and I will fulfill my indignation. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

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 as for you, son of man, set for yourself two ways, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may approach. Both shall go forth from one land. And with a hand, he will grasp and cast lots; he will cast at the head of the way of the community.

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

20 You shall appoint a way, so that the sword may approach to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, or to Judah, into Jerusalem, greatly fortified.

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

21 For the king of Babylon stood at the fork, at the head of the two ways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows; he inquired of idols, and he consulted entrails.

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 To his right was set the divination over Jerusalem, to place battering rams so as to open a mouth for the slaughter, to lift up the voice of wailing, to place battering rams opposite the gates, to cast up a rampart, to build fortifications.

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 shall be, in their eyes, like someone consulting an oracle in vain, or imitating the leisure of Sabbaths. But he will call to mind iniquities, so that it will be captured.

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 says the Lord God: Because you have been remembered in your iniquities, and you have revealed your betrayals, and your sins have appeared within all your plans, because, I say, you have been remembered, you will be captured by a hand.

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

25 But as for you, O impious leader of Israel, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity:

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

26 Thus says the Lord God: Take away the diadem, remove the crown. Is this not what has exalted the lowly one, and brought low the sublime one?

Thus saith 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 Iniquity, iniquity, iniquity I will make it. And this was not done until the one arrived to whom judgment belongs, and I will hand it over to him.

I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no [more], until he cometh whose right it is; and I will give it [him].

28 And as for you, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God to the sons of Ammon, and to their disgrace, and you shall say: O sword, O sword, unsheathe yourself so as to slay; polish yourself so as to kill and to shine,

And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword [is] drawn: for the slaughter [it is] furbished, to consume because of the glittering:

29 while they look upon you in vain, and they divine lies, so that you may be given over to the necks of the wounded impious, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity.

While they see vanity to thee, while they divine a lie to thee, to bring thee upon the necks of [them that are] slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity [shall have] an end.

30 Be returned to your sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your nativity.

Shall I cause [it] to return into its sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.

31 And I will pour out upon you my indignation. In the fire of my fury, I will fan you, and I will give you over to the hands of cruel men, who have devised destruction.

And I will pour out my indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, [and] skillful to destroy.

32 You will be food for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land; you will be delivered to oblivion. For I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no [more] remembered: for I the LORD have spoken [it].