Ezekiel 21
1 Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2 “You human, turn toward Jerusalem. Preach about what will happen to the temple [there]. Preach about what will happen to the Israeli people.
“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and speak against the sanctuaries; prophesy against the land of Israel.
3 Say to them, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I am opposed to you.
Say to the land of Israel, 'Yahweh says this: Behold! I am against you! I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off both the righteous person and the wicked person from you!
4 [what I will do to you will be as though] [MET] I will pull my sword from its sheath [and strike you]. I will kill everyone, including righteous people and wicked people [DOU]. I will get rid of everyone, from the south to the north.
In order for me to cut off both the righteous and the wicked from you, my sword will go out from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north.
5 Then everyone will know [it is as though] I, Yahweh, have struck people with my sword, and I will not put it back in its sheath again.’
Then all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have drawn my sword from its sheath. It will no longer hold back!'
6 Therefore, you human, groan! Groan in front of the Israeli people very sadly and sorrowfully [IDM, DOU].
As for you, son of man, groan as your loins break! In bitterness groan before their eyes!
7 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ tell them, ‘Because of the news that they soon will hear. Everyone will be very fearful [IDM], and their knees will become as weak as [SIM] water. [A great disaster] will soon occur. That is what Yahweh the Lord is promising.’”
Then it will happen that they will ask you, 'For what reason are you groaning?' Then you will say, 'Because of the news that is coming, for every heart will faint away, and every hand will falter! Every spirit will grow faint, and every knee will flow like water. Behold! It is coming and it will be like this!—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.'”
8 Yahweh gave me another message. [He said],
Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
9 “You human, prophesy and say [to them], ‘This is what Yahweh says: I have sharpened my sword and polished it.
“Son of man, prophesy and say, 'The Lord says this: “Say: A sword! A sword! It will be sharpened and polished!
10 It is sharpened in order that I can [many people with it]; it is polished so that it will flash like lightning. The people of Judah will not [their being punished like this], but they did not repent [I only struck them] with a stick.
It will be sharpened in order to engage in great slaughter! It will be polished in order to be like lightning! Should we rejoice in my son's scepter? The coming sword hates every such rod!
11 A sword should be polished, and be grasped [in someone’s hand]. It should be sharpened and polished, ready for someone to use it to kill people.
So the sword will be given to be polished, and then to be grasped by the hand! The sword is sharpened and it is polished and it is to be given into the hand of the one who kills!”'”
12 [So, ] you human, cry and wail, because I will use my sword to kill my people, including the leaders of Israel. They and all the other people, my people, will be killed by swords, so beat your [to show that you are sad].
Call for help and lament, son of man! For that sword has come against my people! It is against all the leaders of Israel. They are thrown against the sword with my people. Therefore, slap your thigh!
13 I am about to test my people, and the kings [MTY] of Judah will not escape being punished. That is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say.
For there is a trial, but what if the scepter does not last?—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.
14 So, you human, prophesy; clap your [to show that you are very happy about what is going to happen]. My sword will strike them again and again; it is a sword for slaughtering many people, while I attack them from every side.
Now you, son of man, prophesy and hit your two hands together, for the sword will attack even a third time! A sword for the ones to be slaughtered! It is a sword for the many to be slaughtered, piercing them everywhere!
15 In order that people will be very much afraid [IDM] and many people will be killed, I have [soldiers holding] my swords at every [city] gate, ready to slaughter people. Those swords will flash like lightning, as the [soldiers] grasp them to slaughter people.
In order to melt their hearts and to multiply their fallen, I have set the sword for slaughter at all their gates. Ah! It is made like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter.
16 Their swords [APO] will slash to the right and [then] to the left, whichever way they turn the blades.
You, sword! Strike to the right! Strike to the left! Go wherever your face is turned.
17 Then I will clap my [triumphantly]; and [then] I will no longer be angry. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.’”
For I will also hit my two hands together, and then I will bring my fury to rest! I, Yahweh, declare it!”
18 Yahweh gave me another message. [He said, ]
The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying,
19 “You human, [a map], and on it mark two roads for the King of Babylonia to march [along with his army, carrying] their swords. When they depart from their country, they will come to a sign post where the road divides.
“Now you, son of man, assign two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. The two roads will start in the same land, and a signpost will mark one of them as leading to a city.
20 [If they continue on the one road, ] they will attack [city], the capital of the Ammon people-group. [If they continue on the other road, ] they will come to Judah and to Jerusalem, [a city] with walls around it.
