Ezekiel 21
New King James Version
Babylon, the Sword of God
21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 (A)“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, (B)preach[a] against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am (C)against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both (D)righteous and wicked from you. 4 Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh (E)from south to north, 5 that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it (F)shall not return anymore.” ’ 6 (G)Sigh therefore, son of man, with [b]a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. 7 And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, (H)all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”
8 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say:
(I)‘A sword, a sword is sharpened
And also polished!
10 Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter,
Polished to flash like lightning!
Should we then make mirth?
It despises the scepter of My son,
As it does all wood.
11 And He has given it to be polished,
That it may be handled;
This sword is sharpened, and it is polished
To be given into the hand of (J)the slayer.’
12 “Cry and wail, son of man;
For it will be against My people,
Against all the princes of Israel.
Terrors including the sword will be against My people;
Therefore (K)strike your thigh.
13 “Because it is (L)a testing,
And what if the sword despises even the scepter?
(M)The scepter shall be no more,”
says the Lord God.
14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy,
And (N)strike your hands together.
The third time let the sword do double damage.
It is the sword that slays,
The sword that slays the great men,
That enters their (O)private chambers.
15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates,
That the heart may melt and many may stumble.
Ah! (P)It is made bright;
It is grasped for slaughter:
16 “Swords(Q)[c] at the ready!
Thrust right!
Set your blade!
Thrust left—
Wherever your [d]edge is ordered!
17 “I also will (R)beat My fists together,
And (S)I will cause My fury to rest;
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
18 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying: 19 “And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city. 20 Appoint a road for the sword to go to (T)Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the [e]images, he looks at the liver. 22 In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to (U)lift the voice with shouting, (V)to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall. 23 And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who (W)have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.
24 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.
25 ‘Now to you, O (X)profane, wicked prince of Israel, (Y)whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 26 thus says the Lord God:
“Remove the turban, and take off the crown;
Nothing shall remain the same.
(Z)Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted.
27 [f]Overthrown, overthrown,
I will make it overthrown!
(AA)It shall be no longer,
Until He comes whose right it is,
And I will give it to (AB)Him.” ’
A Sword Against the Ammonites
28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God (AC)concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say:
‘A sword, a sword is drawn,
Polished for slaughter,
For consuming, for flashing—
29 While they (AD)see false visions for you,
While they divine a lie to you,
To bring you on the necks of the wicked, the slain
(AE)Whose day has come,
Whose iniquity shall end.
30 ‘Return(AF) it to its sheath.
(AG)I will judge you
In the place where you were created,
(AH)In the land of your [g]nativity.
31 I will (AI)pour out My indignation on you;
I will (AJ)blow against you with the fire of My wrath,
And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to (AK)destroy.
32 You shall be fuel for the fire;
Your blood shall be in the midst of the land.
(AL)You shall not be remembered,
For I the Lord have spoken.’ ”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 21:2 proclaim, lit. drop
- Ezekiel 21:6 Emotional distress, lit. the breaking of your loins
- Ezekiel 21:16 Lit. Sharpen yourself! or Unite yourself!
- Ezekiel 21:16 Lit. face
- Ezekiel 21:21 Heb. teraphim
- Ezekiel 21:27 Or Distortion, Ruin
- Ezekiel 21:30 Or origin
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
EasyEnglish Bible
The Lord punishes Israel[a]
21 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, look towards Jerusalem. Speak about the things in my holy place that are wrong. Speak my message to warn the people of Israel. 3 Say to them, “This is what the Lord says: I am now your enemy. I will take my sword in my hand. I will use it to kill both righteous people and wicked people. 4 I will remove righteous people and wicked people from among you. So I will use my sword to attack everyone in the land, from the north to the south. 5 Then all the people will know that I am the Lord. I am the one who is punishing them with my sword. And I will not put it back in its place.”
6 So now, son of man, cry aloud. Let the people see how sad and upset you are. 7 They will ask you, “Why are you so sad?” Then you will say, “I am sad because of the news that will soon come. Every one of you will be very afraid. Your hands will be weak and your knees will shake.” You can be sure that this will happen very soon. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’
8 The Lord gave this message to me: 9 ‘Son of man, speak my message to the people. Say, “This is what the Lord says:
Look at my sword! It is sharp and it shines brightly.
