Ezekiel 21

1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

A message from the Lord came to me, saying,

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

“Son of man, face towards Jerusalem and condemn their places of worship. Prophesy against the people living in Israel

3 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.

and tell them that this is what the Lord says: Watch out, because I'm going to attack you! I'm going to take out my sword and destroy you, both the good and the bad.

4 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;

Because I'm going to destroy both the good and the bad, I will attack everyone from the north to the south.

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

Then the whole world will know that I, the Lord, have taken out my sword, and won't put it back again.

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

You, son of man, you are to groan. Groan as if you're broken up inside, showing terrible sadness while they watch you.

7 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.

When they ask, ‘What are you groaning for?’ you are to tell them, ‘Because of the news that's coming. All of you will lose your courage and you'll be paralyzed with fear. All of you will be weak with worry—you won't be able to stand up!’ Watch out, because it's coming! It's going to happen! declares the Lord God.”

8 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,

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

“Son of man, prophesy! Tell them this is what the Lord says: There's a sword, a sword that's being sharpened and polished.

10 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?

It's sharpened for killing and polished so it will flash like lightning! (Are we to be happy, saying, ‘The scepter of my son despises every other stick’?)

11 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.

The sword is being polished right now, ready to be used. It's sharp and polished, ready to be handed over to the killer.

12 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.

Weep and wail, son of man, and slap your thigh in grief, for the sword is going to be used to attack my people, to attack all the leaders of Israel! They will be thrown away, killed by the sword along with my people.

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

They will be tested. What if the scepter that despises others doesn't continue? declares the Lord God.

14 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.

So son of man, prophesy and clap your hands. The sword will attack twice, and then a third time. It is a sword of death, killing many people by coming at them from every direction.

15 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.

I have placed a sword at all the gates of their city so that they may lose their courage, and many may fall. Oh no! It's made to flash like lightning and used to kill.

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

Slash right and left, whichever way you're facing.

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

I will also clap my hands, and then my anger will be over. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

18 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

Another message from the Lord came to me, saying,

19 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.

“Son of man, mark the two roads that the king of Babylon's army could take, beginning from the same country. Make a signpost where the road forks, leading to two different cities.

20 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.

Have one sign point down the road for an attack on the Ammonite city of Rabbah, and another to attack Judah and the fortified city of Jerusalem.

21 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.

The king of Babylon is standing at the fork in the road where the two roads meet looking for a prophetic sign: he casts lots using arrows, he asks advice from idols, and he examines the liver of sacrificial animals.

22 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.

He holds the sign for Jerusalem in his right hand. This is where he is going to set up battering rams, to give the command to attack, to shout the war-cry. There he will order the battering rams to smash the gates, set up an attack ramp, and build a siege wall.

23 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.

To those who have sworn to be loyal to Nebuchadnezzar this will look like a false sign, but it will reveal their guilt and they will be taken prisoner.

24 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.

So this is what the Lord God says: Because you have revealed your guilt and demonstrated your rebellion, showing your sins in everything you've done, now that you've made all this clear, you will be taken prisoner.

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

As for you, you unclean, wicked prince of Israel, the time has come to complete your punishment.

26 — 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.

This is what the Lord God says: Take off your turban, and your crown. Things won't continue as they were. Give power to the common people and bring down the powerful!

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 [to him].

I'm going to destroy everything, make it all a ruin! It won't be restored until its owner arrives, the one I've given the authority to judge.

28 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:

Prophesy, son of man, and announce that this is what the Lord God says about the Ammonites and their insults: A sword! A sword is ready for killing, polished to destroy, to flash like lightning,

29 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.

even as your prophets give you false visions and prophecies that are lies. This sword will cut the necks of the wicked, killing them—those whose day has come for their punishment to be completed.

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

Sword, go back to where you came from! I'm going to judge you right where you were created, in your homeland.

31 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.

I will deal with you in my anger; I will breathe my fire of anger on you; I will hand you over to cruel men who are experts in destruction.

32 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.

You will be burned up like firewood. Your blood will be shed where you live. You will be forgotten, for I, the Lord, have spoken.”