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; ³and 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. ⁴Because 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, ⁵that 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. ⁷And 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.”

⁸Again 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!
¹⁰Sharpened 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.
¹¹And 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.
¹⁵I 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.”

¹⁸The 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. ²⁰Appoint a road for the sword to go to ^(T)Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. ²¹For 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. ²²In 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. ²³And 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, ²⁶thus 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—
²⁹While 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.
³¹I 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.
³²You 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.’ ”

Notas al pie

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

Philippians 4:2-23

New King James Version

Be United, Joyful, and in Prayer

²I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche ^(A)to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³^[a]And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who ^(B)labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in ^(C)the Book of Life.

⁴^(D)Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

⁵Let your ^[b]gentleness be known to all men. ^(E)The Lord is at hand.

⁶^(F)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with ^(G)thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷and ^(H)the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Meditate on These Things

⁸Finally, brethren, whatever things are ^(I)true, whatever things are ^(J)noble, whatever things are ^(K)just, ^(L)whatever things are pure, whatever things are ^(M)lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ⁹The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and ^(N)the God of peace will be with you.

Philippian Generosity

¹⁰But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last ^(O)your^[c] care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. ¹¹Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, ^(P)to be content: ¹²^(Q)I know how to ^[d]be abased, and I know how to ^[e]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³I can do all things ^(R)through ^[f]Christ who strengthens me.

¹⁴Nevertheless you have done well that ^(S)you shared in my distress. ¹⁵Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, ^(T)no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. ¹⁶For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. ¹⁷Not that I seek the gift, but I seek ^(U)the fruit that abounds to your account. ¹⁸Indeed I ^[g]have all and abound. I am full, having received from ^(V)Epaphroditus the things sent from you, ^(W)a sweet-smelling aroma, ^(X)an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God ^(Y)shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ²⁰^(Z)Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Greeting and Blessing

²¹Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren ^(AA)who are with me greet you. ²²All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household.

²³The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with ^[h]you all. Amen.

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