Ezekiel 21
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1 This message came to me from the LORD: 1 Then this message came to me from the LORD:
2"Son of Man, look toward Jerusalem, preach against its sanctuaries, and prophesy against Israel's land. 2“Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries.
3Declare to Israel, 'This is what the LORD says: "Watch out! I'm against you! I'm going to unsheathe my sword to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you. 3Tell 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.
4Since I'm going to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you, I'll be unsheathing my sword against everyone from south to north. 4Yes, I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked! I will draw my sword against everyone in the land from south to north.
5Then everyone will know that I am the LORD, who unsheathed my sword, and who won't have to unsheathe it again."'5Everyone 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"And now, Son of Man, you are to start groaning until you're sick to your stomach. You are to groan bitterly right in front of them.6“Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart.
7When they'll ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you are to say, 'Because of the news that just arrived. Every heart will melt with fear, every hand will grow limp, every spirit will grow faint, and every knee will glisten with sweat.' Look! It has come and it will be fulfilled," declares the Lord GOD.7When 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!’”
8This message came to me from the LORD: 8Then the LORD said to me,
9"Son of Man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: 'A sword! A sword is being sharpened. It's also being polished.9“Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord: “A sword, a sword is being sharpened and polished.
10It's being sharpened for slaughter, and being polished to gleam like lightning.' "We shouldn't be rejoicing, should we, while my Son's scepter, the sword, is despising every tree? 10It 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!
11It's intended to be polished so it can be grasped in the hand. The sword is sharpened. It's polished for placement into the hand of the executioner."11Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner.
12Cry and wail, you Son of Man! It's headed against my people. It's also against all the princes of Israel, who have been tossed to the sword, along with my people. So it's time to grieve like you mean it, 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!
13because testing is sure to come. 'In putting the sword to the test along with the scepter, it won't keep on rejecting, will it?' declares the Lord GOD."13It will put them all to the test. What chance do they have? says the Sovereign LORD.
14"Now, Son of Man, prophesy as you strike your hands together. Let the sword that fatally wounds be doubled and tripled. That great, slaughtering sword closes in on them. I've set in place a slaughtering sword at the entrance to all their gates,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.
15so that their hearts melt and the number of those who stumble increase. I've set in place a slaughtering sword at the entrance to all their gates. Oh, no! It's made like lightning. It's drawn to slaughter.15Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning and is polished for slaughter!
16Be sharp! Attack on the right, or parry to your left, wherever you point your sword. 16O sword, slash to the right, then slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want.
17I will also clap my hands; then my anger will subside. I, the LORD have spoken it."17I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Omens for Babylon’s King
18This message came to me from the LORD: 18Then this message came to me from the LORD:
19"Now, Son of Man, demarcate two pathways by which the sword of Babylon's king will arrive in the land. Both pathways will lead from a single land. "Make a sign, carving it out and installing it at the junction on the way to the city. 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—
20Set it to point one way for bringing the sword against Rabbah, the descendants of Ammon, and the other way against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.20one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem.
21"Meanwhile, Babylon's king is standing at the fork of the road, where he can head in either of two directions, and that's where he is practicing divination. Shaking his arrows, he's asking questions of his teraphim while he examines livers. 21The 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.
22On his right hand he is divining against Jerusalem, preparing to set up battering rams, preparing for the slaughter, getting ready to sound the alarm for battle, setting the battering rams in place at the gates, building siege mounds, and erecting a siege wall. 22The 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.
23In their view, it will seem to be a false prophecy, but because they swore allegiance, he'll make them remember their guilt as he takes them captive."23The 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.
24Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "Because you remembered your sins when your transgressions were uncovered, your sins are visibly evident in everything you've done. And since you've remembered them, you'll be taken captive.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"So now, you dishonored and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come in this time of final punishment,25“O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here!
26This is what the Lord GOD says: 'Remove your turban! Take off your crown! Things aren't going to remain as they used to be. What is lowly will be exalted, and what is lofty will be brought low.26This 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.
27A ruin! A ruin! I'm bringing about ruin!' But this also will not happen until he who has authority over it arrives, because I'll give it to him."27Destruction! 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
28And now Son of Man, prophesy to the Ammonites that this is what the Lord GOD says to the Ammonites about their approaching humiliation: "A sword! A sword is being drawn for slaughter. It's polished to flash like lightning.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!
29When they see empty visions about you while they're divining lies for you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked, who are fatally wounded, whose days have come, their time for punishment.29Your 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.
30Return it to its scabbard. "At the place where you were formed, in the land of your origin, there is where I'll judge you.30“Now return the sword to its sheath, for in your own country, the land of your birth, I will pass judgment upon you.
31I'm going to pour out my indignation all over you. I'll blow my fierce wrath against you and deliver you into the control of brutal men who are skilled at destruction.31I 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.
32You'll be fuel for the conflagration. Your blood will be spilled throughout the land. You won't be remembered anymore, now that I, the LORD, have spoken."32You 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!”
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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.
Ezekiel 20
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