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 you a sword sharper than a barber's razor; you shall procure it for yourself, and shall bring it upon your head, and upon your beard: and you shall take a pair of scales, and shall separate the hair.

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.

A fourth part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, at the fulfillment of the days of the siege: and you shall take a fourth part, and burn it up in the midst of it: and a fourth part you shall cut with a sword round about it: and a fourth part you shall scatter to the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

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

And you shall take thence a few in number, and shall wrap them in the fold of your garment.

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 shall take of these again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them up with fire: from thence shall come forth fire; and you shall say to the whole 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 says the Lord; This is Jerusalem: I have set her and the countries round about her in the midst of the nations.

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 you shall declare mine ordinances to the lawless one from out of the nations; and my statutes [to the sinful one] of the countries round about her: because they have rejected mine ordinances, and have not walked in my statutes.

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 says the Lord, Because your occasion [for sin has been taken] from the nations round about you, and you have not walked in my statutes, nor kept mine ordinances, nay, you have not even done according to the ordinances of the nations round about you; therefore thus says the Lord;

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

Behold, I am against you, and I will execute judgment in the midst of you in the sight 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 will do in you things which I have not done, and the like of which I will not do again, for all your abominations.

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

Therefore the fathers shall eat [their] children in the midst of you, and children shall eat [their] fathers; and I will execute judgments in you, and I will scatter all that are left of you 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, says the Lord; surely, because you have defiled my holy things with all your abominations, I also will reject you; mine eye shall not spare, and I will have no mercy.

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.

A fourth part of you shall be cut off by pestilence, and a fourth part of you shall be consumed in the midst of you with famine: and [as for another] fourth part of you, I will scatter them to every wind; and a fourth part of you shall fall by sword round about you, and I will draw out a sword after them.

13 “‘Thus my anger will be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath toward 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 wrath and mine anger shall be accomplished upon them: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken in my jealousy, when I have accomplished mine anger upon them.

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

And I will make you desolate, and your daughters round about you, in the sight of every one that passes through.

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 judgments on you in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful rebukes—I, the LORD, have spoken it—

And you shall be mourned over and miserable among the nations round about you, when I have executed judgments in you in the vengeance of my wrath. I the Lord 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.

And when I have sent against them shafts of famine, then they shall be consumed, and I will break the strength of your 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.’”

So I will send forth against you famine and evil beasts, and I will take vengeance upon you; and pestilence and blood shall pass through upon you; and I will bring a sword upon you round about. I the Lord have spoken.