Ezekiel 21

1 The word of ye Lord came to me againe, saying,

Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]

2 Sonne of man, set thy face toward Ierusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophecie against the land of Israel.

“You human, turn toward Jerusalem. Preach about what will happen to the temple [there]. Preach about what will happen to the Israeli people.

3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Beholde, I come against thee, and will drawe my sword out of his sheath, and cut off from thee both the righteous and the wicked.

Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I am opposed to you.

4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee both the righteous and wicked, therefore shall my sworde goe out of his sheath against all flesh from the South to the North,

[what I will do to you will be as though] [MET] I will pull my sword from its sheath [and strike you]. I will kill everyone, including righteous people and wicked people [DOU]. I will get rid of everyone, from the south to the north.

5 That all flesh may knowe that I the Lord haue drawen my sworde out of his sheath, and it shall not returne any more.

Then everyone will know [it is as though] I, Yahweh, have struck people with my sword, and I will not put it back in its sheath again.’

6 Mourne therefore, thou sonne of man, as in the paine of thy reines, and mourne bitterly before them.

Therefore, you human, groan! Groan in front of the Israeli people very sadly and sorrowfully [IDM, DOU].

7 And if they say vnto thee, Wherefore mournest thou? then answere, Because of the bruite: for it commeth, and euery heart shall melt, and all handes shall be weake, and all mindes shall faint, and all knees shall fall away as water: beholde, it commeth, and shall be done, saith the Lord God.

And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ tell them, ‘Because of the news that they soon will hear. Everyone will be very fearful [IDM], and their knees will become as weak as [SIM] water. [A great disaster] will soon occur. That is what Yahweh the Lord is promising.’”

8 Againe, the word of the Lord came vnto me, saying,

Yahweh gave me another message. [He said],

9 Sonne of man, prophecie, and say, Thus saith the Lord God, say, A sworde, a sworde both sharpe, and fourbished.

“You human, prophesy and say [to them], ‘This is what Yahweh says: I have sharpened my sword and polished it.

10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter, and it is fourbished that it may glitter: how shall we reioyce? for it contemneth the rod of my sonne, as all other trees.

It is sharpened in order that I can [many people with it]; it is polished so that it will flash like lightning. The people of Judah will not [their being punished like this], but they did not repent [I only struck them] with a stick.

11 And he hath giuen it to be fourbished, that he may handle it: this sword is sharpe, and is fourbished, that he may giue it into ye hand of the slayer.

A sword should be polished, and be grasped [in someone’s hand]. It should be sharpened and polished, ready for someone to use it to kill people.

12 Cry, and houle, sonne of man: for this shall come to my people, and it shall come vnto all the princes of Israel: the terrours of the sword shall be vpon my people: smite therefore vpon thy thigh.

[So, ] you human, cry and wail, because I will use my sword to kill my people, including the leaders of Israel. They and all the other people, my people, will be killed by swords, so beat your [to show that you are sad].

13 For it is a triall, and what shall this be, if the sworde contemne euen the rodde? It shall be no more, saith the Lord God.

I am about to test my people, and the kings [MTY] of Judah will not escape being punished. That is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say.

14 Thou therefore, sonne of man, prophecie, and smite hand to hand, and let the sworde be doubled: let the sworde that hath killed, returne the third time: it is the sword of the great slaughter entring into their priuie chambers.

So, you human, prophesy; clap your [to show that you are very happy about what is going to happen]. My sword will strike them again and again; it is a sword for slaughtering many people, while I attack them from every side.

15 I haue brought the feare of the sword into all their gates to make their heart to faint, and to multiplie their ruines. Ah it is made bright, and it is dressed for the slaughter.

In order that people will be very much afraid [IDM] and many people will be killed, I have [soldiers holding] my swords at every [city] gate, ready to slaughter people. Those swords will flash like lightning, as the [soldiers] grasp them to slaughter people.

16 Get thee alone: goe to the right hande, or get thy selfe to the left hande, whithersoeuer thy face turneth.

Their swords [APO] will slash to the right and [then] to the left, whichever way they turn the blades.

17 I wil also smite mine hands together, and wil cause my wrath to cease. I the Lord haue said it.

Then I will clap my [triumphantly]; and [then] I will no longer be angry. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.’”

18 The worde of the Lord came vnto mee againe, saying,

Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]

19 Also thou sonne of man, appoint thee two wayes, that the sworde of the King of Babel may come: both twaine shall come out of one lande, and chuse a place, and chuse it in the corner of the way of the citie.

“You human, [a map], and on it mark two roads for the King of Babylonia to march [along with his army, carrying] their swords. When they depart from their country, they will come to a sign post where the road divides.

20 Appoint a way, that the sworde may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Iudah in Ierusalem the strong citie.

