Ezekiel 21

1 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me, saying:

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

2 Son of man Set thy face against Jerusalem, And drop thy word against the holy places And prophesy against the soil of Israel.

Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and let thy speech flow towards the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel:

3 Thou shalt say then to the soil of Israel Thus saith Yahweh, Behold me against thee, Therefore will I bring forth my sword out of its sheath, —and will cut off from thee the righteous and the lawless.

And say to the land of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I come against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off in thee the just, and the wicked.

4 Because I have cut off from thee the righteous and the lawless, Therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north:

And forasmuch as I have cut off in thee the just, and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.

5 So shall all flesh know that, I, Yahweh have brought forth my sword out of its sheath, — it shall not return any more.

That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn my sword out of its sheath not to be turned back.

6 Thou, therefore O son of man sigh, — In the sharp pain of thy loins and in bitterness, shalt thou sigh before their eyes.

And thou, son of man, mourn with the breaking of thy loins, and with bitterness sigh before them.

7 And it shall come to pass when they shall say unto thee, Wherefore art thou sighing? that thou shalt say, For the report because it cometh, When every heart shall melt. And all hands be unnerved And every spirit shall become faint. And all knees shall be weak as water, Lo! it cometh and shall be brought to pass, Saith My Lord, Yahweh.

And when they shall say to thee: Why mournest thou? thou shalt say: For that which I hear: because it cometh, and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be made feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and water shall run down every knee: behold it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord God.

8 And the word of Yahweh came unto me. saying:

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

9 Son of man, Prophesy and thou shalt say, Thus saith My Lord, — Say, A sword! a sword! Sharpened moreover also furbished:

Son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Say: The sword, the sword is sharpened, and furbished.

10 To make a slaughter, is it sharpened, That it may flash as lightning, is it furbished. Or shall we flourish the royal rod of my son which despiseth every tree?

It is sharpened to kill victims: it is furbished that it may glitter: thou removest the sceptre of my son, thou hast cut down every tree.

11 It hath. however been given to be furbished that it may be grasped by the hand: The same is a sword sharpened. Yea the same, is furbished, Ready to be given into the hand of the slayer.

And I have given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, that it may be in the hand of the slayer.

12 Make an outcry and howl son of man, For the same hath come against my people, the same is against all the princes of Israel, - Who are thrown to the sword with my people, Therefore smite thou upon thy thigh.

Cry, and howl, O son of man, for this sword is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel, that are fled: they are delivered up to the sword with my people, strike therefore upon thy thigh,

13 For trial hath been made, What then, even though the royal rod despiseth, shall it not be? Demandeth My Lord. Yahweh.

Because it is tried: and that when it shall overthrow the sceptre, and it shall not be, saith the Lord God.

14 Thou, therefore, son of man, Prophesy, and smite thy hands together, And let the sword smite twice thrice the sword of the slain! the same is the great sword of the slain, that which hemmeth them in.

Thou therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike thy hands together, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled: this is the sword of a great slaughter, that maketh them stand amazed,

15 That the heart may melt And the overthrow be multiplied at all their gates, I have recompensed a slaying by the sword: Surely it hath been made ready to flash like lightning, keen for slaughter.

And languish in heart, and that multiplieth ruins. In all their gates I have set the dread of the sharp sword, the sword that is furbished to glitter, that is made ready for slaughter.

16 One firm stroke to the right. Turn to the left, - Whithersoever thine edge is directed,

Be thou sharpened, go to the right hand, or to the left, which way soever thou hast a mind to set thy face.

17 Yea even I myself, will smite my hands together, And will cause mine indignation to find rest, — I Yahweh, have spoken.

And I will clap my hands together, and will satisfy my indignation: I the Lord have spoken.

