Ezekiel 21
1 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 and he seide, Thou, sone of man, sette thi face to Jerusalem, and droppe thou to the seyntuaries, and profesie thou ayens the erthe of Israel.
Son of man, direct thy face toward Jerusalem, and preach toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
3 And thou schalt seie to the lond of Israel, The Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y to thee, and Y schal caste my swerd out of his schethe, and Y schal sle in thee a iust man and a wickid man.
And say to the land of Israel, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will be against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath; and I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
4 Forsothe for that that Y haue slayn in thee a iust man and a wickid man, therfor my swerd schal go out of his schethe to ech man, fro the south til to the north;
But because I shall have cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked: therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north;
5 that ech man wite, that Y the Lord haue drawe out my swerd fro his schethe, that schal not be clepid ayen.
That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.
6 And thou, sone of man, weile in sorewe of leendis, and in bitternessis thou schalt weile bifore hem.
But thou, son of man, do thou sigh: as though with broken loins, and with bitterness [of grief] shalt thou sigh before their eyes.
7 And whanne thei schulen seie to thee, Whi weilist thou? thou schalt seie, For hering, for it cometh; and ech herte shal faile, and alle hondis schulen be aclumsid, and ech spirit schal be sike, and watris schulen flete doun bi alle knees; lo! it cometh, and it shal be don, seith the Lord God.
And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, For the report, because it cometh, when every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be made feeble, and every spirit shall become faint, and all knees shall be changed into water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord Eternal.
8 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9 and he seide, Sone of man, profesie thou; and thou schalt seie, The Lord God seith these thingis, Speke thou, The swerd, the swerd is maad scharp, and is maad briyt;
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord, Say, The sword, the sword is sharpened, and also polished;
10 it is maad scharp to sle sacrifices; it is maad briyt, that it schyne. Thou that mouest the ceptre of my sone, hast kit doun ech tree.
In order to make a thorough slaughter is it sharpened; in order that it may glitter is it polished: how can we now rejoice, [when] the rod which reacheth my son excelleth in hardness every tree?
11 And Y yaf it to be forbischid, that it be holdun with hond; this swerd is maad scharp, and this is maad briyt, that it be in the hond of the sleere.
And he hath given it to be polished, to make it fit to grasp it in the hand: it is the sword which is sharpened, and it is polished, to place it into the hand of the slayer.
12 Sone of man, crie thou, and yelle, for this swerd is maad in my puple, this in alle the duykis of Israel; thei that fledden ben youun to swerd with my puple. Therfor smite thou on thin hipe, for it is preuyd;
Cry aloud and wail, O son of man; for it cometh against my people, it cometh against all the princes of Israel; brought together for the sword are they with my people: therefore strike [thy hand] upon thy thigh.
13 and this whanne it hath distried the ceptre, and it schal not be, seith the Lord God.
For a purification taketh place: and what if the irresistible rod will also come? [my son] would not be able to exist, saith the Lord Eternal.
14 Therfor, sone of man, profesie thou, and smyte thou hond to hond, and the swerd be doublid, and the swerd of sleeris be treblid; this is the swerd of greet sleyng, that schal make hem astonyed,
But thou, son of man, prophesy, and strike thy hands together, and let “The sword” be repeated the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great that are slain, which lieth in wait for them everywhere.
15 and to faile in herte, and multiplieth fallingis. In alle the yatis of hem Y yaf disturbling of a swerd, scharp and maad briyt to schyne, gird to sleynge.
In order to make timid the heart, and to multiply the stumbling-blocks, do I bring the howling of the sword against all their gates: ah! it is made bright, it is made thin-edged for the slaughter.
16 Be thou maad scharp, go thou to the riyt side, ether to the left side, whidur euer the desir of thi face is.
Gather up thy strength, go to the right hand, direct thyself, go to the left, whithersoever thy edge is turned.
17 Certis and Y schal smyte with hond to hond, and Y schal fille myn indignacioun; Y the Lord spak.
And I also, —I will strike my hands together, and I will cause my fury to be assuaged: I the Lord have spoken it.
