Ezekiel 21:6-32

6As for you, son of man, groan with 1a 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 2news, for it is coming; and 3every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all 4knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord 5God.”

8And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Say, ‘6A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished!10Sharpened to make a 7slaughter, Polished 8to flash like lightning!’ Or shall we rejoice, the 9rod of My son 10despising 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. 1211Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the 12officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore 13slap your thigh. 13For there is a testing; and what if even the 14rod 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 15doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15so that their 16hearts will waver, and many 17fall at all their 18gates. 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 19edge is ordered. 17I will also clap My hands, and I will 20satisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

18And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 19“Now as for you, son of man, 2122make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And 23make a signpost; 24make it at the head of the way to the city. 20You shall 25mark a way for the sword to come to 26Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into 27fortified Jerusalem. 21For the king of Babylon stands at the 28parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use 29divination; he 30shakes the arrows, he consults the 3132household idols, he looks at the liver. 22Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to 33set up battering rams, to open the mouth 34for 35slaughter, 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; 36they have sworn solemn oaths. But he 37makes 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 38day has come, in the time of the 39punishment of the end,’ 26this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the 40turban and take off the 41crown; this will 42no longer be the same. 43Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. 2744Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until 45He 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 46taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it 4748consume, so that it may be like lightning-- 29while they see 49false 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 50time of the 51punishment of the end. 3052Return it to its sheath. In the 53place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31I will 54pour out My indignation on you; I will 55blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, 56craftsmen of destruction. 32You will be 5758fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will 59not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”