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 your face toward Jerusalem, and drop your word toward 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 says the LORD; Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous 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:

Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south 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 forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.

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

Sigh therefore, you son of man, with the breaking of your loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

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 it shall be, when they say to you, Why sigh you? that you shall answer, For the tidings; because it comes: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it comes, and shall be brought to pass, says the Lord GOD.

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

Again 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 says the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also 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 make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it scorns the rod of my son, as 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 he has given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into 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, son of man: for it shall be on my people, it shall be on all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be on my people: smite therefore on your 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 a trial, and what if the sword scorn even the rod? it shall be no more, says 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.

You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite your hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which enters into their privy chambers.

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.

I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.

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

Go you one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, wherever your face is set.

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

I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.

18 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me saying:

The word of the LORD came to me again, 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.;

Also, you son of man, appoint you two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both two shall come forth out of one land: and choose you a place, choose it at the head of the way to 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,

Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defended.

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 at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.

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.

At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.

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 it shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: 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 says the Lord GOD; Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that you are come to remembrance, 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:

And you, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,

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 says the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is 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 overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; 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 you, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say you, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:

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,

Whiles they see vanity to you, whiles they divine a lie to you, to bring you on the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.

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

Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your 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 my indignation on you, I will blow against you in the fire of my wrath, and deliver you into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy.

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.

You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the middle of the land; you shall be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.