Ezekiel 21

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

Then came the word of Jehovah 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, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy 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, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

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.

Seeing then that I 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.

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 shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.

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

Thou, therefore, O son of man, sigh! With the breaking of thy loins, and with bitterness, sigh 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 shall say to thee, “Wherefore sighest thou?” thou shalt say, “For the rumor, because it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall fail, and all knees shall flow with water. Behold it cometh, it shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord Jehovah.”

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

Also the word of Jehovah 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, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, The sword, the sword is sharpened and furbished.

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 is sharpened, that it may make sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter. Or shall we make mirth? The staff of my son despiseth every rod.

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 he gave it to be furbished that it might be handled. The sword is sharpened and furbished, to be given into the hand of the slayer.

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,

Cry and howl, son of man! for it cometh upon my people, upon all the princes of Israel. They are given up to the sword with my people. Therefore smite upon thy thigh.

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

The trial is made. And what if even the contemning staff should be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah.

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.

Thou, therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together! for twice, yea thrice, cometh the sword, a sword of slaughter, a sword of great slaughter, that besetteth them on every side.

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.

That their hearts may faint, and their overthrown may be multiplied, I have set the terror of the sword against all their gates. Ah, how is it made to glitter, polished for slaughter!

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

Unite thyself, smite to the right, prepare thyself, smite to the left, whithersoever thine edge is turned!

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

I also will smite my hands together, and cause mine anger to cease. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

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

The word of Jehovah 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.

Do thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come; from one land shall both of them come; and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

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

Appoint a way, that the sword may come towards Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, and towards Judah, to Jerusalem, the fenced city.

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 shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shall shake together his arrows, he shall consult the teraphim, he shall look at the liver.

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.

In his right hand shall be the lot: Jerusalem, to set battering-rams, to open the mouth with the war-cry, to lift up the voice in shouting, to set battering-rams against the gates, to cast up a mound, to build a tower.

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 shall appear a false divination in their sight, because they swore oaths to them. But he shall call to remembrance their iniquity, 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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye make your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear, —because, I say, ye bring yourselves into remembrance, ye shall be taken with that hand.

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

And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day cometh in the time when iniquity bringeth destruction!

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.

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will remove the diadem, and take away the crown! This shall no more be this. I exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.

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 destroy, destroy, destroy it; and it shall be no more until he come to whom the right belongeth, and to whom I will give it.

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 thou, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon and their scorn; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn; to slay, to consume, is it furbished, so that it glittereth;

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.

while they see deceit for thee, and prophesy falsehood, that it may bring thee to the necks of the wicked that are slain, whose day cometh in the time when iniquity bringeth destruction.

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

Return the sword into its sheath! In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity, I will judge thee,

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 pour upon thee my indignation, I will blow upon thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hands of brutal men, skilful to destroy.

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!”

Thou shalt be fuel for the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; men shall no more remember thee. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.