Ezekiel 21
21
The Sword of the Lord. 1The word of the Lord came to me: 2#In Babylon Ezekiel looks toward Judah, pictured as a forest about to be destroyed by fire. Son of man, turn your face to the south: preach against the south, prophesy against the forest land in the south. 3Say to the forest in the south: Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: See! I am kindling a fire in you that shall devour every green tree as well as every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched so that from south to north every face shall be scorched by it. 4All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.#Lv 26:25.
5But I said, “Ah! Lord God, they are saying about me, ‘Is not this the one who is forever spinning parables?’” 6Then the word of the Lord came to me: 7Son of man, turn your face toward Jerusalem: preach against its sanctuary, prophesy against the land of Israel.#Lv 26:36. 8Say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord: See! I am coming against you; I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.#Cut off from you the righteous and the wicked: a more complete devastation of Jerusalem than that described in 9:6. 9Thus my sword shall come out from its scabbard against all flesh from south to north 10and all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its scabbard. It cannot return again.#Is 34:5–6.
Act Symbolic of the City’s Fall. 11As for you, son of man, groan! with shattered loins and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 12When they ask you, “Why are you groaning?” you shall say: Because of what I heard!#What I heard: the news of the fall of Jerusalem; cf. 33:21–22. When it comes every heart shall melt, every hand fall helpless; every spirit will grow faint, and every knee run with water. See, it is coming, it is here!—oracle of the Lord God.
Song of the Sword. 13The word of the Lord came to me:#Gn 49:10. 14Son of man, prophesy! say: Thus says the Lord:
A sword, a sword has been sharpened,
a sword, a sword has been burnished:#cf. 2 Kgs 13:18–19.
15Sharpened to make a slaughter,
burnished to flash lightning!
Why should I stop now?
You have rejected the rod and every judgment!
16I have given it over to the burnisher
that he might hold it in his hand,
A sword sharpened and burnished
to be put in the hands of an executioner.
17Cry out and howl, son of man,
for it is destined for my people,
For all the princes of Israel,
victims of the sword with my people.
Therefore, slap your thigh,#Slap your thigh: a gesture signifying grief and dread; cf. Jer 31:19.
18for it is tested, and why not?
Since you rejected my staff,
should it not happen?—
oracle of the Lord God.
19As for you, son of man, prophesy,
and clap your hands!
Let the sword strike twice, a third time.
It is a sword of slaughter,
A sword for slaughtering,
whirling around them all,
20That every heart may tremble;
for many will be made to stumble.
At all their gates
I have stationed the sword for slaughter,
Made it flash lightning,
drawn for slaughter.
21Slash to the right!
turn to the left,
Wherever your edge is directed!#Prv 16:33; Zec 10:2.
22Then I, too, shall clap my hands,#Clap my hands: the Lord declares himself no longer responsible for Judah; cf. 22:13; Nm 24:10; Jb 27:23; Lam 2:15.
and spend my fury.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Nebuchadnezzar at the Crossroads. 23The word of the Lord came to me: 24Son of man, make for yourself two roads over which the sword of the king of Babylon can come. Both roads shall start out from the same land. Then put a signpost at the head of each road 25so the sword can come to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah and its fortress, Jerusalem. 26For the king of Babylon is standing at the fork of the two roads to read the omens:#Three forms of divination are mentioned: arrow divination, consisting in the use of differently marked arrows extracted or shaken from a case at random; the consultation of the teraphim or household idols; and liver divination, scrutiny of the configurations of the livers of newly slaughtered animals, a common form of divination in Mesopotamia. he shakes out the arrows, inquires of the teraphim, inspects the liver.#Is 28:5; Ps 75:8. 27Into his right hand has fallen the lot marked “Jerusalem”:#A lot marked “Jerusalem” falls out, which marks the guilt of the city’s inhabitants. to order the slaughter, to raise the battle cry, to set the battering rams against the gates, to throw up a ramp, to build siege works. 28In the eyes of those bound by oath this seems like a false omen; yet the lot taken in hand exposes the wickedness for which they, still bound by oath, will be taken in hand.
29Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because your guilt has been exposed, your crimes laid bare, your sinfulness revealed in all your deeds—because you have been exposed, you shall be taken in hand.#Jer 8:11–12; 27:9–10. 30And as for you, depraved and wicked prince of Israel, a day is coming to end your life of crime.#cf. Ez 16:3. 31Thus says the Lord God: Off with the turban and away with the crown! Nothing shall be as it was! Exalt the lowly and bring the exalted low! 32A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I shall make it! Nothing will be the same until the one comes to whom I have given it for judgment.#Mal 3:19.
To the Ammonites.#In vv. 23–32 Ezekiel imagines Nebuchadnezzar deciding whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbath-Ammon. As it happened, the Babylonians decided to attack Jerusalem first. Here (vv. 33–37) Ezekiel prophesies to the Ammonites that a nation which serves as an instrument of the Lord’s judgment will itself be judged. 33As for you, son of man, prophesy: Thus says the Lord God to the Ammonites and their insults:
O sword, sword drawn for slaughter,
burnished to consume, to flash lightning!
34Your false visions and lying omens,
Set you over the necks of the slain,
the wicked whose day had come—
an end to their life of crime.
35Return to your scabbard!
