Ezekiel 21:1-17

11The 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.

3Say 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.

4I 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.

5Then 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.”

6So now, son of man, cry aloud. Let the people see how sad and upset you are.

7They 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.’

8The 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.

10It 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.

11Now 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.”

12Cry 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.

13I 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.

14So 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.

15So 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!

16My sword, attack quickly on your right side! Now turn and attack on your left side! Attack in every direction that you turn!

17Then I, too, will clap my hands together. Finally, my anger will finish. I, the Lord, have spoken.’