Ezekiel 21
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Sword of Judgment
21 [a]Then this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries. 3 Tell her, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people—the righteous and the wicked alike. 4 Yes, I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked! I will draw my sword against everyone in the land from south to north. 5 Everyone in the world will know that I am the Lord. My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished.’
6 “Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart. 7 When they ask why you are groaning, tell them, ‘I groan because of the terrifying news I have heard. When it comes true, the boldest heart will melt with fear; all strength will disappear. Every spirit will faint; strong knees will become as weak as water. And the Sovereign Lord says: It is coming! It’s on its way!’”
8 Then the Lord said to me, 9 “Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord:
“A sword, a sword
is being sharpened and polished.
10 It is sharpened for terrible slaughter
and polished to flash like lightning!
Now will you laugh?
Those far stronger than you have fallen beneath its power![b]
11 Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished;
it is being prepared for the executioner.
12 “Son of man, cry out and wail;
pound your thighs in anguish,
for that sword will slaughter my people and their leaders—
everyone will die!
13 It will put them all to the test.
What chance do they have?[c]
says the Sovereign Lord.
14 “Son of man, prophesy to them
and clap your hands.
Then take the sword and brandish it twice,
even three times,
to symbolize the great massacre,
the great massacre facing them on every side.
15 Let their hearts melt with terror,
for the sword glitters at every gate.
It flashes like lightning
and is polished for slaughter!
16 O sword, slash to the right,
then slash to the left,
wherever you will,
wherever you want.
17 I, too, will clap my hands,
and I will satisfy my fury.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Omens for Babylon’s King
18 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 19 “Son of man, make a map and trace two routes on it for the sword of Babylon’s king to follow. Put a signpost on the road that comes out of Babylon where the road forks into two— 20 one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem. 21 The king of Babylon now stands at the fork, uncertain whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbah. He calls his magicians to look for omens. They cast lots by shaking arrows from the quiver. They inspect the livers of animal sacrifices. 22 The omen in his right hand says, ‘Jerusalem!’ With battering rams his soldiers will go against the gates, shouting for the kill. They will put up siege towers and build ramps against the walls. 23 The people of Jerusalem will think it is a false omen, because of their treaty with the Babylonians. But the king of Babylon will remind the people of their rebellion. Then he will attack and capture them.
24 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Again and again you remind me of your sin and your guilt. You don’t even try to hide it! In everything you do, your sins are obvious for all to see. So now the time of your punishment has come!
25 “O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here! 26 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Take off your jeweled crown,
for the old order changes.
Now the lowly will be exalted,
and the mighty will be brought down.
27 Destruction! Destruction!
I will surely destroy the kingdom.
And it will not be restored until the one appears
who has the right to judge it.
Then I will hand it over to him.
A Message for the Ammonites
28 “And now, son of man, prophesy concerning the Ammonites and their mockery. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord:
“A sword, a sword
is drawn for your slaughter.
It is polished to destroy,
flashing like lightning!
29 Your prophets have given false visions,
and your fortune-tellers have told lies.
The sword will fall on the necks of the wicked
for whom the day of final reckoning has come.
30 “Now return the sword to its sheath,
for in your own country,
the land of your birth,
I will pass judgment upon you.
31 I will pour out my fury on you
and blow on you with the fire of my anger.
I will hand you over to cruel men
who are skilled in destruction.
32 You will be fuel for the fire,
and your blood will be spilled in your own land.
You will be utterly wiped out,
your memory lost to history,
for I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Ezekiel 21
English Standard Version
The Lord Has Drawn His Sword
21 [a] The word of the Lord came to me: 2 (A)“Son of man, (B)set your face toward Jerusalem and (C)preach against the sanctuaries.[b] Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: (D)Behold, I am against you and will draw (E)my sword from its sheath and (F)will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. 4 Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. 5 (G)And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn (H)my sword from its sheath; (I)it shall not be sheathed again.
6 “As for you, son of man, (J)groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, (K)groan before their eyes. 7 (L)And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news (M)that it is coming. (N)Every heart will melt, and (O)all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and (P)all knees will be weak as water. (Q)Behold, it is (R)coming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord God.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me: 9 (S)“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say:
(T)“A sword, a sword is sharpened
and also polished,
10 (U)sharpened for slaughter,
(V)polished to flash like lightning!
(Or (W)shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, (X)with everything of wood.)[c] 11 So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished (Y)to be given into the hand of the slayer. 12 (Z)Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. (AA)Strike therefore upon your thigh. 13 For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise (AB)the rod?”[d] declares the Lord God.
14 “As for you, (AC)son of man, prophesy. (AD)Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, (AE)yes, three times,[e] the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them, 15 that their hearts may melt, and many stumble.[f] At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; (AF)it is taken up[g] for slaughter. 16 Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. 17 I also will (AG)clap my hands, (AH)and I will satisfy my fury; (AI)I the Lord have spoken.”
18 The word of the Lord came to me again: 19 “As for you, son of man, mark two ways for (AJ)the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make (AK)a signpost; make it (AL)at the head of the way to a city. 20 Mark a way (AM)for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified. 21 For the king of Babylon stands (AN)at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults (AO)the teraphim;[h] he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, (AP)to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, (AQ)to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. 23 But to them it will seem like a false divination. (AR)They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, (AS)that they may be taken.
24 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, (AT)you shall be taken in hand. 25 And you, O profane[i] (AU)wicked one, prince of Israel, (AV)whose day has come, (AW)the time of your final punishment, 26 thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. (AX)Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted. 27 A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. (AY)This also shall not be, (AZ)until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.
28 “And you, (BA)son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God (BB)concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, (BC)A sword, a sword (BD)is drawn for the slaughter. (BE)It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning— 29 while (BF)they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, (BG)whose day has come, the time of their final punishment. 30 (BH)Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, (BI)I will judge you. 31 And (BJ)I will pour out my indignation upon you; (BK)I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of (BL)brutish men, skillful to destroy. 32 You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. (BM)You shall be no more remembered, (BN)for I the Lord have spoken.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:1 Ch 21:6 in Hebrew
- Ezekiel 21:2 Some Hebrew manuscripts, compare Septuagint, Syriac against their sanctuary
- Ezekiel 21:10 Probable reading; Hebrew The rod of my son despises everything of wood
- Ezekiel 21:13 Or For it is a testing; and what if even the rod despises? It shall not be!
- Ezekiel 21:14 Hebrew its third
- Ezekiel 21:15 Hebrew many stumbling blocks
- Ezekiel 21:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered taken up is uncertain
- Ezekiel 21:21 Or household idols
- Ezekiel 21:25 Or slain; also verse 29
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
