| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1 Then this message came to me from the LORD: | 1The word of the LORD came to me: |
| 2“Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries. | 2"Son of man, turn toward Jerusalem and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel |
| 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. | 3and say to them, 'This is what the LORD says: Look, I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. |
| 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. | 4Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone from the south to the north. |
| 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.’ | 5Then everyone will know that I am the LORD, who drew my sword from its sheath--it will not be sheathed again!' |
| 6“Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart. | 6"And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart and bitterness; groan before their eyes. |
| 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!’” | 7When they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you will reply, 'Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.' Pay attention--it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign LORD." |
| 8Then the LORD said to me, | 8The word of the LORD came to me: |
| 9“Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord: “A sword, a sword is being sharpened and polished. | 9"Son of man, prophesy and say: 'This is what the Lord says: "'A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished. |
| 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! | 10It is sharpened for slaughter, it is polished to flash like lightning! "'Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree! |
| 11Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner. | 11"'He gave it to be polished, to be grasped in the hand--the sword is sharpened, it is polished--giving it into the hand of the executioner. |
| 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! | 12Cry out and moan, son of man, for it is wielded against my people; against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people. Therefore, strike your thigh. |
| 13It will put them all to the test. What chance do they have? says the Sovereign LORD. | 13"'For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? declares the sovereign LORD.' |
| 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. | 14"And you, son of man, prophesy, and clap your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times! It is a sword for slaughter, a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them. |
| 15Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning and is polished for slaughter! | 15So hearts melt with fear and many stumble. At all their gates I have stationed the sword for slaughter. Ah! It is made to flash, it is drawn for slaughter! |
| 16O sword, slash to the right, then slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want. | 16Cut sharply on the right! Swing to the left, wherever your edge is appointed to strike. |
| 17I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Omens for Babylon’s King | 17I too will clap my hands together, I will exhaust my rage; I the LORD have spoken." |
| 18Then this message came to me from the LORD: | 18The word of the LORD came to me: |
| 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— | 19"You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon's sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. |
| 20one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem. | 20Mark out the routes for the sword to take: "Rabbah of the Ammonites" and "Judah with Jerusalem in it." |
| 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. | 21For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: He shakes arrows, he consults idols, he examines animal livers. |
| 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. | 22Into his right hand comes the portent for Jerusalem--to set up battering rams, to give the signal for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. |
| 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. | 23But those in Jerusalem will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, but the king of Babylon will accuse them of violations in order to seize them. |
| 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! | 24"Therefore this is what the sovereign LORD says: 'Because you have brought up your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. |
| 25“O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here! | 25"'As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of final punishment, |
| 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. | 26this is what the sovereign LORD says: Tear off the turban, take off the crown! Things must change! Exalt the lowly, bring down the proud! |
| 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 | 27A total ruin I will make it! It will come to an end when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.' |
| 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! | 28"As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the sovereign LORD says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; say: "'A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning-- |
| 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. | 29while seeing false visions for you and reading lying omens for you--to place that sword on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of final punishment. |
| 30“Now return the sword to its sheath, for in your own country, the land of your birth, I will pass judgment upon you. | 30Return it to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in your native land, I will judge you. |
| 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. | 31I will pour out my anger on you; the fire of my fury I will blow on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, who are skilled in destruction. |
| 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!” | 32You will become fuel for the fire--your blood will stain the middle of the land; you will no longer be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.'" |
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