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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Ezekiel 21: LEB
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Ezekiel 21
21
The Lord Will Punish Jerusalem
1The Lord said:
2Ezekiel, son of man, condemn the places in Jerusalem where people worship. Warn everyone in Israel 3that I am about to punish them. I will pull out my sword and have it ready to kill everyone, whether good or evil. 4From south to north, people will die, 5knowing that my sword will never be put away.
6Ezekiel, groan in sorrow and despair so that everyone can hear you. 7When they ask why you are groaning, tell them you have terrifying news that will make them faint and tremble in fear and lose all courage. These things will happen soon. I, the Lord God, make this promise!
A Sword Is Ready To Attack Israel
8The Lord said:
9-10Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem:
I have sharpened my sword
to slaughter you;
it is shiny and will flash
like lightning!
Don't celebrate—
punishment is coming,
because everyone has ignored
my warnings.#21.9,10 Don't celebrate … my warnings: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
11My sword has been polished;
it's sharp and ready to kill.
12Groan in sorrow, Ezekiel;
the sword is drawn against
my people and their leaders.
They will die!
So give up all hope.
13I am testing my people,
and they can do nothing
to stop me.#21.13 I am testing … me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
14Ezekiel, warn my people,
then celebrate my victory
by clapping your hands.
My vicious sword will attack
again and again,
killing my people
with every stroke.
15They will lose all courage
and stumble with fear.
My slaughtering sword
is waiting at every gate,
flashing and ready to kill.#21.15 My slaughtering sword … ready to kill: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
16It will slash right and left,
wherever the blade is pointed.
17Then I will stop being angry,
and I will clap my hands
in victory.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The King of Babylonia and His Sword
18The Lord said:
19Ezekiel, son of man, mark two roads for the king of Babylonia to follow when he comes with his sword. The roads will begin at the same place, but be sure to put up a signpost where the two roads separate and go in different directions. 20Clearly mark where the two roads lead. One goes to Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and the other goes to Jerusalem, the fortified capital of Judah. 21When the Babylonian king stands at that signpost, he will decide which way to go by shaking his arrows, by asking his idols, and by carefully looking at the liver of a sacrificed animal.#21.21 shaking … animal: These were ways the Babylonians found out what their gods wanted them to do. 22His right hand will pull out the arrow marked “Jerusalem.” Then he will immediately give the signal to shout the battle cry, to build dirt ramps up to the top of the city walls, to break down its walls and gates with large wooden poles, and to kill the people. 23Everyone in Jerusalem had promised to be loyal to Babylonia, and so none of them will believe that this could happen to them. But Babylonia's king will remind them of their sinful ways and warn them of their coming captivity.
24Ezekiel, tell the people of Jerusalem and their ruler that I, the Lord God, am saying:
Everything you do is wicked and shows how sinful you are. You are guilty and will be taken away as prisoners.
25And now, you evil and wicked ruler of Israel, your day of final punishment is almost here. 26I, the Lord God, command you to take off your royal turban and your crown, because everything will be different. Those who had no power will be put in charge, and those who now rule will become nobodies. 27I will leave Jerusalem in complete ruins like no one has ever seen until my chosen one comes to punish this city.
Judgment against Ammon
28 #
Jr 49.1-6; Ez 25.1-7; Am 1.3-15; Zep 2.8-11. The Lord God said:
Ezekiel, son of man, the Ammonites have insulted Israel, so condemn them and tell them I am saying:
A sword is drawn,
ready to slaughter;
it is polished and prepared
to kill as fast as lightning.
29You wicked Ammonites see false visions and believe untrue messages. But your day of punishment is coming soon, and my sword will slaughter you!
30Your days to punish others are over, so put your swords away.#21.30 Your days … put your swords away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. You will be punished in the land of your birth. 31My furious anger will scorch you like fire, and I will hand you over to cruel men who are experts in killing. 32You will be burned and will die in your own land. Then you will be forgotten forever. I, the Lord, have spoken.
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