Ezekiel 5

1 Thou therefore son of man Take thee a sharp cutting instrument, a barber’s razor, shalt thou take thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy chin, —and shalt take the balances for weighing, and shalt divide the hair.

“Also, you human, [when you start doing those things, ] take a sharp sword and use it like [SIM] a razor to shave your head and your beard. Then put the hair that you shaved off on scales, and divide the [into three equal parts].

2 A third part in the fire, shalt thou burn in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled, —and thou shalt take a third part, thou shalt smite it with the cuting instrument round about it, and a third part, shalt thou scatter to the wind, and, a sword, will I, make bare after them;

When the time during [you will symbolize that] the city will be [by enemy troops] ends, put a third of the hair inside [drawing of the] city and burn it. Take another third of the hair, [scatter it] all [the drawing of] the city, and then strike it with your sword. That will symbolize that I will strike the people of Jerusalem [their enemies’] swords. Then allow the wind to scatter the other third of the hair. That will symbolize [even if they flee from the city], I will [cause their enemies to] pursue them and attack them with swords.

3 and thou shalt take from thence, a few in number, —and shalt bind them in thy skirts;

Take a few of your hairs and tuck them into the folds of your robe.

4 and of them, again take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire, -therefrom, shall go forth a fire unto all the house of Israel.

Then take a few of those hairs, throw them into the fire, and burn them up. [That will symbolize that] a fire will spread from Jerusalem [and destroy things] throughout Israel.

5 Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, This, is Jerusalem, In the midst of the nations, I placed her, — and of the countries round about her;

This is what [I, ] Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘[drawing will represent] Jerusalem, [the city which] I have set in the center of the nations, with [other] countries around it.

6 But she hath changed my regulations into lawlessness, more than the nations, And my statutes more than the countries which are round bout her, For my regulations, have they rejected, And in my statutes, have they not walked.

But the wicked people of Jerusalem rebelled against [obeying] my commands, and [they show that] they are more wicked than the people of the surrounding countries. They rejected my laws and refused to obey my commands.’

7 Therefore, Thus saith My Lord, Yahweh. Because ye have become more rebellious than the nations who are round about you, In my statutes, have not walked. And my regulations, have not done, And according to the regulations of the nations which are round about you, have not done:

Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘You people of Jerusalem have been more rebellious than the people of the nations around you; you have not obeyed any of my laws [DOU]. You have not even obeyed the laws of the nations around you!’

8 Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Lo! I am against thee, even I, Therefore will I, execute in thy midst, judgments, in the eyes of the nations;

Therefore, this is [I, ] Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘I am opposed to [you people of] Jerusalem. I will punish you, and the [people of other] nations will see it happen.

9 Yea I will execute upon thee that which I have not executed, And like unto which I will not execute again, - Because of all thine abominations.

Because of all your detestable [idols], I will punish [people of Jerusalem] like I have never done before and will never do again.

10 Therefore, fathers will eat sons in thy midst, And sons will eat fathers, — And I will execute upon thee judgments, And will scatter the whole remnant of thee, to every wind.

As a result, parents among you will eat their children, and children will eat their [because there will be nothing else to eat]. I will punish you [severely], and I will cause those who will still be alive to be scattered in all directions [IDM].’

11 Therefore as I live, Declareth My Lord Yahweh, — Surely because my sanctuary, thou hast defiled, with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations Even I also, will cut off, and mine eye, shall not spare, Yea even I will not pity.

Therefore, I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that as surely as I am alive, because you have polluted my temple with all your disgusting [statues of idols] and by the other detestable things that you do, I will no longer bless you. I will not pity [you] or act mercifully [toward you].

12 The third part of thee by pestilence, shall die, and by famine, be consumed in thy midst And the third part by the sword, shall fall round about thee, - And the third part to every wind, will I scatter, and a sword, will I make bare after them.

One-third of your people will die inside the city because of the plagues [they will experience] or by (famine/lack of food). One-third of your people will be killed [your enemies’] swords outside the city. And one-third I will cause to be scattered in all directions; [your enemies] will [still] pursue you and kill you with their swords.

13 So shall mine anger have an end, And I will cause mine indignation, to find rest, upon them, and will console myself, - And they shall know that, I, Yahweh, have spoken in my jealousy, when mine indignation hath come to an end, upon them.

Then I will no longer be angry with you; I will stop punishing [MTY] you after I have gotten revenge on you. And when I stop punishing you, you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken to you because I have been very strongly concerned [what you have done].

14 And I will deliver thee up to desolation and reproach, among the nations that are round about thee, —in the eyes of every passer-by.

I will cause your [city] to be a ruins, with the result that [people of other] nations that are around you will pass by and see it and sneer at you.

15 So shall it become a reproach and an insult a warning and an astonishment, to the nations that are round about thee, —in that I have executed upon thee judgments in anger and in indignation and in rebukes of indignation, I, Yahweh have spoken:

They will make fun of you and taunt you. When I severely punish you because of my being very angry [DOU] with you, they will be horrified and they will be warned. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.

16 In that I have sent the malignant arrows of famine among them which were for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, —and famine, will I increase upon you, and will break for you the staff of bread.

When I cut off your food supply and cause there to be more famine, [it will be as though] [MET] I am shooting at you with my arrows that will destroy you.

17 So will I send upon you famine and mischievous beast and they shall bereave thee, —and pestilence and blood, shall pass through thee, —and a sword, will I bring in upon thee, I Yahweh, have spoken.

I will cause you to experience a famine, and I will send wild beasts to attack you and your children, and [all] your children will be killed. You will experience plagues and wars, and I will cause [your enemies] to attack you with their swords. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.”