Ezekiel 21

1 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and prophesy to the holy places, and prophesy to the ground of Israel;

Son of man, let your face be turned to Jerusalem, let your words be dropped in the direction of her holy place, and be a prophet against the land of Israel;

3 and you have said to the ground of Israel, Thus said YHWH: Behold, I [am] against you, And have brought out My sword from its scabbard, And have cut off righteous and wicked from you.

And say to the land of Israel, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, and I will take my sword out of its cover, cutting off from you the upright and the evil.

4 Because that I have cut off righteous and wicked from you, Therefore My sword goes out from its scabbard, To all flesh, from south to north.

Because I am going to have the upright and the evil cut off from you, for this cause my sword will go out from its cover against all flesh from the south to the north:

5 And all flesh has known that I, YHWH, Have brought out My sword from its scabbard, It does not turn back anymore.

And all flesh will see that I the Lord have taken my sword out of its cover: and it will never go back.

6 And you, son of man, sigh with breaking of loins, indeed, sigh before their eyes with bitterness,

Make sounds of grief, son of man; with body bent and a bitter heart make sounds of grief before their eyes.

7 and it has come to pass, when they say to you, Why are you sighing? That you have said: Because of the report, for it is coming, And every heart has melted, And all hands have been feeble, And every spirit is weak, And all knees go [as] waters, Behold, it is coming, indeed, it has been, A declaration of Lord YHWH.”

And when they say to you, Why are you making sounds of grief? then say, Because of the news, for it is coming: and every heart will become soft, and all hands will be feeble, and every spirit will be burning low, and all knees will be turned to water: see, it is coming and it will be done, says the Lord.

8 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

9 “Son of man, prophesy, and you have said, Thus said YHWH: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

Son of man, say as a prophet, These are the words of the Lord: Say, A sword, a sword which has been made sharp and polished:

10 It is sharpened so as to slaughter a slaughter. It is polished so as to have brightness, Or do we rejoice? It is despising the scepter of My son [as] every tree.

It has been made sharp to give death; it is polished so that it may be like a thunder-flame: ...

11 And He gives it for polishing, For laying hold of by the hand. It is sharpened—the sword—and polished, To give it into the hand of a slayer.

And I have given it to the polisher so that it may be taken in the hand: he has made the sword sharp, he has had it polished, to put it into the hand of him who gives death.

12 Cry and howl, son of man, For it has been among My people, It [is] among all the princes of Israel, My people have been cast to the sword. Therefore strike on your thigh,

Give loud cries and make sounds of grief, O son of man: for it has come on my people, it has come on all the rulers of Israel: fear of the sword has come on my people: for this cause give signs of grief.

13 Because [it is] a trier, And what if it is even despising the scepter? It will not be, a declaration of Lord YHWH.

14 And you, son of man, prophesy, And strike hand on hand, And the sword is bent a third time, The sword of the wounded! It [is] the sword of the wounded—the great one, That is entering the inner chamber to them.

So then, son of man, be a prophet, and put your hands together with a loud sound, and give two blows with the sword, and even three; it is the sword of those who are wounded, even the sword of the wounded; the great sword which goes round about them.

15 To melt the heart, and to multiply the ruins, I have set the point of a sword by all their gates. Aah! It is made for brightness, Wrapped up for slaughter.

In order that hearts may become soft, and the number of those who are falling may be increased, I have sent death by the sword against all their doors: you are made like a flame, you are polished for death.

16 Take possession of the right, place yourself at the left, To where your face is appointed.

Be pointed to the right, to the left, wherever your edge is ordered.

17 And I also, I strike My hand on My hand, And have caused My fury to rest; I, YHWH, have spoken.”

And I will put my hands together with a loud sound, and I will let my wrath have rest: I the Lord have said it.

18 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

19 “And you, son of man, appoint two ways for yourself, for the coming in of the sword of the king of Babylon; they come forth from one land, both of them. And create a station; create [it] at the top of the way of the city.

And you, son of man, have two ways marked out, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; let the two of them come out of one land: and let there be a pillar at the top of the road:

20 Appoint a way for the coming of the sword, To Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, And to Judah, in fortified Jerusalem.

Put a pillar at the top of the road for the sword to come to Rabbah in the land of the children of Ammon, and to Judah and to Jerusalem in the middle of her.

21 For the king of Babylon has stood at the head of the way, At the top of the two ways, to use divination, He has moved lightly with the arrows, He has inquired of the teraphim, He has looked on the liver.

For the king of Babylon took his place at the parting of the ways, at the top of the two roads, to make use of secret arts: shaking the arrows this way and that, he put questions to the images of his gods, he took note of the inner parts of dead beasts.

22 The divination [for] Jerusalem has been at his right, To place battering-rams, To open the mouth with slaughter, To lift up a voice with shouting, To place battering-rams against the gates, To pour out a mound, to build a fortification.

At his right hand was the fate of Jerusalem, to give orders for destruction, to send up the war-cry, to put engines of war against the doors, lifting up earthworks, building walls.

23 And it has been to them as a false divination in their eyes, Who have sworn oaths to them, But he is causing iniquity to be remembered [so they] are caught.

And this answer given by secret arts will seem false to those who have given their oaths and have let them be broken: but he will keep the memory of evil-doing so that they may be taken.

24 Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: Because of your causing your iniquity to be remembered, In your transgressions being revealed, For your sins being seen, in all your doings, Because of your being remembered, You are caught by the hand.

For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have made your evil-doing come to mind by the uncovering of your wrongdoing, causing your sins to be seen in all your evil-doings; because you have come to mind, you will be taken in them.

25 And you, wounded, wicked one, Prince of Israel, whose day has come, In the time of the iniquity of the end,

And you, O evil one, wounded to death, O ruler of Israel, whose day has come in the time of the last punishment;

26 Thus said Lord YHWH: Turn aside the turban, and carry away the crown, This—not this—make high the low, And make low the high.

This is what the Lord has said: Take away the holy head-dress, take off the crown: this will not be again: let that which is low be lifted up, and that which is high be made low.

27 An overturn, overturn, overturn, I make it, Also this has not been until the coming of Him, Whose [is] the judgment, and I have given it.

I will let it be overturned, overturned, overturned: this will not be again till he comes whose right it is; and I will give it to him.

28 And you, son of man, prophesy, and you have said, Thus said Lord YHWH concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their reproach, and you have said: A sword, a sword, open for slaughter, Polished to the utmost for brightness!

And you, son of man, say as a prophet, This is what the Lord has said about the children of Ammon and about their shame: Say, A sword, even a sword let loose, polished for death, to make it shining so that it may be like a flame:

29 In seeing a vain thing for you, In divining a lie for you, To put you on the necks of the wounded of the wicked, whose day has come, In the time of the iniquity of the end.

Your vision is to no purpose, your use of secret arts gives a false answer, to put it on the necks of evil-doers who are wounded to death, whose day has come, in the time of the last punishment.

30 Turn [it] back to its scabbard; I judge you In the place where you were produced, In the land of your birth.

Go back into your cover. In the place where you were made, in the land from which you were taken, I will be your judge.

31 And I have poured My indignation on you, I blow against you with [the] fire of My wrath, And have given you into the hand of brutish men—craftsmen of destruction.

And I will let loose my burning passion on you, breathing out on you the fire of my wrath: and I will give you up into the hands of men like beasts, trained to destruction.

32 You are fuel for the fire, Your blood is in the midst of the land, You are not remembered, For I, YHWH, have spoken!”

You will be food for the fire; your blood will be drained out in the land; there will be no more memory of you: for I the Lord have said it.