1 T he Word of the Lord came to me saying,

And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

2 “ Son of man, look toward Jerusalem and speak against the holy places. Speak against the land of Israel.

Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;

3 T ell the land of Israel, ‘The Lord says, “See, I am against you. I will take My sword out of its holder and destroy from you both the good and the sinful.

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 B ecause I will destroy from you both the good and the sinful, My sword will go out against everyone from south to north.

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 T hen all people will know that I, the Lord, have taken out My sword. It will not be put back into its holder again.”’

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

6 A s for you, son of man, cry in sorrow in front of them, as if your heart is breaking.

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

7 A nd when they ask you, ‘Why are you crying?’ tell them, ‘Because of the news that is coming, every heart will melt and all hands will be weak. Every spirit will lose its strength, and all knees will be as weak as water. It is coming, and it will happen,’ says the Lord God.”

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 A gain the Word of the Lord came to me saying,

And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

9 “ Son of man, speak in My name and tell them, ‘The Lord says, “A sword, a sharp and shining sword!

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

10 I t is made sharp to kill, and shined to look like lightning! Shall we have joy? It hates the special stick of My son, as it does all wood.

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 T he sword is being shined to make it ready to use. It is made sharp and shiny, to be put into the hand of the killer.

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 C ry out in a loud voice, son of man, for the sword is against My people. It is against all the leaders of Israel. They are going to be killed with My people, so beat your upper leg in sorrow.

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 T hey will be put to the test. If they do not turn from their sinful ways, these things will happen,” says the Lord God.’

For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah.

14 “ So speak in My name, son of man, and clap your hands together. Let the sword that kills hit two, even three times. It is the sword that kills and is all around them,

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 s o that they will lose their strength of heart, and many will be killed at all their gates. I have sent the shining sword. It is made to shine like lightning, and is ready to kill.

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 O sharp sword, cut to the left and to the right. Cut wherever you have been sent.

Gather thee together, go to the right, set thyself in array, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is set.

17 I will also clap My hands, and My anger will be gone. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

18 T he Word of the Lord came to me saying,

The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying,

19 “ Son of man, make two ways for the king of Babylon to come with his sword. Both of them will come from the same land. Mark the way where the road divides and goes to the city.

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 M ark a way for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah into the strong city of Jerusalem.

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 F or the king of Babylon stands where the road divides in two to use strange secret powers. He shakes the arrows and speaks with false gods, and looks at the liver.

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 I n his right hand is the arrow marked for Jerusalem. It tells him to set up objects to knock down the city walls, to call out the battle cry, to set up objects to break down the gates, and to build a wall of dirt and battle towers.

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 T he people who promised to obey him will not believe this. But he will make them remember their guilt so that they may be taken.

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 S o the Lord God says, ‘You have made your guilt to be remembered. Your sins are no longer covered, and everyone has seen the bad things you have done and remembers them. So you will be taken in battle.

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 A nd you, O bad and sinful one, the leader of Israel, the day of your punishment has come. Your sin will end.’

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 T he Lord God says, ‘Take off the head-covering. Take off the crown. Things will not stay as they are. Honor that which is low. And bring down that which is honored.

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 A waste, a waste. I will lay the city waste. It will be no more, until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it 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 you, son of man, speak in My name and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says about the sons of Ammon and about their shame.’ Tell them, ‘A sword is pulled out ready to kill! It is made to shine like lightning!

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 E ven with the false dreams about you, and the lies spoken about you by using secret ways, you will be laid on the necks of the sinful who are killed, whose day has come for their last punishment.

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 P ut your sword back into its holder. I will punish you in the place where you were made, in the land of your birth.

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 I will be angry with you. I will blow on you with the fire of My anger. And I will give you over to men who show no pity, who have been taught to destroy.

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 Y ou will be destroyed by fire. You will be killed in your land, and you will not be remembered. For I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

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.