Ezekiel 21

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

The word of YHWH came to me, saying,

2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and pour in drops toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the soil of Israel.

"Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and speak against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;

3 And you shall say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, and I will cast my sword from its sheath, and I will slay the just and the impious among you.

and tell the land of Israel, 'Thus says YHWH: "Look, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.

4 But in as much as I have slain among you the just and the impious, for this reason my sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh, from the south even to the north.

Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the Negev to the north:

5 So may all flesh know that I, the Lord, have led my sword out of its sheath irrevocably.

and all flesh shall know that I, YHWH, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more."'

6 And as for you, son of man, groan in the breaking of your back, and groan in bitterness before them.

"Sigh therefore, you son of man; with the breaking of your thighs and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes.

7 And when they will say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say: ‘On behalf of the report, for it is approaching. And every heart will waste away, and every hand will be broken, and every spirit will be weakened, and water will flow across every knee.’ Behold, it is approaching and it will happen, says the Lord God.”

It shall be, when they tell you, 'Why do you sigh?' that you shall say, 'Because of the news, for it comes; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: look, it comes, and it shall be done, says YHWH.'"

8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

The word of YHWH came to me, saying,

9 “Son of man, prophesy, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Speak: The sword! The sword has been sharpened and polished!

"Son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says YHWH: Say, "A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;

10 It has been sharpened, so that it may cut down victims! It has been polished, so that it may shine! You are disturbing the scepter of my son. You have cut down every tree.

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 condemns every tree.

11 And I have sent it to be made smooth, so that it may be handled. This sword has been sharpened, and it has been polished, so that it may be in the hand of the one who kills.

It is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yes, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the killer."'

12 Cry out and wail, O son of man! For this has been done among my people, this is among all the leaders of Israel, who have fled. They have been handed over to the sword, with my people. Therefore, slap your thigh,

Cry and wail, son of man; for it is on my people, it is on all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; strike therefore on your thigh.

13 for it has been tested. And this one, when he will have overthrown the scepter, will not be, says the Lord God.

For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that condemns shall be no more?" says YHWH.

14 You therefore, O son of man, prophesy, and strike hand against hand, and let the sword be doubled, and let the sword of the slain be tripled. This is the sword of the great slaughter, which causes them to be utterly stupefied,

"You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike your 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 who is deadly wounded, which enters into their rooms.

15 and to waste away in heart, and which multiplies ruin. At all their gates, I have presented the consternation of the sword, which has been sharpened and polished so as to shine, which has been dressed for the slaughter.

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 Be sharpened! Go to the right or to the left, whichever way is the desire of your face.

'Gather yourselves together, go to the right, set yourselves in array, go to the left, wherever your face is set.'

17 And then I will clap hand against hand, and I will fulfill my indignation. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

I will also strike my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, YHWH, have spoken it."

18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

The word of YHWH came to me again, saying,

19 “And as for you, son of man, set for yourself two ways, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may approach. Both shall go forth from one land. And with a hand, he will grasp and cast lots; he will cast at the head of the way of the community.

"Also, you son of man, appoint two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they both 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 You shall appoint a way, so that the sword may approach to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, or to Judah, into Jerusalem, greatly fortified.

You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem, the fortified.

21 For the king of Babylon stood at the fork, at the head of the two ways, seeking divination, shuffling arrows; he inquired of idols, and he consulted entrails.

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 back and forth, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.

22 To his right was set the divination over Jerusalem, to place battering rams so as to open a mouth for the slaughter, to lift up the voice of wailing, to place battering rams opposite the gates, to cast up a rampart, to build fortifications.

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 he shall be, in their eyes, like someone consulting an oracle in vain, or imitating the leisure of Sabbaths. But he will call to mind iniquities, so that it will be captured.

It shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to memory, that they may be taken.

24 Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have been remembered in your iniquities, and you have revealed your betrayals, and your sins have appeared within all your plans, because, I say, you have been remembered, you will be captured by a hand.

"Therefore thus says YHWH: 'Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because you have come to memory, you shall be taken with the hand.

25 But as for you, O impious leader of Israel, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity:

"'You, deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,

26 Thus says the Lord God: Take away the diadem, remove the crown. Is this not what has exalted the lowly one, and brought low the sublime one?

thus says YHWH: "Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high."

27 Iniquity, iniquity, iniquity I will make it. And this was not done until the one arrived to whom judgment belongs, and I will hand it over to him.

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 as for you, son of man, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God to the sons of Ammon, and to their disgrace, and you shall say: O sword, O sword, unsheathe yourself so as to slay; polish yourself so as to kill and to shine,

"You, son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says YHWH concerning the people of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say, "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 look upon you in vain, and they divine lies, so that you may be given over to the necks of the wounded impious, whose day has arrived that was predetermined at the time of iniquity.

while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.

30 Be returned to your sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your nativity.

Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, will I judge you.

31 And I will pour out upon you my indignation. In the fire of my fury, I will fan you, and I will give you over to the hands of cruel men, who have devised destruction.

I will pour out my indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skillful to destroy.

32 You will be food for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land; you will be delivered to oblivion. For I, the Lord, have spoken.”

You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be remembered no more: for I, YHWH, have spoken it."'"