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Ezekiel 5
Good News Translation
Ezekiel 5
Good News Translation
Ezekiel Cuts His Hair
5 The Lord said, “Mortal man, take a sharp sword and use it to shave off your beard and all your hair. Then weigh the hair on scales and divide it into three parts. 2 Burn up a third of it in the city when the siege is over. Take another third and chop it up with your sword as you move around outside the city. Scatter the remaining third to the winds, and I will pursue it with my sword. 3 Keep back a few hairs and wrap them in the hem of your clothes. 4 Then take a few of them out again, throw them in the fire, and let them burn up. From them fire will spread to the whole nation of Israel.”
5 The Sovereign Lord said, “Look at Jerusalem. I put her at the center of the world, with other countries all around her. 6 But Jerusalem rebelled against my commands and showed that she was more wicked than the other nations, more disobedient than the countries around her. Jerusalem rejected my commands and refused to keep my laws. 7 Now listen, Jerusalem, to what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying. By not obeying my laws or keeping my commands, you have caused more trouble than the nations around you. You have followed the customs of other nations. 8 And so I, the Sovereign Lord, am telling you that I am your enemy. I will pass judgment on you where all the nations can see it. 9 Because of all the things you do that I hate, I will punish Jerusalem as I have never done before and will never do again. 10 (A)As a result, parents in Jerusalem will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and scatter in every direction any who are left alive.
11 “Therefore, as I am the living God—this is the word of the Sovereign Lord—because you defiled my Temple with all the evil, disgusting things you did, I will cut you down without mercy. 12 A third of your people will die from sickness and hunger in the city; a third will be cut down by swords outside the city; and I will scatter the last third to the winds and pursue them with a sword.
13 “You will feel all the force of my anger and rage until I am satisfied. When all this happens, you will be convinced that I, the Lord, have spoken to you because I am outraged at your unfaithfulness. 14 Everyone from the nations around you who passes by will sneer at you and keep their distance.
15 “When I am angry and furious with you and punish you, all the nations around you will be terrified. They will look at you with disgust and make fun of you. 16 I will cut off your supply of food and let you starve. You[a] will feel the pains of hunger like sharp arrows sent to destroy you. 17 (B)I will send hunger and wild animals to kill your children, and will send sickness, violence, and war to kill you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 5:16 Probable text You; Hebrew They.
Ezekiel 5
New King James Version
Ezekiel 5
New King James Version
A Sword Against Jerusalem
5 “And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, (A)and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. 2 (B)You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of (C)the city, when (D)the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after (E)them. 3 (F)You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment. 4 Then take some of them again and (G)throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel.
5 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her. 6 She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’ 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have [a]multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes (H)nor kept My judgments, [b]nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you’— 8 therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. 9 (I)And I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations. 10 Therefore fathers (J)shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments among you, and all of you who remain I will (K)scatter to all the winds.
11 ‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have (L)defiled My sanctuary with all your (M)detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; (N)My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. 12 (O)One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and (P)I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after (Q)them.
13 ‘Thus shall My anger (R)be spent, and I will (S)cause My fury to rest upon them, (T)and I will be avenged; (U)and they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them. 14 Moreover (V)I will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
15 ‘So [c]it shall be a (W)reproach, a taunt, a (X)lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in (Y)furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I (Z)send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your (AA)supply of bread. 17 So I will send against you famine and (AB)wild beasts, and they will bereave you. (AC)Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ ”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 5:7 Or raged
- Ezekiel 5:7 So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. but have done (cf. 11:12)
- Ezekiel 5:15 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. you
Ezekiel 5
New American Standard Bible
Ezekiel 5
New American Standard Bible
Jerusalem’s Desolation Foretold
5 “As for you, son of man, take a (A)sharp sword; take and [a]use it as a barber’s razor on your head and beard. Then take (B)scales for weighing and divide [b]the hair. 2 A third you shall burn in the fire at the center of the city, when the (C)days of the siege are completed. Then you shall take a third and strike it with the sword all around [c]the city, and a third you shall scatter to the wind; for I will (D)unsheathe a sword behind them. 3 Take also a few hairs in number from [d]them and bind them in the hems of your robes. 4 Take again some of them and throw them into the fire and burn them in the fire; from it a fire will [e]spread to all the house of Israel.
5 “This is what the Lord [f]God says: ‘This is (E)Jerusalem; I have placed her at the (F)center of the nations, with lands around her. 6 But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes (G)more than the lands which surround her; for they have (H)rejected My ordinances and have not walked [g]in My statutes.’ 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have (I)more turmoil than the nations that surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor executed My ordinances, nor acted in accordance with the ordinances of the nations around you,’ 8 therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I, even I, am (J)against you, and I will (K)execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. 9 And because of all your abominations I will do among you what I have (L)not done, and the like of which I will never do again. 10 Therefore, (M)fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and (N)scatter all your remnant to every wind. 11 Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God, ‘Because you have (O)defiled My sanctuary with all your (P)detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare. 12 A third of you will die by (Q)plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will (R)scatter to every wind, and I will (S)unsheathe a sword behind them.
13 ‘Then My anger will be spent and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be (T)appeased; then they will know that I, the Lord, have (U)spoken in My zeal, when I have spent My wrath upon them. 14 Moreover, I will make you a site of ruins and a (V)disgrace among the nations that surround you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 15 So [h]it will be a disgrace, an object of abuse, a (W)warning, and an object of horror to the nations that surround you when I (X)execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging reprimands. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I send against them the [i]deadly arrows of famine which [j]were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will also intensify the famine upon you and break off your [k]provision of bread. 17 (Y)I will send on you famine and vicious animals, and they will bereave you of children; (Z)plague and bloodshed also will pass through you, and I will bring the sword on you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 5:1 Lit pass it over your head
- Ezekiel 5:1 Lit them
- Ezekiel 5:2 Lit it
- Ezekiel 5:3 Lit there
- Ezekiel 5:4 Lit go out
- Ezekiel 5:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Ezekiel 5:6 Lit in them, My statutes
- Ezekiel 5:15 Ancient versions you
- Ezekiel 5:16 Lit evil
- Ezekiel 5:16 Or are for destruction, which I will send
- Ezekiel 5:16 Lit staff
Ezekiel 5
New International Version
Ezekiel 5
New International Version
God’s Razor of Judgment
5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor(A) to shave(B) your head and your beard.(C) Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. 2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn(D) a third(E) of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind.(F) For I will pursue them with drawn sword.(G) 3 But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.(H) 4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire(I) and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.(J) 6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.(K)
7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even[a] conformed to the standards of the nations around you.(L)
8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.(M) 9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.(N) 10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents.(O) I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.(P) 11 Therefore as surely as I live,(Q) declares the Sovereign(R) Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary(S) with all your vile images(T) and detestable practices,(U) I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.(V) 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds(W) and pursue with drawn sword.(X)
13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath(Y) against them will subside, and I will be avenged.(Z) And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.(AA)
14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.(AB) 15 You will be a reproach(AC) and a taunt, a warning(AD) and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke.(AE) I the Lord have spoken.(AF) 16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.(AG) 17 I will send famine and wild beasts(AH) against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed(AI) will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.(AJ)”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 5:7 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac You have
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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