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

And the word of the Lord 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 holy places, 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 the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his 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 his 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.”’

That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his 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 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 answer, For the tidings; because 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 shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.

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

Again the word of the Lord 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 the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword 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 to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as 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 he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and 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 howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon 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.’

Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God.

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 thine hands together. and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy 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 point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.

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

Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on 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 mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the Lord have said it.

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

The word of the Lord 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: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it 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.

Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.

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 made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, 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.

At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.

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, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, 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 God; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, 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, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an 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 God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that 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: and it 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 God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:

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.

Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an 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.

Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.

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 against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and 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 the Lord have spoken it.