Ezekiel 21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Drawn Sword of God
21 [a]The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries; prophesy against the land of Israel(A) 3 and say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord: I am coming against you and will draw my sword out of its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked.(B) 4 Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north, 5 and all flesh shall know that I the Lord have drawn my sword out of its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again. 6 Moan, therefore, mortal; moan with body collapsed and bitter grief before their eyes.(C) 7 And when they say to you, “Why do you moan?” you shall say, “Because of the news that has come. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will turn to water. See, it comes and it will be fulfilled,” says the Lord God.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Mortal, prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord; say:
A sword, a sword is sharpened;
it is also polished;(D)
10 it is sharpened for slaughter,
honed to flash like lightning!
How can we make merry?
You have despised the rod
and all discipline.[b]
11 The sword[c] is given to be polished
to be grasped in the hand;
it is sharpened; the sword is polished
to be placed in the slayer’s hand.
12 Cry and wail, O mortal,
for it is against my people;
it is against all Israel’s princes;
they are thrown to the sword,
together with my people.
Ah! Strike the thigh!(E)
13 For consider: What! If you despise the rod, will it not happen?[d] says the Lord God.
14 And you, mortal, prophesy;
strike hand to hand.
Let the sword fall twice, thrice;
it is a sword for killing.
A sword for great slaughter—
it surrounds them;(F)
15 therefore hearts melt,
and many stumble.
At all their gates I have set
the point[e] of the sword.
Ah! It is made for flashing;
it is drawn for slaughter.
16 Attack to the right!
Engage to the left!
—wherever your edge is directed.
17 I, too, will strike hand to hand;
I will satisfy my fury;
I the Lord have spoken.(G)
18 The word of the Lord came to me: 19 Mortal, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them shall issue from the same land. And make a signpost; make it for a fork in the road leading to a city;(H) 20 mark out the road for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah and to[f] Jerusalem the fortified.(I) 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the fork in the two roads, to use divination; he shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim;[g] he inspects the liver.(J) 22 Into his right hand comes the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to call out for slaughter, for raising the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build siege towers. 23 But to them it will seem like a false divination; they have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, bringing about their capture.(K)
24 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have brought your guilt to remembrance, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.[h]
25 As for you, vile, wicked prince of Israel,
you whose day has come,
the time of final punishment,(L)
26 thus says the Lord God:
Remove the turban, take off the crown;
things shall not remain as they are.
Exalt that which is low;
humble that which is high.(M)
27 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin—
I will make it!
(Such has never occurred.)
Until he comes whose right it is;
to him I will give it.(N)
28 As for you, mortal, prophesy, and say: Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say:
A sword, a sword! Drawn for slaughter,
polished to consume,[i] to flash like lightning.(O)
29 Offering false visions for you,
divining lies for you,
they place you over the necks
of the vile, wicked ones—
those whose day has come,
the time of final punishment.(P)
30 Return it to its sheath!
In the place where you were created,
in the land of your origin,
I will judge you.(Q)
31 I will pour out my indignation upon you;
with the fire of my wrath
I will blow upon you.
I will deliver you into brutish hands,
those skillful to destroy.(R)
32 You shall be fuel for the fire,
your blood shall enter the earth;
you shall be remembered no more,
for I the Lord have spoken.(S)
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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
