Ezekiel 21

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

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

2 Son of man, direct thy face toward Jerusalem, and preach toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,

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

3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will be against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath; and I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

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.

4 But because I shall have 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;

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,

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

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

6 But thou, son of man, do thou sigh: as though with broken loins, and with bitterness [of grief] shalt thou sigh before their eyes.

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

7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, For the report, because it cometh, when every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be made feeble, and every spirit shall become faint, and all knees shall be changed into water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord Eternal.

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.

8 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

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

9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord, Say, The sword, the sword is sharpened, and also polished;

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

10 In order to make a thorough slaughter is it sharpened; in order that it may glitter is it polished: how can we now rejoice, [when] the rod which reacheth my son excelleth in hardness every tree?

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.

11 And he hath given it to be polished, to make it fit to grasp it in the hand: it is the sword which is sharpened, and it is polished, to place it into the hand of the slayer.

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.

12 Cry aloud and wail, O son of man; for it cometh against my people, it cometh against all the princes of Israel; brought together for the sword are they with my people: therefore strike [thy hand] upon thy thigh.

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.

13 For a purification taketh place: and what if the irresistible rod will also come? [my son] would not be able to exist, saith the Lord Eternal.

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.

14 But thou, son of man, prophesy, and strike thy hands together, and let “The sword” be repeated the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great that are slain, which lieth in wait for them everywhere.

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.

15 In order to make timid the heart, and to multiply the stumbling-blocks, do I bring the howling of the sword against all their gates: ah! it is made bright, it is made thin-edged for the slaughter.

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.

16 Gather up thy strength, go to the right hand, direct thyself, go to the left, whithersoever thy edge is turned.

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

17 And I also, —I will strike my hands together, and I will cause my fury to be assuaged: I the Lord have spoken it.

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

18 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

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

19 But thou, O son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; out of one land shall both of them come forth: and select a place; at the head of the way to a city do thou select it.

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.

20 A way shalt thou appoint, that the sword may come against Rabbah of the children of 'Ammon, and [the other] against Judah [dwelling] in Jerusalem the fortified.

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

21 For the king of Babylon hath halted at the parting of the way, at the commencement of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh the arrows, he consulteth with images, he looketh at the liver.

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.

22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to erect battering-rams, to open the mouth with the [cry for] murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to place battering-rams against the gates, to cast up a mound, and to build works of attack.

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.

23 And it will appear unto them as a false divination in their eyes, to those that had sworn oaths; but he will bring to remembrance their iniquity, that they may be caught.

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.

24 Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Because ye have brought your iniquity to remembrance, as your transgressions are discovered, so that your sins do appear in all your doings: because ye are thus brought to remembrance, ye shall be caught by [his] hand.

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.

25 And thou, death-deserving wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end, —

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

26 Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Remove the mitre, and take off the crown: this shall not be always so; exalt him that is low, and make him low that is high.

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.

27 Overthrown, overthrown, overthrown will I render it: also this shall not belong [to any one], until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.

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.

28 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal concerning the children of 'Ammon, and concerning their reproach: even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn; for the slaughter is it polished, to destroy, that it may continue to glitter;

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:

29 While they foresee unto thee falsehood, while they divine unto thee lies, to lay thee by the necks of the slain wicked, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end.

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.

30 Put back [the sword] into its sheath! in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy origin, will I judge thee.

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.

31 And I will pour out over thee my indignation, with the fire of my wrath will I blow against thee, and I will give thee up into the hand of brutish men, skilful in destroying.

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.

32 To the fire shalt thou be given to be devoured; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land: thou shalt not be remembered [any more]; for I the Lord have spoken it.

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.