Ezekiel 21

1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore 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.

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.”

8 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

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

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

“Son of man, prophesy, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Speak: The sword! The sword has been sharpened and polished!

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

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.

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

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.

12 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.

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,

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

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

14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite [thine] 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 privy chambers.

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,

15 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] wrapped up for the slaughter.

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.

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

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

17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said [it].

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

18 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,

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

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

“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.

20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.

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.

21 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.

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.

22 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.

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.

23 And it shall be unto 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.

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.

24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, 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.

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.

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

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

26 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.

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?

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

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.

28 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:

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,

29 Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto 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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

32 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].

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.”