Ezekiel 21:18-22:16

New International Version

¹⁸The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁹“Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword^(A) of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost^(B) where the road branches off to the city. ²⁰Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites^(C) and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. ²¹For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots^(D) with arrows, he will consult his idols,^(E) he will examine the liver.^(F) ²²Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry,^(G) to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp^(H) and to erect siege works.^(I) ²³It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind^(J) them of their guilt^(K) and take them captive.

²⁴“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do—because you have done this, you will be taken captive.

²⁵“‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come,^(L) whose time of punishment has reached its climax,^(M) ²⁶this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown.^(N) It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.^(O) ²⁷A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come;^(P) to him I will give it.’^(Q)

²⁸“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites^(R) and their insults:

“‘A sword,^(S) a sword,
    drawn for the slaughter,
polished to consume
    and to flash like lightning!
²⁹Despite false visions concerning you
    and lying divinations^(T) about you,
it will be laid on the necks
    of the wicked who are to be slain,
whose day has come,
    whose time of punishment has reached its climax.^(U)

³⁰“‘Let the sword return to its sheath.^(V)
    In the place where you were created,
in the land of your ancestry,^(W)
    I will judge you.
³¹I will pour out my wrath on you
    and breathe^(X) out my fiery anger^(Y) against you;
I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,
    men skilled in destruction.^(Z)
³²You will be fuel for the fire,^(AA)
    your blood will be shed in your land,
you will be remembered^(AB) no more;
    for I the Lord have spoken.’”

Judgment on Jerusalem’s Sins

22 The word of the Lord came to me:

²“Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed?^(AC) Then confront her with all her detestable practices^(AD) ³and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood^(AE) in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, ⁴you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed^(AF) and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come.^(AG) Therefore I will make you an object of scorn^(AH) to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries.^(AI) ⁵Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil.^(AJ)

⁶“‘See how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed blood.^(AK) ⁷In you they have treated father and mother with contempt;^(AL) in you they have oppressed the foreigner^(AM) and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.^(AN) ⁸You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths.^(AO) ⁹In you are slanderers^(AP) who are bent on shedding blood;^(AQ) in you are those who eat at the mountain shrines^(AR) and commit lewd acts.^(AS) ¹⁰In you are those who dishonor their father’s bed;^(AT) in you are those who violate women during their period,^(AU) when they are ceremonially unclean.^(AV) ¹¹In you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor’s wife,^(AW) another shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law,^(AX) and another violates his sister,^(AY) his own father’s daughter.^(AZ) ¹²In you are people who accept bribes^(BA) to shed blood; you take interest^(BB) and make a profit from the poor. You extort unjust gain from your neighbors.^(BC) And you have forgotten^(BD) me, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(BE)

¹³“‘I will surely strike my hands^(BF) together at the unjust gain^(BG) you have made and at the blood^(BH) you have shed in your midst.^(BI) ¹⁴Will your courage endure^(BJ) or your hands^(BK) be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken,^(BL) and I will do it.^(BM) ¹⁵I will disperse you among the nations and scatter^(BN) you through the countries; and I will put an end to^(BO) your uncleanness.^(BP) ¹⁶When you have been defiled^[a] in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.’”