Ezekiel 21

Parable of the Sword of the Lord

1
Ch 21:6 in Heb
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, bset your face against Jerusalem, and
Lit flow
,
dspeak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel;
3and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, eI am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the frighteous and the wicked. 4Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against
Lit all flesh
,
hhumanity from south to north.
5So
Lit all flesh
humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will jnot return to its sheath again.”’
6As for you, son of man, groan with
Lit shaking hips
a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight.
7And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the lnews, for it is coming; and mevery heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all
Heb idiom meaning to wet oneself
knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord
Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
God.”

8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Say,

pA sword, a sword sharpened
And also polished!
10 ‘Sharpened to make a qslaughter,
Polished
Lit that lightning may be to her
to flash like lightning!’

Or shall we rejoice, the
Or scepter
rod of My son tdespising every tree?
11And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer. 12 uCry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the vofficials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore
I.e., in grief
slap your thigh.
13For there is a testing; and what if even the
Or scepter
rod which despises will cease to be?” declares the Lord God.

14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be ydoubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15so that their zhearts will waver, and many aafall at all their abgates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter. 16Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your
Lit face
edge is ordered.
17I will also clap My hands, and I will adsatisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Instrument of God’s Judgment

18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 19“Now as for you, son of man,
Or set for yourself
,
afmake two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And
Lit cut out a hand
make a signpost;
Lit cut it
make it at the head of the way to the city.
20You shall
Lit set
mark a way for the sword to come to ajRabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into akfortified Jerusalem.
21For the king of Babylon stands at the
Lit mother
parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use amdivination; he anshakes the arrows, he consults the
Heb teraphim
,
aphousehold idols, he looks at the liver.
22Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to aqset up battering rams, to open the mouth
Lit in
for
Another reading is war-cry
slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall.
23And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; atthey have sworn solemn oaths. But he aumakes guilt known, so that they may be seized.

24 “Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen --because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand. 25And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose avday has come, in the time of the
Or wrongdoing
punishment of the end,’
26this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the
Or headband
turban and take off the aycrown; this will
Lit not this
no longer be the same. baExalt that which is low, and humble that which is high.
27 bbRuins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until bcHe comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.

28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the sons of Ammon and their bdtaunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it
Lit finish
,
bfconsume, so that it may be like lightning--
29while they see bgfalse visions for you, while they divine lies for you--to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the bhtime of the
Or wrongdoing
punishment of the end.
30 bjReturn it to its sheath. In the bkplace where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31I will blpour out My indignation on you; I will bmblow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, bncraftsmen of destruction. 32You will be
Lit food
,
bpfuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will bqnot be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

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