Ezekiel 21

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

Then came the word of Jehovah to me, saying:

2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and let thy speech flow towards the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel:

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

3 And say to the land of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I come against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off in thee the just, and the wicked.

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

4 And forasmuch as I have cut off in thee the just, and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.

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

5 That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn my sword out of its sheath not to be turned back.

And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.

6 And thou, son of man, mourn with the breaking of thy loins, and with bitterness sigh before them.

Thou, therefore, O son of man, sigh! With the breaking of thy loins, and with bitterness, sigh before their eyes!

7 And when they shall say to thee: Why mournest thou? thou shalt say: For that which I hear: because it cometh, and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be made feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and water shall run down every knee: behold it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord God.

And when they shall say to thee, “Wherefore sighest thou?” thou shalt say, “For the rumor, because it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall fail, and all knees shall flow with water. Behold it cometh, it shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord Jehovah.”

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

Also the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

9 Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Say: The sword, the sword is sharpened, and furbished.

Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, The sword, the sword is sharpened and furbished.

10 It is sharpened to kill victims: it is furbished that it may glitter: thou removest the sceptre of my son, thou hast cut down every tree.

It is sharpened, that it may make sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter. Or shall we make mirth? The staff of my son despiseth every rod.

11 And I have given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, that it may be in the hand of the slayer.

And he gave it to be furbished that it might be handled. The sword is sharpened and furbished, to be given into the hand of the slayer.

12 Cry, and howl, O son of man, for this sword is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel, that are fled: they are delivered up to the sword with my people, strike therefore upon thy thigh,

Cry and howl, son of man! for it cometh upon my people, upon all the princes of Israel. They are given up to the sword with my people. Therefore smite upon thy thigh.

13 Because it is tried: and that when it shall overthrow the sceptre, and it shall not be, saith the Lord God.

The trial is made. And what if even the contemning staff should be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah.

14 Thou therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike thy hands together, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled: this is the sword of a great slaughter, that maketh them stand amazed,

Thou, therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together! for twice, yea thrice, cometh the sword, a sword of slaughter, a sword of great slaughter, that besetteth them on every side.

15 And languish in heart, and that multiplieth ruins. In all their gates I have set the dread of the sharp sword, the sword that is furbished to glitter, that is made ready for slaughter.

That their hearts may faint, and their overthrown may be multiplied, I have set the terror of the sword against all their gates. Ah, how is it made to glitter, polished for slaughter!

16 Be thou sharpened, go to the right hand, or to the left, which way soever thou hast a mind to set thy face.

Unite thyself, smite to the right, prepare thyself, smite to the left, whithersoever thine edge is turned!

17 And I will clap my hands together, and will satisfy my indignation: I the Lord have spoken.

I also will smite my hands together, and cause mine anger to cease. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

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

The word of Jehovah came to me again, saying:

19 And thou son of man, set thee two ways, for the sword of the king of Babylon to come: both shall come forth out of one land: and with his hand he shall draw lots, he shall consult at the head of the way of the city.

Do thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come; from one land shall both of them come; and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

20 Thou shalt make a way that the sword may come to Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and to Juda unto Jerusalem the strong city.

Appoint a way, that the sword may come towards Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, and towards Judah, to Jerusalem, the fenced city.

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

For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shall shake together his arrows, he shall consult the teraphim, he shall look at the liver.

22 On his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in slaughter, to lift up the voice in howling, to set engines against the gates, to cast up a mount, to build forts.

In his right hand shall be the lot: Jerusalem, to set battering-rams, to open the mouth with the war-cry, to lift up the voice in shouting, to set battering-rams against the gates, to cast up a mound, to build a tower.

23 And he shall be in their eyes as one consulting the oracle in vain, and imitating the leisure of sabbaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity that they may be taken.

And this shall appear a false divination in their sight, because they swore oaths to them. But he shall call to remembrance their iniquity, that they may be taken.

24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because you have remembered your iniquity, and have discovered your prevarications, and your sins have appeared in all your devices: because, I say, you have remembered, you shall be taken with the hand.

Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye make your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear, —because, I say, ye bring yourselves into remembrance, ye shall be taken with that hand.

25 But thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come that hath been appointed in the time of iniquity:

And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day cometh in the time when iniquity bringeth destruction!

26 Thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, take off the crown: is it not this that hath exalted the low one, and brought down him that was high?

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will remove the diadem, and take away the crown! This shall no more be this. I exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.

27 I will shew it to be iniquity, iniquity, iniquity: but this was not done till he came to whom judgment belongeth, and I will give it him.

I will destroy, destroy, destroy it; and it shall be no more until he come to whom the right belongeth, and to whom I will give it.

28 And thou son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach, and thou shalt say: sword, O sword, come out of the scabbard to kill, be furbished to destroy, and to glitter,

And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon and their scorn; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn; to slay, to consume, is it furbished, so that it glittereth;

29 Whilst they see vain things in thy regard, and they divine lies: to bring thee upon the necks of the wicked that are wounded, whose appointed day is come in the time of iniquity.

while they see deceit for thee, and prophesy falsehood, that it may bring thee to the necks of the wicked that are slain, whose day cometh in the time when iniquity bringeth destruction.

30 Return into thy sheath. I will judge thee in the place wherein thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.

Return the sword into its sheath! In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity, I will judge thee,

31 And I will pour out upon thee my indignation: in the fire of my rage will I blow upon thee, and will give thee into the hands of men that are brutish and contrive thy destruction.

and I will pour upon thee my indignation, I will blow upon thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hands of brutal men, skilful to destroy.

32 Thou shalt be fuel for the fire, thy blood shall be in the midst of the land, thou shalt be forgotten: for I the Lord have spoken it.

Thou shalt be fuel for the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; men shall no more remember thee. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.