Ezekiel 21

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

And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

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

Son of man, set thy face against Jerusalem, and drop [words] against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,

3 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.

and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

4 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.

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

and all flesh shall know that I Jehovah have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more.

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

Sigh then, thou son of man; with breaking of the loins, and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

7 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.'

And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore dost thou sigh? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall languish, and all knees shall melt into water: behold, it cometh; it is here, saith the Lord Jehovah.

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

And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

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

Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished.

10 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.

It is sharpened for sore slaughter, it is furbished that it may glitter. Shall we then make mirth, [saying, ] The sceptre of my son contemneth all wood?

11 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.

And he hath given it to be furbished that it may be handled. The sword, — it is sharpened, and it is furbished to give it into the hand of the slayer.

12 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,

Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be against my people, it shall be against all the princes of Israel: they are given up to the sword along with my people: smite therefore upon the thigh.

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

For the trial [is made]; and what if even the contemning sceptre shall be no [more]? saith the Lord Jehovah.

14 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.

And thou, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; for [the strokes of] the sword shall be doubled the third time: it is the sword of the slain, the sword that hath slain the great one, which encompasseth them privily.

15 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.

In order that the heart may melt, and the stumbling-blocks be multiplied, I have set the threatening sword against all their gates: ah! it is made glittering, it is whetted for the slaughter.

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

Gather up [strength], go to the right hand, turn thee, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is appointed.

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

And I myself will smite my hands together, and I will satisfy my fury: I Jehovah have spoken [it].

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

And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

19 '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].

And thou, son of man, set thee two ways, by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come — out of one land shall they both come — and make thee a signpost, make it at the head of the way to the city.

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

Appoint a way for the coming of the sword to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah at the fenced [city] of Jerusalem.

21 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.

For the king of Babylon standeth at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh [his] arrows, he inquireth of the teraphim, he looketh in the liver.

22 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.

In his right hand is the lot of Jerusalem to appoint battering-rams, to open the mouth for bloodshed, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering-rams against the gates, to cast mounds, to build siege-towers.

23 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.

And this shall be a false divination in their sight, for them that have sworn oaths; but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.

24 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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye make your iniquity to be remembered in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.

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

And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end,

26 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.

— thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre and take off the crown; what is shall be no [more]. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.

27 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.

I will overturn, overturn, overturn it! This also shall be no [more], until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [to him].

28 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!

And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus speaketh the Lord Jehovah concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, A sword, a sword is drawn; for the slaughter is it furbished, that it may consume, that it may glitter:

29 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.

whilst they see vanity for thee, whilst they divine a lie unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are slain, whose day is come at the time of the iniquity of the end.

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

Restore [it] to its sheath. I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth.

31 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.

And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow upon thee the fire of my wrath, and give thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.

32 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!'

Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt not be remembered: for I Jehovah have spoken.