[If they continue on the one road, ] they will attack [city], the capital of the Ammon people-group. [If they continue on the other road, ] they will come to Judah and to Jerusalem, [a city] with walls around it.

21 And the King of Babel stoode at the parting of the way, at the head of the two wayes, consulting by diuination, and made his arrowes bright: hee consulted with idoles, and looked in the liuer.

[When the army of] Babylonia comes to where the road divides, [they will stop], and the king will perform magic rituals [to decide which road to go on]. He will throw arrows; [then] consult his [about which road to go on], and he will (examine/look at) the [of a sheep].

22 At his right hand was the diuination for Ierusalem to appoint captaines, to open their mouth in the slaughter, and to lift vp their voyce with shouting, to laye engines of warre against the gates, to cast a mount, and to builde a fortresse.

With his right hand he will pick up the arrow marked ‘Jerusalem’. He will [command his soldiers to go to Jerusalem. When they arrive there, they] will set up (rams/devices to [down the walls], ) and [then] the king will give the command for them to slaughter [the people]. They will shout [a battle-cry], and they will set up the rams against the [city] gates. They will build a dirt ramp [against the walls around the city], and set up things to bash those walls.

23 And it shalbe vnto them as a false diuination in their sight for the othes made vnto them: but hee will call to remembrance their iniquitie, to the intent they should be taken.

The [in Jerusalem] who had promised [to be loyal to the King of Babylonia will think that those rituals must be wrong. They will think that his army should not be attacking them]. But he will remind them of the sins [MTY] that they had committed, [his army] will capture them.

24 Therefore thus sayeth the Lord God, Because ye haue made your iniquitie to bee remembred, in discouering your rebellion, that in al your workes your sinnes might appeare: because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.

Therefore, [tell the Israeli people that] this is what Yahweh the Lord says: ‘You people have allowed everyone to see that you are openly [against the King of Babylonia], and by doing that you have shown that everything that you do is sinful. Therefore you will be captured and [to Babylonia].’

25 And thou prince of Israel polluted, and wicked, whose day is come, when iniquitie shall haue an ende,

Also, say, ‘You very wicked [DOU] king of Israel, it is your [to die]. It is the time for you to be punished.’

26 Thus saith the Lord God, I will take away the diademe, and take off the crowne: this shalbe no more the same: I wil exalt the humble, and will abase him that is hie.

And this is what Yahweh the Lord says [to you soldiers from Babylonia]: ‘Take off [the king’s] turban and his crown, because now things will be different than they were [before]. [in Jerusalem] who had no authority will now be given authority, and those who had authority will have their authority taken from them.

27 I wil ouerturne, ouerturne, ouerturne it, and it shall be no more vntill he come, whose right it is, and I will giue it him.

[Jerusalem] will be completely ruined. I will cause it to be ruined, and it will not be rebuilt/restored until the king to whom the city truly belongs comes; I will give it to [to rule it].’”

28 And thou, sonne of man, prophecie, and say, Thus saith the Lord God to the children of Ammon, and to their blasphemie: say thou, I say, The sword, the sword is drawen foorth, and fourbished to the slaughter, to consume, because of the glittering:

“And, you human, prophesy and say [this]: 'This is what Yahweh the Lord says about the Ammon people-group, and about what they have said to insult [Israel]: [“The King of Babylon says, ] ‘[My soldiers have] swords’ [APO]; they have pulled out those swords to slaughter many people. They have polished them in order to kill people, and to make those swords flash like lightning.

29 Whiles they see vanitie vnto thee, and prophecied a lie vnto thee to bring thee vpon the neckes of the wicked that are slaine, whose day is come when their iniquitie shall haue an ende.

[Your prophets] have given you false visions about [what will happen to] you, and they have given you messages that are not true. So swords will strike the necks of those wicked people; it is time for them to be killed; it is the day when they will be [for their sins].

30 Shall I cause it to returne into his sheath? I will iudge thee in the place where thou wast created, euen in the land of thine habitation.

You must put your swords back in their sheaths [because the days for you to slaughter your enemies are ended]. I will judge those people in the country where they were born.

31 And I wil powre out mine indignation vpon thee, and will blowe against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliuer thee into the hand of beastly men, and skilfull to destroy.

I will pour out my punishment [MTY] on them. Because I am very angry with them, my breath on them will scorch them [like] fire [MET]. I will allow brutal men to capture them, men who are experts in killing people.

32 Thou shalt bee in the fire to be deuoured: thy blood shall be in the middes of the lande, and thou shalt be no more remembred: for I the Lord haue spoken it.

You will be [like] fuel [MET] [that is burned] in a fire. Your blood will be shed in your own land. No one will remember you any more. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.” '”