18 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me saying:

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

19 Thou, therefore son of man. Appoint thee two ways For the sword of the king of Babylon to enter, Out of one land shall those two ways come, — And a hand, engrave thou, At the head of the way to the city, engrave it.;

And thou son of man, set thee two ways, for the sword of the king of Babylon to come: both shall come forth out of one land: and with his hand he shall draw lots, he shall consult at the head of the way of the city.

20 A way, shalt thou appoint, for the sword to enter. Even to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, — And to Judah against Jerusalem, the defenced,

Thou shalt make a way that the sword may come to Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and to Juda unto Jerusalem the strong city.

21 For the king of Babylon, hath come to a stand, At the parting of the way At the head of the two ways To divine a divination: He hath shaken with arrows He hath asked of the household gods, He hath inspected the liver.

For the king of Babylon stood in the highway, at the head of two ways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows: he inquired of the idols, and consulted entrails.

22 On his right hand, hath come the divination—Jerusalem! To plant battering-rams To open a hole by breach To lift up the voice with a war-shout, — To plant battering-rams against the gates, To cast up an earth-work To build a siege-wall.

On his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in slaughter, to lift up the voice in howling, to set engines against the gates, to cast up a mount, to build forts.

23 Though it will become to them a veritably false divination in their eyes, even when bound by oaths to them Yet, he, calling to mind iniquity, [will determine] that it shall be captured.

And he shall be in their eyes as one consulting the oracle in vain, and imitating the leisure of sabbaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity that they may be taken.

24 Therefore Thus saith My Lord. Yahweh, Because ye have brought to mind your iniquity, by revealing your transgressions causing your sins to appear in all your doings, - Because ye have brought yourselves to mind By force shall ye be captured.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Because you have remembered your iniquity, and have discovered your prevarications, and your sins have appeared in all your devices: because, I say, you have remembered, you shall be taken with the hand.

25 Thou therefore, O profane, lawless one, prince of Israel, - Whose day hath come, in a time of final iniquity:

But thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come that hath been appointed in the time of iniquity:

26 Thus, saith My Lord. Yahweh, Remove the turban, And lift off the crown, — This not that, The abased, exalt, And the exalted, abase.

Thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, take off the crown: is it not this that hath exalted the low one, and brought down him that was high?

27 An overthrow overthrow overthrow, will I make it, — Even this, hath not befallen until the coming of One to whom belongeth the right Then will I bestow it.

I will shew it to be iniquity, iniquity, iniquity: but this was not done till he came to whom judgment belongeth, and I will give it him.

28 Thou, therefore, son of man Prophesy and say, thus, saith My Lord. Yahweh, As to the sons of Ammon and as to their reproach Yea thou shalt say. A sword! a sword! Drawn for slaughter, Furbished, that when it beginneth, it may flash like lightning;

And thou son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord God concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach, and thou shalt say: sword, O sword, come out of the scabbard to kill, be furbished to destroy, and to glitter,

29 Since they see for thee, false visions, Since they divine for thee lies, To stretch thee upon the necks of them who are the most profaned of lawless ones, Whose day hath come, in a time of final iniquity,

Whilst they see vain things in thy regard, and they divine lies: to bring thee upon the necks of the wicked that are wounded, whose appointed day is come in the time of iniquity.

30 Put it back into its sheath! In the place where thou wast created In the land of thy nativity, will I judge thee

Return into thy sheath. I will judge thee in the place wherein thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.

31 Then will I pour out upon thee mine indignation, With the fire of mine outburst, will I blow upon thee; and will deliver thee up into the hand of brutish men, skilled to destroy.

And I will pour out upon thee my indignation: in the fire of my rage will I blow upon thee, and will give thee into the hands of men that are brutish and contrive thy destruction.

32 For the fire, shalt thou serve as fuel, Thy blood shall be in the midst of the land, - Thou shalt not be remembered, For I, Yahweh, have spoken.

Thou shalt be fuel for the fire, thy blood shall be in the midst of the land, thou shalt be forgotten: for I the Lord have spoken it.