In the place you were created,
In the land of your origin,
I will judge you.
36I will pour out my anger upon you,
breathing my fiery wrath against you;
I will hand you over to ravagers,
artisans of destruction!
37You shall be fuel for the fire,
your blood shall flow throughout the land;
You shall not be remembered,
for I, the Lord, have spoken.
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Ezekiel 21: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Ezekiel 21
21
A Vision of the Avenging Sword of Yahweh
1And the word of Yahweh came#Literally “was” to me, saying,#Literally “to say” 2“Son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” set your face toward Jerusalem, and preach to the sanctuaries, and prophesy to the land of Israel. 3And you must say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “Look! I am against you, and I will draw out my sword from its sheath, and I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. 4Because#Hebrew “Because that” I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword will go out from its sheath to#Or “against” all creatures#Hebrew “creature” from south to north. 5And they will know, all creatures, that I, Yahweh, I will bring out my sword from its sheath; it will not return again!” ’ 6And you, son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” groan with shaking hips,#Literally “with destruction of loins” and you must groan with bitterness before their eyes. 7And then#Literally “and it will be” when they say to you, ‘On account of what are you groaning?’ then you must say, ‘On account of the report, for it is coming, and every heart will be weak and all hands will hang limp and every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will go like water.’ Look! It is coming, and it will happen!” declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh.
8And the word of Yahweh came#Literally “was” to me, saying,#Literally “to say” 9“Son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” prophesy, and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord,’ say, ‘A sword, a sword is sharpened and is also polished. 10It is sharpened to slaughter a slaughter, polished to flash like lightning!#Literally “so that there be for her lightning” Or will we rejoice?#Or “be pleased” A rod, my son, is despising every tree.#Or “stick” of correction; Hebrew is uncertain in meaning here 11And he gives it to be polished, to be seized by the hand.#Literally “to take hold of in the palm of the hand” It is sharpened—a sword—and it is polished to give it into the hand of the killer. 12Cry and wail, son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” for it is against my people; it is against all of the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword with my people; therefore strike your thigh.#Literally “strike on the thigh” 13For examine!#Literally “it was tested” And what if also the rod will not be despising?’ declares#Literally “declaration of” the Lord Yahweh. 14And you, son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” prophesy and clap your hands.#Literally “strike hand to hand” And the sword will strike twice;#Literally “be doubled” let it happen a third time. It is a sword of the dead, the sword of the great dead that is surrounding them, 15so that a heart melts, and the fallen multiply#Literally “be made many” at all of their gates. I gave a sword for slaughter, and alas! It is made for flashing, it is grasped#Or “polished” for slaughtering. 16Gather together, strike to the right; cause to go to the left, where your edge#Literally “face” is directed. 17And also I myself#Literally “I, I” will clap my hands,#Literally “strike my hand to my hand” and I will satisfy my rage! I, Yahweh, I have spoken.”
18And the word of Yahweh came#Literally “was” to me, saying,#Literally “to say” 19“And you, son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” mark out for yourself#Hebrew “you” two roads for the coming of the sword of the king of Babylon; they must both#Literally “the two of them” go out from the same land. And hew out a signpost;#Literally “hand” hew it at the head of the road of the city. 20You must mark a road for the coming of the sword to Rabbah of the Ammonites#Literally “sons of Ammon” and to Judah, in Jerusalem the fortified. 21For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. He shakes the arrows,#Literally “he casts the lot with the arrows” (cf. NASB, NRSV) he inquires with the teraphim, he examines#Literally “sees with” the liver. 22In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem, to put up battering rams, to open a mouth for slaughter,#Or “open the mouth of Sheol”; or “give the command to slaughter” (cf. NRSV, NASB) to raise the battle cry,#Literally “to raise a voice in shouting” to put up battering rams against gates, to build a siege ramp, to build siege works.#Hebrew “siege work” 23And it will be to them like practicing divination falsely#Or “in vain” in their eyes; they have sworn oaths for themselves.#Literally “swearers of oaths will be for them” But#Or “And” he will bring their guilt to remembrance so as to seize them.
24“Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt by the uncovering of your transgressions, so that your sins in all of your deeds appear—because of your being remembered, you will be captured in the hand.’ 25And as for you, profane one, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come with the time of the punishment of the end, 26thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Remove the turban and lift off the crown; things are no longer the same. Exalt the low and bring low the high. 27A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it! Also#Or “indeed” this has not ever happened;#Or “will not happen until” (cf. NASB and NRSV) it will remain until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it to him.’ 28And you, son of man,#Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind” prophesy, and you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh to the Ammonites#Literally “sons of Ammon” and concerning their disgrace,’ and you must say, ‘A sword, a sword is drawn for slaughtering; it is polished for holding, for flashing like lightning,#Literally “for the sake of lightening” 29when seeing a false vision for you in vain, when practicing divination for you falsely, to give#Or “place” you on the neck of the profane ones of the wicked, whose day has come,#Literally “who has come their day” the time of final punishment.#Literally “in the time of the punishment of the end” 30Return it to its sheath in the place where you were created. In the land of your origin I will judge you! 31And I will pour out my anger on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, skilled craftsmen of destruction. 32You will be as fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the earth. You will not be remembered, for I, Yahweh, I have spoken.’ ”
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