Ezekiel 21
1 A message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 “Son of man, face towards Jerusalem and condemn their places of worship. Prophesy against the people living in Israel
Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel.
3 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.
And say to the land of Israel, Thus says Jehovah: 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 Because I'm going to destroy both the good and the bad, I will attack everyone from the north to the south.
Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword shall go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north.
5 Then the whole world will know that I, the Lord, have taken out my sword, and won't put it back again.
And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath. It shall not return any more.
6 You, son of man, you are to groan. Groan as if you're broken up inside, showing terrible sadness while they watch you.
Sigh therefore, thou son of man. With the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness thou shall sigh before their eyes.
7 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.”
And it shall be, when they say to thee, Why do thou sigh? That thou shall say, Because of the news. For it comes, 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 comes, and it shall be done, says the lord Jehovah.
8 Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
9 “Son of man, prophesy! Tell them this is what the Lord says: There's a sword, a sword that's being sharpened and polished.
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword. It is sharpened, and also furbished.
10 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’?)
It is sharpened that it may make a slaughter. It is polished that it may be as lightning. Shall we then make mirth? It scorns the scepter of my son, every tree.
11 The sword is being polished right now, ready to be used. It's sharp and polished, ready to be handed over to the killer.
And it is given to be polished, that it may be handled. The sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
12 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.
Cry and wail, son of man, for it is upon my people. It is upon all the rulers of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Smite therefore upon thy thigh.
13 They will be tested. What if the scepter that despises others doesn't continue? declares the Lord God.
For there is a trial, and what if even the rod that scorns shall be no more? says the lord Jehovah.
14 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.
Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together. And let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded. It is the sword of the great man who is deadly wounded, which enters into their chambers.
15 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.
I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied. Ah! It is made as lightning. It is pointed for slaughter.
16 Slash right and left, whichever way you're facing.
Gather thee together. Go to the right. Set thyself in array. Go to the left, wherever thy face is set.
17 I will also clap my hands, and then my anger will be over. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
18 Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,
The word of Jehovah came to me again, saying,
19 “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.
Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. Those two shall come forth out of one land. And mark out a place. Mark it out at the head of the way to the city.
20 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.
Thou shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
21 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.
For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shook the arrows to and fro. He consulted the teraphim. He looked in the liver.
22 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.
In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.
23 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.
And it shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.
24 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.
Therefore thus says the lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear, because ye have come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
25 As for you, you unclean, wicked prince of Israel, the time has come to complete your punishment.
And thou, O deadly wounded wicked man, the ruler of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,
26 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!
thus says the lord Jehovah: Remove the miter, and take off the crown. This shall be no more the same. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.
27 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.
I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. This also shall be no more, until he comes whose right it is. And I will give it.
28 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,
And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their reproach. And say thou, A sword, a sword is drawn. It is polished for the slaughter, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning,
29 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.
while they see for thee false visions, while they divine lies to thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.
30 Sword, go back to where you came from! I'm going to judge you right where you were created, in your homeland.
Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where thou were created, in the land of thy birth, I will judge thee.
31 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.
And I will pour out my indignation upon thee. I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.
32 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.”
Thou shall be for fuel to the fire. Thy blood shall be in the midst of the land. Thou shall no more be remembered. For I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
