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Ezekiel 21
International Standard Version
Ezekiel 21
International Standard Version
A Prophecy against Jerusalem
21 [a]This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of Man, look toward Jerusalem, preach[b] against its sanctuaries, and prophesy against Israel’s land. 3 Declare to Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Watch out! I’m against you! I’m going to unsheathe my sword to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you. 4 Since I’m going to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you, I’ll be unsheathing my sword against everyone from south to north. 5 Then everyone will know that I am the Lord, who unsheathed my sword, and who won’t have to unsheathe it again.”’
6 “And now, Son of Man, you are to start groaning until you’re sick to your stomach.[c] You are to groan bitterly right in front of them.[d] 7 When they’ll ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that just arrived. Every heart will melt with fear, every hand will grow limp, every spirit will grow faint, and every knee will glisten with sweat.’ Look! It has come and it will be fulfilled,” declares the Lord God.
God’s Sword and Scepter
8 This message came to me from the Lord: 9 “Son of Man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
‘A sword!
A sword is being sharpened.
It’s also being polished.
10 It’s being sharpened for slaughter,
and being polished to gleam like lightning.’
“We shouldn’t be rejoicing, should we,
while my Son’s scepter, the sword,
is despising[e] every tree?[f]
11 It’s intended to be polished
so it can be grasped in the hand.
The sword is sharpened.
It’s polished for placement
into the hand of the executioner.”
12 ‘Cry and wail, you Son of Man!
It’s headed against my people.
It’s also against all the princes of Israel,
who have been tossed to the sword,
along with my people.
So it’s time to grieve like you mean it,[g]
13 because testing is sure to come.
‘In putting the sword to the test along with the scepter, it won’t keep on rejecting, will it?’ declares the Lord God.”
A Double and Triple Judgment
14 “Now, Son of Man, prophesy
as you strike your hands together.
Let the sword that fatally wounds be doubled and tripled.
That great, slaughtering sword closes in on them.
I’ve set in place a slaughtering sword
at the entrance to all their gates,
15 so that their hearts melt
and the number of those who stumble increase.
I’ve set in place a slaughtering sword
at the entrance to all their gates.
Oh, no! It’s made like lightning.
It’s drawn to slaughter.
16 Be sharp!
Attack on the right,
or parry to your left,
wherever you point your sword.[h]
17 I will also clap my hands;
then my anger will subside.[i]
I, the Lord have spoken it.”
Two Pathways to Invasion
18 This message came to me from the Lord: 19 “Now, Son of Man, demarcate two pathways by which the sword of Babylon’s king will arrive in the land. Both pathways will lead from a single land.
“Make a sign,[j] carving it out and installing it at the junction on the way to the city. 20 Set it to point one way for bringing the sword against Rabbah, the descendants of Ammon, and the other way against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.
21 “Meanwhile, Babylon’s king is standing at the fork of the road,[k] where he can head in either of two directions, and that’s where he is practicing divination. Shaking his arrows, he’s asking questions of his teraphim while he examines livers. 22 On his right hand he is divining against Jerusalem, preparing to set up battering rams, preparing[l] for the slaughter, getting ready to sound the alarm for battle,[m] setting the battering rams in place at the gates, building siege mounds, and erecting a siege wall. 23 In their view, it will seem to be a false prophecy, but because they swore allegiance, he’ll make them remember their guilt as he takes them captive.”
Imminent Invasion
24 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Because you remembered your sins when your transgressions were uncovered, your sins are visibly evident in everything you’ve done. And since you’ve remembered them, you’ll be taken captive.
25 “So now, you dishonored and wicked prince of Israel,
whose day has come
in this time of final punishment,
26 This is what the Lord God says:
‘Remove your turban!
Take off your crown!
Things aren’t going to remain
as they used to be.
What is lowly will be exalted,
and what is lofty will be brought low.
27 A ruin! A ruin!
I’m bringing about ruin!’
But this also will not happen
until he who has authority over it arrives,
because I’ll give it to him.”
A Rebuke to Ammon
28 And now Son of Man, prophesy to the Ammonites that this is what the Lord God says to the Ammonites about their approaching humiliation:
“A sword! A sword is being drawn for slaughter.
It’s polished to flash like lightning.
