< Ezekiel 5 >
1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife; a barber's razor shalt thou take; and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take balances to weigh, and divide the [hair].
“Also, you human, [when you start doing those things, ] take a sharp sword and use it like [SIM] a razor to shave your head and your beard. Then put the hair that you shaved off on scales, and divide the [into three equal parts].
2 A third part shalt thou burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, [and] smite about it with a knife; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
When the time during [you will symbolize that] the city will be [by enemy troops] ends, put a third of the hair inside [drawing of the] city and burn it. Take another third of the hair, [scatter it] all [the drawing of] the city, and then strike it with your sword. That will symbolize that I will strike the people of Jerusalem [their enemies’] swords. Then allow the wind to scatter the other third of the hair. That will symbolize [even if they flee from the city], I will [cause their enemies to] pursue them and attack them with swords.
3 And thou shalt take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts;
Take a few of your hairs and tuck them into the folds of your robe.
4 and thou shalt take of these again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire: from it shall a fire come forth against all the house of Israel.
Then take a few of those hairs, throw them into the fire, and burn them up. [That will symbolize that] a fire will spread from Jerusalem [and destroy things] throughout Israel.
5 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This is Jerusalem: I have set her in the midst of the nations, and the countries are round about her.
This is what [I, ] Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘[drawing will represent] Jerusalem, [the city which] I have set in the center of the nations, with [other] countries around it.
6 And she hath rebelled against my judgments in wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for mine ordinances have they refused; and my statutes, they have not walked in them.
But the wicked people of Jerusalem rebelled against [obeying] my commands, and [they show that] they are more wicked than the people of the surrounding countries. They rejected my laws and refused to obey my commands.’
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have been turbulent more than the nations that are round about you, [and] have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept mine ordinances, nor [even] have done according to the ordinances of the nations that are round about you;
Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘You people of Jerusalem have been more rebellious than the people of the nations around you; you have not obeyed any of my laws [DOU]. You have not even obeyed the laws of the nations around you!’
8 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations;
Therefore, this is [I, ] Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘I am opposed to [you people of] Jerusalem. I will punish you, and the [people of other] nations will see it happen.
9 and I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
Because of all your detestable [idols], I will punish [people of Jerusalem] like I have never done before and will never do again.
10 Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter to all the winds.
As a result, parents among you will eat their children, and children will eat their [because there will be nothing else to eat]. I will punish you [severely], and I will cause those who will still be alive to be scattered in all directions [IDM].’
11 Wherefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also withdraw mine eye, and it shall not spare, nor will I have any pity.
Therefore, I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that as surely as I am alive, because you have polluted my temple with all your disgusting [statues of idols] and by the other detestable things that you do, I will no longer bless you. I will not pity [you] or act mercifully [toward you].
12 A third part of thee shall die by the pestilence, and shall be consumed by the famine in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
One-third of your people will die inside the city because of the plagues [they will experience] or by (famine/lack of food). One-third of your people will be killed [your enemies’] swords outside the city. And one-third I will cause to be scattered in all directions; [your enemies] will [still] pursue you and kill you with their swords.
13 And mine anger shall be accomplished, and I will satisfy my fury upon them, and I will comfort myself; and they shall know that I Jehovah have spoken in my jealousy, when I have accomplished my fury upon them.
Then I will no longer be angry with you; I will stop punishing [MTY] you after I have gotten revenge on you. And when I stop punishing you, you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken to you because I have been very strongly concerned [what you have done].
14 And I will make thee a waste and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
I will cause your [city] to be a ruins, with the result that [people of other] nations that are around you will pass by and see it and sneer at you.
15 And it shall be a reproach, and a taunt, an instruction, and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments upon thee in anger, and in fury, and in furious rebukes: I, Jehovah, have spoken.
They will make fun of you and taunt you. When I severely punish you because of my being very angry [DOU] with you, they will be horrified and they will be warned. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.
16 When I send upon them the evil arrows of famine, that are for [their] destruction, which I send to destroy you, then will I increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread.
When I cut off your food supply and cause there to be more famine, [it will be as though] [MET] I am shooting at you with my arrows that will destroy you.
17 And I will send upon you famine and evil beasts, which shall bereave thee of children; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee: I, Jehovah, have spoken.
I will cause you to experience a famine, and I will send wild beasts to attack you and your children, and [all] your children will be killed. You will experience plagues and wars, and I will cause [your enemies] to attack you with their swords. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.”