EzekielChapter 21
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1The LORD gave me this message. He said, 2"Son of man, turn your face against Jerusalem. Preach against the holy places. Prophesy against the land of Israel. 3Tell her that this is what the LORD says: 'I am against you. I will pull my sword out of its sheath. I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked. So my sword will come out of its sheath against everyone from south to north. 5Then all people will know that I, the LORD, have pulled my sword out of its sheath. I will not put it back again.' 6But you, son of man, groan! Groan in front of them with a broken heart and bitter sorrow. 7They will ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' Then you must say, 'Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear. Every hand will go weak. Every spirit will faint. Every knee will turn to water.' Yes, it is coming. It will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD." 8Again the LORD gave me this message. He said, 9"Son of man, prophesy. Tell them that this is what the Lord says:
'A sword, a sword!
It is sharpened and polished. 10It is sharpened to kill.
It is polished to flash like lightning!
Should we be glad about the scepter of my son?
The sword looks down on every stick like that. 11The sword is ready to be polished.
It is ready to be held in the hand.
It is sharpened and polished.
It is ready for the hand of the killer. 12Cry out and wail, son of man!
The sword is swinging against my people.
It is against all the princes of Israel!
They are thrown to the sword along with my people.
So beat your thigh in sorrow. 13Testing will surely come!
And what if even the scepter, which the sword looks down on, does not last?' declares the Lord GOD. 14'So, son of man, prophesy.
Clap your hands together.
Let the sword strike two times, even three.
It is a sword for killing.
It is a sword for a great slaughter.
It closes in on them from every side! 15I want their hearts to melt with fear.
I want many to fall.
So I have set a sword for killing at all their gates.
Yes, it is made to flash like lightning.
It is drawn to kill. 16Sword, slash to the right!
Turn your blade to the left!
Go wherever your blade is pointed. 17I also will clap my hands together.
I will let out all my fury.'
I, the LORD, have spoken." 18Then the LORD gave me this message. He said, 19"Now you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take. Both roads must start from the same land. Put up a signpost where the road splits off toward each city. 20Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites. Mark out the other road against Judah and into Jerusalem with its strong walls. 21For the king of Babylon is standing where the road splits. He stands where the two roads meet. He is looking for a sign of what to do. He shakes the arrows. He asks his idols. He looks closely at the liver of an animal. 22The sign for Jerusalem comes into his right hand. It tells him to set up battering rams there. It tells him to give the order to kill and to raise a battle cry. He is to aim the battering rams at the gates. He is to build a ramp and set up a wall to attack the city. 23To the people who swore to be loyal to him, it will seem like a false sign. But it will bring their guilt to light. And they will be taken captive. 24So this is what the Lord GOD says: 'You have reminded everyone of your guilt. Your wrongs are out in the open. Your sins can be seen in all you do. Because you have been remembered, you will be captured. 25And you, the ungodly and wicked prince of Israel, your day has come! The time for your final punishment is here.' 26This is what the Lord GOD says: 'Take off the turban. Remove the crown. Things will not stay the way they are. Lift up the lowly and bring down the proud. 27A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! It will not be set right again until he comes. It belongs to him. I have given him the right to judge.' 28Now prophesy, son of man. Say that this is what the Lord GOD says about the Ammonites and their insults: 'A sword! A sword is drawn to kill. It is polished to destroy and to flash like lightning. 29People see false visions for you. They tell lies about you by fortune-telling. But the sword will be laid on the necks of the wicked who are killed. Their day has come. It is the time for their final punishment. 30Put the sword back in its sheath! I will judge you in the place where you were made. I will judge you in the land where you came from. 31I will pour out my anger on you. I will breathe the fire of my fury against you. I will hand you over to cruel men who are skilled at destroying. 32You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will be spilled in your own land. No one will remember you anymore. For I, the LORD, have spoken.'"