Ezekiel 21

Parable of the Sword of the Lord

11And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, 2set your face against Jerusalem, and 34speak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, 5I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the 6righteous and the wicked. 4Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against 78humanity from south to north. 5So 9humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will 10not return to its sheath again.”’ 6As for you, son of man, groan with 11a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. 7And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the 12news, for it is coming; and 13every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all 14knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord 15God.”

8And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Say, ‘16A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished!10Sharpened to make a 17slaughter, Polished 18to flash like lightning!’ Or shall we rejoice, the 19rod of My son 20despising every tree? 11And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer. 1221Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the 22officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore 23slap your thigh. 13For there is a testing; and what if even the 24rod which despises will cease to be?” declares the Lord God.

14“You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be 25doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15so that their 26hearts will waver, and many 27fall at all their 28gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter. 16Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your 29edge is ordered. 17I will also clap My hands, and I will 30satisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Instrument of God’s Judgment

18And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 19“Now as for you, son of man, 3132make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And 33make a signpost; 34make it at the head of the way to the city. 20You shall 35mark a way for the sword to come to 36Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into 37fortified Jerusalem. 21For the king of Babylon stands at the 38parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use 39divination; he 40shakes the arrows, he consults the 4142household idols, he looks at the liver. 22Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to 43set up battering rams, to open the mouth 44for 45slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall. 23And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; 46they have sworn solemn oaths. But he 47makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.

24“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen--because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand. 25And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose 48day has come, in the time of the 49punishment of the end,’ 26this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the 50turban and take off the 51crown; this will 52no longer be the same. 53Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. 2754Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until 55He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’

28“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the sons of Ammon and their 56taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it 5758consume, so that it may be like lightning-- 29while they see 59false visions for you, while they divine lies for you--to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the 60time of the 61punishment of the end. 3062Return it to its sheath. In the 63place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31I will 64pour out My indignation on you; I will 65blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, 66craftsmen of destruction. 32You will be 6768fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will 69not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”