29 When they see empty visions about you
while they’re divining lies for you,
to lay you on the necks of the wicked,
who are fatally wounded,
whose days have come,
their time for punishment.
30 Return it to its scabbard.
“At the place where you were formed,
in the land of your origin,
there is where I’ll judge you.
31 I’m going to pour out my indignation all over you.
I’ll blow my fierce wrath against you
and deliver you into the control of brutal men
who are skilled at destruction.
32 You’ll be fuel[n] for the conflagration.
Your blood will be spilled[o] throughout the land.
You won’t be remembered anymore,
now that I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 This v. is 21:6 in MT
- Ezekiel 21:2 Lit. Drop a word
- Ezekiel 21:6 Lit. until your loins break
- Ezekiel 21:6 Lit. bitterly before their eyes
- Ezekiel 21:10 The verb despising requires the Heb. antecedent the sword, which The Heb. lacks
- Ezekiel 21:10 I.e. every living human being in Israel
- Ezekiel 21:12 Lit. So strike your thigh
- Ezekiel 21:16 Lit. face
- Ezekiel 21:17 Lit. rest
- Ezekiel 21:19 Lit. hand
- Ezekiel 21:21 Lit. at the point of departure
- Ezekiel 21:22 Lit. rams, to open the mouth
- Ezekiel 21:22 Lit. to shout
- Ezekiel 21:32 Lit. food
- Ezekiel 21:32 The Heb. lacks spilled
Ezekiel 21
New International Version
Ezekiel 21
New International Version
Babylon as God’s Sword of Judgment
21 [a]The word of the Lord came to me:(A) 2 “Son of man, set your face against(B) Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary.(C) Prophesy against(D) the land of Israel 3 and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you.(E) I will draw my sword(F) from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.(G) 4 Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword(H) will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.(I) 5 Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword(J) from its sheath; it will not return(K) again.’(L)
6 “Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.(M) 7 And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?(N)’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear(O) and every hand go limp;(P) every spirit will become faint(Q) and every leg will be wet with urine.’(R) It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
8 The word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘A sword, a sword,
sharpened and polished—
10 sharpened for the slaughter,(S)
polished to flash like lightning!
“‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.(T)
11 “‘The sword is appointed to be polished,(U)
to be grasped with the hand;
it is sharpened and polished,
made ready for the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry out and wail, son of man,
for it is against my people;
it is against all the princes of Israel.
They are thrown to the sword
along with my people.
Therefore beat your breast.(V)
13 “‘Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign Lord.’
14 “So then, son of man, prophesy
and strike your hands(W) together.
Let the sword strike twice,
even three times.
It is a sword for slaughter—
a sword for great slaughter,
closing in on them from every side.(X)
15 So that hearts may melt with fear(Y)
and the fallen be many,
I have stationed the sword for slaughter[b]
at all their gates.
Look! It is forged to strike like lightning,
it is grasped for slaughter.(Z)
16 Slash to the right, you sword,
then to the left,
wherever your blade is turned.
17 I too will strike my hands(AA) together,
and my wrath(AB) will subside.
I the Lord have spoken.(AC)”
18 The word of the Lord came to me: 19 “Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword(AD) of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost(AE) where the road branches off to the city. 20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites(AF) and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 For 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(AG) with arrows, he will consult his idols,(AH) he will examine the liver.(AI) 22 Into 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,(AJ) to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp(AK) and to erect siege works.(AL) 23 It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind(AM) them of their guilt(AN) 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,(AO) whose time of punishment has reached its climax,(AP) 26 this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown.(AQ) It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.(AR) 27 A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come;(AS) to him I will give it.’(AT)
28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites(AU) and their insults:
“‘A sword,(AV) a sword,
drawn for the slaughter,
polished to consume
and to flash like lightning!
29 Despite false visions concerning you
and lying divinations(AW) 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.(AX)
30 “‘Let the sword return to its sheath.(AY)
In the place where you were created,
in the land of your ancestry,(AZ)
I will judge you.
31 I will pour out my wrath on you
and breathe(BA) out my fiery anger(BB) against you;
I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,
men skilled in destruction.(BC)
32 You will be fuel for the fire,(BD)
your blood will be shed in your land,
you will be remembered(BE) no more;
for I the Lord have spoken.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 In Hebrew texts 21:1-32 is numbered 21:6-37.
- Ezekiel 21:15 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
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