Mark one road for the Babylonian army to come to Rabbah, the city of the Ammonites. Mark the other to lead the army to Judah and the city of Jerusalem, which is fortified.
21 [When the army of] Babylonia comes to where the road divides, [they will stop], and the king will perform magic rituals [to decide which road to go on]. He will throw arrows; [then] consult his [about which road to go on], and he will (examine/look at) the [of a sheep].
For the king of Babylon will stop at the crossroads, at the junction, in order to practice divination. He will shake some arrows and ask direction from some idols and he will examine a liver.
22 With his right hand he will pick up the arrow marked ‘Jerusalem’. He will [command his soldiers to go to Jerusalem. When they arrive there, they] will set up (rams/devices to [down the walls], ) and [then] the king will give the command for them to slaughter [the people]. They will shout [a battle-cry], and they will set up the rams against the [city] gates. They will build a dirt ramp [against the walls around the city], and set up things to bash those walls.
In his right hand will be an omen about Jerusalem, to set battering rams against it, to open his mouth to order the slaughter, to sound a war cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect siege towers.
23 The [in Jerusalem] who had promised [to be loyal to the King of Babylonia will think that those rituals must be wrong. They will think that his army should not be attacking them]. But he will remind them of the sins [MTY] that they had committed, [his army] will capture them.
It will seem to be a useless omen in the eyes of the ones in Jerusalem, those who had sworn an oath to the Babylonians! But the king will accuse them of violating their treaty in order to besiege them!
24 Therefore, [tell the Israeli people that] this is what Yahweh the Lord says: ‘You people have allowed everyone to see that you are openly [against the King of Babylonia], and by doing that you have shown that everything that you do is sinful. Therefore you will be captured and [to Babylonia].’
Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, making your transgressions to be revealed, so that in all your actions your sins will be seen— because you have done this you will be taken in hand.
25 Also, say, ‘You very wicked [DOU] king of Israel, it is your [to die]. It is the time for you to be punished.’
As for you, profane and wicked ruler of Israel, whose day of punishment has come, and whose time of committing iniquity has ended,
26 And this is what Yahweh the Lord says [to you soldiers from Babylonia]: ‘Take off [the king’s] turban and his crown, because now things will be different than they were [before]. [in Jerusalem] who had no authority will now be given authority, and those who had authority will have their authority taken from them.
the Lord Yahweh says this to you: Remove the turban and take off the crown! Things will no longer be the same! Exalt the lowly and humble the exalted!
27 [Jerusalem] will be completely ruined. I will cause it to be ruined, and it will not be rebuilt/restored until the king to whom the city truly belongs comes; I will give it to [to rule it].’”
A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! It will not be restored until the one comes who is assigned to execute judgment.
28 “And, you human, prophesy and say [this]: 'This is what Yahweh the Lord says about the Ammon people-group, and about what they have said to insult [Israel]: [“The King of Babylon says, ] ‘[My soldiers have] swords’ [APO]; they have pulled out those swords to slaughter many people. They have polished them in order to kill people, and to make those swords flash like lightning.
So you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'The Lord Yahweh says this to the people of Ammon concerning their coming disgrace: A sword, a sword is drawn! It is sharpened for the slaughter in order to devour, so it will be like lightning!
29 [Your prophets] have given you false visions about [what will happen to] you, and they have given you messages that are not true. So swords will strike the necks of those wicked people; it is time for them to be killed; it is the day when they will be [for their sins].
While prophets see empty visions for you, while they perform rituals to come up with lies for you, this sword will lie on the necks of the wicked who are about to be killed, whose day of punishment has come and whose time of iniquity is about to end.
30 You must put your swords back in their sheaths [because the days for you to slaughter your enemies are ended]. I will judge those people in the country where they were born.
Return the sword to its sheath. In the place of your creation, in the land of your origin, I will judge you!
31 I will pour out my punishment [MTY] on them. Because I am very angry with them, my breath on them will scorch them [like] fire [MET]. I will allow brutal men to capture them, men who are experts in killing people.
I will pour out my indignation on you! I will fan the fire of my rage against you and put you into the hand of cruel men, craftsmen of destruction!
32 You will be [like] fuel [MET] [that is burned] in a fire. Your blood will be shed in your own land. No one will remember you any more. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.” '”
You will become fuel for the fire! Your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, Yahweh have declared this!'”
