Ezekiel 21

1 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and speak against the sanctuaries; prophesy against the land of Israel.

'Son of man, set thy face unto Jerusalem, and prophesy unto the holy places, and prophesy unto the ground of Israel;

3 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!

and thou hast said unto the ground of Israel: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I [am] against thee, And have brought out My sword from its scabbard, And have cut off from thee righteous and wicked.

4 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.

Because that I have cut off from thee righteous and wicked, Therefore go out doth My sword from its scabbard, Unto all flesh, from south to north.

5 Then all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have drawn my sword from its sheath. It will no longer hold back!'

And known have all flesh that I, Jehovah, Have brought out My sword from its scabbard, It doth not turn back any more.

6 As for you, son of man, groan as your loins break! In bitterness groan before their eyes!

And thou, son of man, sigh with breaking of loins, yea, with bitterness thou dost sigh before their eyes,

7 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.'”

and it hath come to pass, when they say unto thee, For what art thou sighing? that thou hast said: Because of the report, for it is coming, And melted hath every heart, And feeble hath been all hands, And weak is every spirit, And all knees go — waters, Lo, it is coming, yea, it hath been, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

8 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, 'The Lord says this: “Say: A sword! A sword! It will be sharpened and polished!

'Son of man, prophesy, and thou hast said, Thus said Jehovah, say: A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

10 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!

So as to slaughter a slaughter it is sharpened. So as to have brightness it is polished, Desire hath rejoiced the sceptre of my son, It is despising every tree.

11 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!”'”

And he giveth 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.

12 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!

Cry and howl, son of man, For it hath been among My people, It [is] among all the princes of Israel, Cast unto the sword have been My people. Therefore strike on thy thigh,

13 For there is a trial, but what if the scepter does not last?—this is the Lord Yahweh's declaration.

Because [it is] a trier, And what if even the sceptre it is despising? It shall not be, an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

14 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!

And thou, son of man, prophesy, And smite hand on hand, And bent is the sword 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.

15 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.

To melt the heart, and to multiply the ruins, By all their gates I have set the point of a sword. Ah, it is made for brightness, Wrapped up for slaughter.

16 You, sword! Strike to the right! Strike to the left! Go wherever your face is turned.

Take possession of the right, place thyself at the left, Whither thy face is appointed.

17 For I will also hit my two hands together, and then I will bring my fury to rest! I, Yahweh, declare it!”

And I also, I smite My hand on my hand, And have caused My fury to rest; I, Jehovah, have spoken.'

18 The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

19 “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.

'And thou, son of man, appoint for thee two ways, for the coming in of the sword of the king of Babylon; from one land they come forth, both of them, and a station prepare thou, at the top of the way of the city prepare [it].

20 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.

A way appoint for the coming of the sword, Unto Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, And to Judah, in Jerusalem — the fenced.

21 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.

For stood hath the king of Babylon at the head of the way, At the top of the two ways, to use divination, He hath moved lightly with the arrows, He hath asked at the teraphim, He hath looked on the liver.

22 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.

At his right hath been the divination — Jerusalem, 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 mount, to build a fortification.

23 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!

And it hath been to them as a false divination in their eyes, Who have sworn oaths to them, And he is causing iniquity to be remembered to be caught.

24 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.

Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: 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, By the hand ye are caught.

25 As for you, profane and wicked ruler of Israel, whose day of punishment has come, and whose time of committing iniquity has ended,

And thou, wounded, wicked one, Prince of Israel, whose day hath come, In the time of the iniquity of the end!

26 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!

Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Turn aside the mitre, and bear away the crown, This — not this — the low make high, And the high make low.

27 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.

An overturn, overturn, overturn, I make it, Also this hath not been till the coming of Him, Whose [is] the judgment, and I have given it.

28 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!

And thou, son of man, prophesy, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their reproach: and thou hast said: A sword, a sword, open for slaughter, Polished to the utmost for brightness!

29 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.

In the seeing for thee of a vain thing, In the divining for thee of a lie, To put thee on the necks of the wounded of the wicked, whose day hath come, In the time of the iniquity of the end.

30 Return the sword to its sheath. In the place of your creation, in the land of your origin, I will judge you!

Turn [it] back unto its scabbard, In the place where thou wast produced, In the land of thy birth I do judge thee.

31 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!

And I have poured on thee Mine indignation, With fire of My wrath I blow against thee, And have given thee into the hand of brutish men — artificers of destruction.

32 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!'”

To the fire thou art for fuel, Thy blood is in the midst of the land, Thou art not remembered, For I, Jehovah, have spoken!'