Ezekiel 21

1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.4 Seeing then 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 all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes.7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? 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 faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah.8 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;10 it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it contemneth every tree.11 And it is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yea, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.12 Cry and wail, son of man; for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; smite therefore upon thy thigh.13 For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah.14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one that is deadly wounded, which entereth into their chambers.15 I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter.16 Gather thee together, go to the right, set thyself in array, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is set.17 I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Jehovah, have spoken it.18 The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying,19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.20 Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.22 In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.23 And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths unto them; but he bringeth iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.24 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.25 And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,26 thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre, and take off the crown; this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.28 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say thou, A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;29 while they see for thee false visions, while they divine lies unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are deadly wounded, whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end.30 Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth, will I judge thee.31 And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee; I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

EZEKIEL 21

The [Lord] Will Punish Jerusalem

1 The [Lord] said:
2 Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the places in Jerusalem where people worship. Warn everyone in Israel 3 that I am about to punish them. I will pull out my sword and have it ready to kill everyone, whether good or evil. 4 From south to north, people will die,

5 knowing that my sword will never be put away.
6 Ezekiel, groan in sorrow and despair so that everyone can hear you.

7 When they ask why you are groaning, tell them you have terrifying news that will make them faint and tremble in fear and lose all courage. These things will happen soon. I, the [Lord] God, make this promise!

A Sword Is Ready //To Attack Israel

8 The [Lord] said:

9-10 Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem:
I have sharpened my sword
to slaughter you;
it is shiny and will flash
like lightning!
Don't celebrate—
punishment is coming,
because everyone has ignored
my warnings.t

11 My sword has been polished;
it's sharp and ready to kill.

12 Groan in sorrow, Ezekiel;
the sword is drawn against
my people and their leaders.
They will die!
So give up all hope.

13 I am testing my people,
and they can do nothing
to stop me.t
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

14 Ezekiel, warn my people,
then celebrate my victory
by clapping your hands.
My vicious sword will attack
again and again,
killing my people
with every stroke.

15 They will lose all courage
and stumble with fear.
My slaughtering sword
is waiting at every gate,
flashing and ready to kill.t

16 It will slash right and left,
wherever the blade is pointed.

17 Then I will stop being angry,
and I will clap my hands
in victory.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The King of Babylonia //and His Sword

18 The [Lord] said:
19 Ezekiel, son of man, mark two roads for the king of Babylonia to follow when he comes with his sword. The roads will begin at the same place, but be sure to put up a signpost where the two roads separate and go in different directions. 20 Clearly mark where the two roads lead. One goes to Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and the other goes to Jerusalem, the fortified capital of Judah. 21 When the Babylonian king stands at that signpost, he will decide which way to go by shaking his arrows, by asking his idols, and by carefully looking at the liver of a sacrificed animal.t 22 His right hand will pull out the arrow marked “Jerusalem.” Then he will immediately give the signal to shout the battle cry, to build dirt ramps up to the top of the city walls, to break down its walls and gates with large wooden poles, and to kill the people.

23 Everyone in Jerusalem had promised to be loyal to Babylonia, and so none of them will believe that this could happen to them. But Babylonia's king will remind them of their sinful ways and warn them of their coming captivity.

24 Ezekiel, tell the people of Jerusalem and their ruler that I, the [Lord] God, am saying:
Everything you do is wicked and shows how sinful you are. You are guilty and will be taken away as prisoners.
25 And now, you evil and wicked ruler of Israel, your day of final punishment is almost here. 26 I, the [Lord] God, command you to take off your royal turban and your crown, because everything will be different. Those who had no power will be put in charge, and those who now rule will become nobodies.

27 I will leave Jerusalem in complete ruins like no one has ever seen until my chosen one comes to punish this city.

Judgment against Ammon

28  t The [Lord] God said:
Ezekiel, son of man, the Ammonites have insulted Israel, so condemn them and tell them I am saying:
A sword is drawn,
ready to slaughter;
it is polished and prepared
to kill as fast as lightning.

29 You wicked Ammonites see false visions and believe untrue messages. But your day of punishment is coming soon, and my sword will slaughter you!
30 Your days to punish others are over, so put your swords away.t You will be punished in the land of your birth. 31 My furious anger will scorch you like fire, and I will hand you over to cruel men who are experts in killing. 32 You will be burned and will die in your own land. Then you will be forgotten forever. I, the [Lord], have spoken.