Ezekiel 21
1 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]
2 Son of man, direct thy face toward Jerusalem, and preach toward the holy places, and prophesy 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 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.
Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I am opposed to you.
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;
[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 know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return 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 But thou, son of man, do thou sigh: as though with broken loins, and with bitterness [of grief] shalt thou sigh before their eyes.
Therefore, you human, groan! Groan in front of the Israeli people very sadly and sorrowfully [IDM, DOU].
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 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 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Yahweh gave me another message. [He said],
9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord, Say, The sword, the sword is sharpened, and also polished;
“You human, prophesy and say [to them], ‘This is what Yahweh says: I have sharpened my sword and polished it.
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 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 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.
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 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.
[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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Gather up thy strength, go to the right hand, direct thyself, go to the left, whithersoever thy edge is turned.
Their swords [APO] will slash to the right and [then] to the left, whichever way they turn the blades.
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.
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 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]
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.
“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 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.
[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 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.
[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 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.
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 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.
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 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, [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, death-deserving wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end, —
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 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.
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 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.
[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, 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, 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 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.
[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 Put back [the sword] into its sheath! in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy origin, will I judge thee.
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 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.
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 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.
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.” '”
