Ezekiel 21
Holman Christian Standard Bible
God’s Sword of Judgment
21 [a]The word of the Lord came to me again: 2 “Son of man, turn your face toward(A) Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel, 3 and say to it: This is what the Lord says: I am against you.(B) I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off both the righteous and the wicked from you. 4 Since I will cut off[b] both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will therefore come out of its sheath against everyone from the south to the north.(C) 5 So all the people will know that I, Yahweh, have taken My sword from its sheath—it will not be sheathed again.(D)
6 “But you, son of man, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart[c] right before their eyes. 7 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ then say: Because of the news that is coming.(E) Every heart will melt, and every hand will become weak. Every spirit will be discouraged, and every knee will turn to water. Yes, it is coming and it will happen.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.
8 The word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy: This is what the Lord says! You are to proclaim:
A sword!(F) A sword is sharpened
and also polished.(G)
10 It is sharpened for slaughter,
polished to flash like lightning!
Should we rejoice?
The scepter of My son,
the sword despises every tree.[d]
11 The sword is given to be polished,
to be grasped in the hand.
It is sharpened, and it is polished,
to be put in the hand of the slayer.(H)
12 Cry out and wail, son of man,
for it is against My people.
It is against all the princes of Israel!
They are given over to the sword with My people.
Therefore strike your thigh in grief.(I)
13 Surely it will be a trial!
And what if the sword despises even the scepter?
The scepter will not continue.[e]
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy
and clap your hands together.(J)
Let the sword strike two times, even three.
It is a sword for massacre,
a sword for great massacre—
it surrounds[f] them!
15 I have appointed a sword(K) for slaughter[g]
at all their gates,
so that their hearts may melt
and many may stumble.
Yes! It is ready to flash like lightning;(L)
it is drawn[h] for slaughter.
16 Slash to the right;
turn to the left—
wherever your blade is directed.
17 I also will clap My hands together,
and I will satisfy My wrath.(M)
I, Yahweh, have spoken.”
18 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 19 “Now you, son of man, mark out two roads that the sword of Babylon’s king can take. Both of them should originate from the same land. And make a signpost at the fork in the road to each city. 20 Mark out a road that the sword can take to Rabbah of the Ammonites(N) and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the split in the road, at the fork of the two roads, to practice divination: he shakes the arrows, consults the idols, and observes the liver. 22 The answer marked[i] Jerusalem appears in his right hand, indicating that he should set up battering rams,(O) give the order to[j] slaughter, raise a battle cry, set battering rams against the gates, build a ramp, and construct a siege wall. 23 It will seem like false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn an oath to the Babylonians,[k](P) but it will draw attention to their guilt so that they will be captured.
24 “Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your actions, since you have done this, you will be captured by them.
26 This is what the Lord God says:
Remove the turban, and take off the crown.
Things will not remain as they are;[n]
exalt the lowly and bring down the exalted.(S)
27 A ruin, a ruin,
I will make it a ruin!
Yet this will not happen
until He comes;(T)
I have given the judgment to Him.[o]
28 “Now prophesy, son of man, and say: This is what the Lord God says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt. You are to proclaim:
A sword! A sword
is drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume,(U) to flash like lightning.
29 While they offer false visions(V)
and lying divinations about you,
the time has come to put you
to the necks of the profane wicked ones;
the day has come
for your punishment.[p]
30 Return it to its sheath!(W)
I will judge you[q]
in the place where you were created,
in the land of your origin.
31 I will pour out My indignation on you;
I will blow the fire of My fury on you.(X)
I will hand you over to brutal men,
skilled at destruction.
32 You will be fuel for the fire.
Your blood will be spilled in the land.