10 It is sharp and it is ready to kill people.
It shines as bright as lightning!
Should we trust in the power of our king?
No! This sword does not respect any kingdom.
11 Now it is sharp and it shines.
It is ready for someone to take in their hand.
It is ready for the killer to use it.”
12 Cry aloud, son of man!
This sword is ready to attack my people.
It will attack all the leaders of Israel.
It will destroy my people and their leaders.
Because of that, show that you are very upset.
13 I am ready to test my people.
My sword does not respect the power of any king.
So my people will not escape punishment.
That is what the Almighty Lord says.
14 So speak my message to warn my people, son of man.
Then clap your hands together.
My sword must attack them many times.
It is ready to kill many people.
It will attack them from all directions.
15 So people will shake with fear. Many of them will fall down.
My sword is ready to kill them at every gate of the city.
It shines like lightning. It is ready to kill!
16 My sword, attack quickly on your right side!
Now turn and attack on your left side!
Attack in every direction that you turn!
17 Then I, too, will clap my hands together.
Finally, my anger will finish.
I, the Lord, have spoken.’
18 The Lord gave this message to me: 19 ‘Son of man, make a mark on two roads for the king of Babylon to follow with his army. Both these roads must start from the same country. Put a sign at the place where the two roads go in separate directions. 20 Show the two places that the roads go to. One road goes to Rabbah, the big city of the Ammonites. The other road goes to Judah and its strong city, Jerusalem. 21 The king of Babylon will arrive at the place where the road goes in separate directions. He will try to decide which way to go. He will use magic to ask his gods to tell him. He will shake arrows in his hands. He will pray to his idols. He will look at the livers of animals.[b] 22 The arrow in his right hand shows him that he should go to Jerusalem. He will command his army to go and kill the people there. His soldiers will use heavy pieces of wood to knock down the walls and gates of the city. They will shout as they attack the city. They will build heaps of earth against the city's walls. 23 The people in Jerusalem had promised to serve the king of Babylon. So they think that he will not attack them. But he will tell them about the wrong things that they have done. Because of that he will take them as his prisoners.[c]
24 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: You have shown everyone that you are guilty of many sins. Everything that you do shows your sins very clearly. Because you are guilty, your enemies will take you as their prisoners.
25 I say this to you, wicked king of Israel. The time for your final punishment has now arrived. 26 This is what the Almighty Lord says:
Take off the special cloth from the king's head.
Remove his crown!
Everything will change!
Give honour to humble people!
Make proud people ashamed!
27 I will cause your city to become a heap of stones.
I will destroy the kingdom.
This will happen when my chosen man comes.
I have chosen him to punish the city.
Then I will give him authority over the city, because it belongs to him.
28 You, son of man, must speak my message about the Ammonites. They have insulted Israel. This is what the Almighty Lord says:
A sword is ready to destroy them.
It shines brightly like lightning and it is ready to kill.
29 Their visions about the battle have deceived them.
What they think will happen is only lies.
The sword will punish wicked people with death.
The time for their final punishment has now arrived.
30 Now put the sword back in its place![d]
I will judge you in your own land,
in the place where you were born.
31 I will punish you very strongly,
because I am so angry with you.
I will put you under the power of cruel men
who know how to destroy people.
32 You will be like wood that helps a fire to burn.
You will die a violent death in your own land.
Nobody will remember you any more.
I, the Lord, have said this.’
Footnotes
- 21:1 This chapter explains the meaning of the story about the strong fire in Ezekiel 20:45-49. God will use the army from Babylon to punish his people. Soldiers will come and attack Jerusalem.
- 21:21 These were different kinds of magic that they used to find out what their false gods said. A liver is an inside part of an animal.
- 21:23 See Ezekiel 17:18.
- 21:30 Verses 30-32 are probably God's message to the army of Babylon. When they have finished punishing the people of Jerusalem and the Ammonites, they must go back to their own land. Then God will punish them there.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.