Ezekiel 21
New American Standard Bible
Parable of the Sword of the Lord
21 [a]And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, (A)set your face against Jerusalem, and [b](B)speak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, (C)I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the (D)righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against [c](E)humanity from south to north. 5 So [d]humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will (F)not return to its sheath again.”’ 6 As for you, son of man, groan with [e]a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. 7 And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the (G)news, for it is coming; and (H)every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all [f]knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord [g]God.”
8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Say,
‘(I)A sword, a sword sharpened
And also polished!
10 Sharpened to make a (J)slaughter,
Polished [h]to flash like lightning!’
Or shall we rejoice, the [i]rod of My son (K)despising every tree? 11 And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer. 12 (L)Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the (M)officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore [j]slap your thigh. 13 For there is a testing; and what if even the [k]rod which despises will cease to be?” declares the Lord God.
14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be (N)doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15 so that their (O)hearts will waver, and many (P)fall at all their (Q)gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter. 16 Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your [l]edge is ordered. 17 I will also clap My hands, and I will (R)satisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”
The Instrument of God’s Judgment
18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 19 “Now as for you, son of man, [m](S)make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And [n]make a signpost; [o]make it at the head of the way to the city. 20 You shall [p]mark a way for the sword to come to (T)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into (U)fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the [q]parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use (V)divination; he (W)shakes the arrows, he consults the [r](X)household idols, he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to (Y)set up battering rams, to open the mouth [s]for [t]slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall. 23 And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; (Z)they have sworn solemn oaths. But he (AA)makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.
24 “Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand. 25 And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose (AB)day has come, in the time of the [u]punishment of the end,’ 26 this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the [v]turban and take off the (AC)crown; this will [w]no longer be the same. (AD)Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. 27 (AE)Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until (AF)He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’
28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the sons of Ammon and their (AG)taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it [x](AH)consume, so that it may be like lightning— 29 while they see (AI)false visions for you, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the (AJ)time of the [y]punishment of the end. 30 (AK)Return it to its sheath. In the (AL)place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 I will (AM)pour out My indignation on you; I will (AN)blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, (AO)craftsmen of destruction. 32 You will be [z](AP)fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will (AQ)not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 Ch 21:6 in Heb
- Ezekiel 21:2 Lit flow
- Ezekiel 21:4 Lit all flesh
- Ezekiel 21:5 Lit all flesh
- Ezekiel 21:6 Lit shaking hips
- Ezekiel 21:7 Heb idiom meaning to wet oneself
- Ezekiel 21:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 21:10 Lit that lightning may be to her
- Ezekiel 21:10 Or scepter
- Ezekiel 21:12 I.e., in grief
- Ezekiel 21:13 Or scepter
- Ezekiel 21:16 Lit face
- Ezekiel 21:19 Or set for yourself
- Ezekiel 21:19 Lit cut out a hand
- Ezekiel 21:19 Lit cut it
- Ezekiel 21:20 Lit set
- Ezekiel 21:21 Lit mother
- Ezekiel 21:21 Heb teraphim
- Ezekiel 21:22 Lit in
- Ezekiel 21:22 Another reading is war-cry
- Ezekiel 21:25 Or wrongdoing
- Ezekiel 21:26 Or headband
- Ezekiel 21:26 Lit not this
- Ezekiel 21:28 Lit finish
- Ezekiel 21:29 Or wrongdoing
- Ezekiel 21:32 Lit food
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
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