18 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
19 and he seide, And thou, sone of man, sette to thee twei weies, that the swerd of the king of Babiloyne come; bothe schulen go out of o lond, and bi the hond he schal take coniecting; he schal coniecte in the heed of the weie of the citee,
But thou, O son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; out of one land shall both of them come forth: and select a place; at the head of the way to a city do thou select it.
20 settinge a weye, that the swerd come to Rabath of the sones of Amon, and to Juda in to Jerusalem moost strong.
A way shalt thou appoint, that the sword may come against Rabbah of the children of 'Ammon, and [the other] against Judah [dwelling] in Jerusalem the fortified.
21 For the king of Babiloyne stood in the meeting of twey weies, in the heed of twei weies, and souyte dyuynyng, and medlide arowis; he axide idols, and took councel at entrails.
For the king of Babylon hath halted at the parting of the way, at the commencement of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh the arrows, he consulteth with images, he looketh at the liver.
22 Dyuynyng was maad to his riyt side on Jerusalem, that he sette engyns, that he opene mouth in sleyng, that he reise vois in yelling, that he sette engyns ayens the yatis, that he bere togidere erthe, that he bilde strengthinges.
At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to erect battering-rams, to open the mouth with the [cry for] murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to place battering-rams against the gates, to cast up a mound, and to build works of attack.
23 And he shal be as counceling in veyn goddis answer bifor the iyen of hem, and seruynge the reste of sabatis; but he schal haue mynde on wickidnesse, to take.
And it will appear unto them as a false divination in their eyes, to those that had sworn oaths; but he will bring to remembrance their iniquity, that they may be caught.
24 Therfor the Lord God seith these thingis, For that that ye hadden mynde on youre wickidnesse, and schewiden youre trespassyngis, and youre synnes apperiden in alle youre thouytis, forsothe for that that ye hadden mynde, ye schulen be takun bi hond.
Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Because ye have brought your iniquity to remembrance, as your transgressions are discovered, so that your sins do appear in all your doings: because ye are thus brought to remembrance, ye shall be caught by [his] hand.
25 But thou, cursid wickid duyk of Israel, whos dai bifor determyned is comun in the tyme of wickidnesse,
And thou, death-deserving wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end, —
26 the Lord God seith these thingis, Do awei the mitre, take awei the coroun; whether it is not this that reiside the meke man, and made low the hiy man?
Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Remove the mitre, and take off the crown: this shall not be always so; exalt him that is low, and make him low that is high.
27 Wickidnesse, wickidnesse, wickidnesse Y schal putte it; and this schal not be doon til he come, whos the doom is, and Y schal bitake to hym.
Overthrown, overthrown, overthrown will I render it: also this shall not belong [to any one], until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.
28 And thou, sone of man, profesie, and seie, The Lord God seith these thingis to the sones of Amon, and to the schenschipe of hem; and thou schalt seie, A! thou swerd, A! thou swerd, drawun out to sle, maad briyte, that thou sle and schyne,
And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal concerning the children of 'Ammon, and concerning their reproach: even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn; for the slaughter is it polished, to destroy, that it may continue to glitter;
29 whanne veyn thingis weren seien to thee, and leesingis weren dyuynyd, that thou schuldist be youun on the neckis of wickid men woundid, the dai of whiche bifore determyned schal come in the tyme of wickidnesse, turne thou ayen in to thi schethe,
While they foresee unto thee falsehood, while they divine unto thee lies, to lay thee by the necks of the slain wicked, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end.
30 in to the place in which thou were maad. Y schal deme thee in the lond of thi birthe,
Put back [the sword] into its sheath! in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy origin, will I judge thee.
31 and Y schal schede out myn indignacioun on thee; in the fier of my strong veniaunce Y schal blowe in thee, and Y schal yyue thee in to the hondis of vnwise men, and makinge deth.
And I will pour out over thee my indignation, with the fire of my wrath will I blow against thee, and I will give thee up into the hand of brutish men, skilful in destroying.
32 Thou schalt be mete to fier, thi blood schal be in the middis of erthe; thou schalt be youun to foryetyng, for Y the Lord spak.
To the fire shalt thou be given to be devoured; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land: thou shalt not be remembered [any more]; for I the Lord have spoken it.