You will not be remembered,(Y)
for I, Yahweh, have spoken.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 Ezk 21:6 in Hb
- Ezekiel 21:4 Lit off from you
- Ezekiel 21:6 Lit with broken loins
- Ezekiel 21:10 Hb obscure
- Ezekiel 21:13 Hb obscure
- Ezekiel 21:14 Or penetrates
- Ezekiel 21:15 Hb obscure
- Ezekiel 21:15 Hb obscure
- Ezekiel 21:22 Lit The divination for
- Ezekiel 21:22 Lit rams, open the mouth in
- Ezekiel 21:23 Lit them
- Ezekiel 21:25 = King Zedekiah
- Ezekiel 21:25 Lit come in the time of the punishment of the end
- Ezekiel 21:26 Lit This not this
- Ezekiel 21:27 Or comes to whom it rightfully belongs, and I will give it to Him
- Ezekiel 21:29 Lit come in the time of the punishment of the end
- Ezekiel 21:30 = the Ammonites
Ezekiel 21
Common English Bible
The sword
21 [a] The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, face Jerusalem, preach against their sanctuary, and prophesy against Israel’s fertile land. 3 Say to Israel’s fertile land, The Lord proclaims: I’m now against you! I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off both the righteous and the wicked from you. 4 In order to cut off the righteous and wicked from you, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone from south to north. 5 And everyone will know that I, the Lord, have taken my sword out of its sheath. It won’t be put away again.
6 You, human one, groan in their sight; groan bitterly with trembling knees. 7 If they ask you why you’re groaning, say to them, “Because of the news.” When it comes, every heart will despair, every hand will hang lifeless, every spirit will be listless, and urine will run down every leg. It’s coming! It will happen! This is what the Lord God says.
The sword dance
8 The Lord’s word came to me: 9 Human one, prophesy! Say, The Lord proclaims! Say:
A sword! A sharp and polished sword!
10 For utter slaughter it is sharpened,
polished to flash like lightning.
Let’s not rejoice, because no one will escape the purge.[b]
11 He appoints it for polishing, to seize in the hand.
The sword is sharpened, it is polished;
it is ready for the destroyer’s hand.
12 Human one, cry aloud, and wail,
for it comes against my people,
against all of Israel’s princes,
handed over to the sword along with my people.
Therefore, strike your thigh. 13 He’s testing.
When even the rod rejects,
will it not certainly happen?[c]
This is what the Lord God says.
14 And you, human one, prophesy!
Strike hand to hand.
Let the sword strike twice, three times!
It’s a deadly sword,
a great deadly sword.
It whirls around them
15 to make hearts shudder,
to make many stumble and fall.
I’ve set the slaughtering sword
against all their gates.
Oh! It’s crafted to flash like lightning,
polished for slaughter!
16 Stab again and again! Plunge right,
plunge left, wherever your edge goes.
17 It is I who strike hand to hand!
I’ll satisfy my wrath! I, the Lord, have spoken.
Guilt remembered
18 The Lord’s word came to me: 19 You, human one, mark two roads for the coming of the sword of the king of Babylon. They should diverge from a single country. Where the road to the city begins, set up a sign, 20 and point out the way for the sword to come: “To Rabbah of the Ammonites” or “To Judah in its stronghold Jerusalem.” 21 The king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road where the two roads begin and performs his divinations. He shakes the arrows, consults the divine images, and inspects the liver. 22 On his right side appeared the omen for Jerusalem: to put battering rams in place, to proclaim war and raise the alarm, to place battering rams against the gates, and to set up siege ramps and build towers. 23 It seems to them like a lying divination, because solemn pledges had been sworn to them. But he will remind them of their guilt, and they will be captured.
24 So the Lord God proclaims: Now that you have remembered your guilt and your treacheries are exposed, your sins can be seen in everything you do. Because you have brought your guilt to light, you will be captured! 25 But you vile, wicked prince of Israel whose day has come, the time of final punishment, 26 this is what the Lord God says: Remove the turban, take off the crown! Nothing will be as it was. Bring down the exalted, and exalt the lowly. 27 A ruin, ruin, ruin, I’ll make it! Such a thing has never happened! Even before the rightful judge comes, I’ve handed it over to him.
Avenging Ammon’s disgrace
28 You, human one, prophesy and say, The Lord God proclaims to the Ammonites concerning their disgrace. Say, Sword! Sword unsheathed for slaughter, burnished, battle-ready,[d] flashing like lightning: 29 False visions and lying divinations set you against the necks of vile, wicked men whose day had come, the time of final punishment. 30 Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 I will pour out my wrath against you. With a raging fire I will blow against you, and I will hand you over to those who burn and forge destruction. 32 Fire will consume you, your blood will sink into the earth, and you will no longer be remembered. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 21:6 in Heb
- Ezekiel 21:10 Heb uncertain
- Ezekiel 21:13 Heb uncertain
- Ezekiel 21:28 Or to take in the hand
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