Ezekiel 5

1 “You, son of man, take a sharp sword. You shall take it as a barber’s razor to yourself, and shall cause it to pass over your head and over your beard. Then take balances to weigh and divide the hair.

“And you, son of man, take a sharp weapon for yourself, take the barber’s razor for yourself, and you have caused [it] to pass over your head, and over your beard, and you have taken weighing scales for yourself, and apportioned them.

2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the middle of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled. You shall take a third part, and strike with the sword around it. A third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.

You burn a third part with fire in the midst of the city, at the fullness of the days of the siege; and you have taken the third part, you strike with a weapon around it; and the third part you scatter to the wind, and I draw out a weapon after them.

3 You shall take a small number of these and bind them in the folds of your robe.

And you have taken there a few in number—and have bound them in your skirts;

4 Of these again you shall take, and cast them into the middle of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From it a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

and you take of them again, and have cast them into the midst of the fire, and have burned them in the fire—out of it comes forth a fire to all the house of Israel.”

5 “The Lord GOD says: ‘This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the middle of the nations, and countries are around her.

Thus said Lord YHWH: “This [is] Jerusalem, I have set her in the midst of the nations, And the lands [are] around her.

6 She has rebelled against my ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are around her; for they have rejected my ordinances, and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them.’

And she changes My judgments into wickedness more than the nations, And My statutes more than the lands that [are] around her, For they have kicked against My judgments, And My statutes—they have not walked in them.”

7 “Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are around you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my ordinances, neither have followed the ordinances of the nations that are around you;

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: “Because of your multiplying above the nations that [are] around you, You have not walked in My statutes, And you have not done My judgments, According to the judgments of the nations that [are] around you, you have not done.”

8 therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I, even I, am against you; and I will execute judgements amongst you in the sight of the nations.

Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: “Behold, I [am] against you, even I, And I have done judgments in your midst, Before the eyes of the nations.

9 I will do in you that which I have not done, and which I will not do anything like it any more, because of all your abominations.

And I have done in you that which I have not done, And the like of which I do not do again, Because of all your abominations.

10 Therefore the fathers will eat the sons within you, and the sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgements on you; and I will scatter the whole remnant of you to all the winds.

Therefore fathers eat sons in your midst, And sons eat their fathers, And I have done judgments in you, And have scattered all your remnant to every wind.

11 Therefore as I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you. My eye won’t spare, and I will have no pity.

Therefore, [as] I live,” a declaration of Lord YHWH, “Because you have defiled My sanctuary With all your detestable things, And with all your abominations, Therefore I also diminish you, And My eye does not pity, and I do not spare.

12 A third part of you will die with the pestilence, and they will be consumed with famine within you. A third part will fall by the sword around you. A third part I will scatter to all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.

Your third part dies by pestilence, And are consumed by famine in your midst, And the third part fall by sword around you, And the third part I scatter to every wind, And I draw out a sword after them.

13 “‘Thus my anger will be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath towards them to rest, and I will be comforted. They will know that I, the LORD, have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my wrath on them.

And My anger has been completed, And I have caused My fury to rest on them, And I have been comforted, And they have known that I, YHWH, have spoken in My zeal, In My completing My fury on them.

14 “‘Moreover I will make you a desolation and a reproach amongst the nations that are around you, in the sight of all that pass by.

And I give you for a ruin, And for a reproach among nations that [are] around you, Before the eyes of everyone passing by.

15 So it will be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, to the nations that are around you, when I execute judgements on you in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful rebukes—I, the LORD, have spoken it—

And it has been a reproach and a reviling, An instruction and an astonishment, To nations that [are] around you, In My doing judgments in you, In anger and fury, and in furious reproofs, I, YHWH, have spoken.

16 when I send on them the evil arrows of famine that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you. I will increase the famine on you and will break your staff of bread.

In My sending the evil arrows of famine among them, That have been for destruction, That I send to destroy you, And I am adding famine on you, And I have broken your staff of bread.

17 I will send on you famine and evil animals, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood will pass through you. I will bring the sword on you. I, the LORD, have spoken it.’”

And I have sent famine and evil beasts on you, And they have bereaved you, And pestilence and blood pass over on you, And I bring a sword in against you, I, YHWH, have spoken!”