Eze 21 | NASB1995 | STEP | And the word of the Lord came to me saying ,

‏ Ezekiel 21

Parable of the Sword of the Lord

1 ^{▼▼ Ch 21:6 in Heb}And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, ^bset your face toward Jerusalem, and ^{▼▼ Lit flow
,} ^dspeak against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, ^eI am against you; and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the ^frighteous and the wicked. 4 “Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go forth from its sheath against ^gall flesh from south to north. 5 “Thus all flesh will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath. It will ^hnot return to its sheath again.”’ 6 “As for you, son of man, groan with breaking ^{▼▼ Lit loins}heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 7 “And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the ^jnews that is coming; and ^kevery heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will ^{▼▼ Lit be dim}faint and all knees will ^{▼▼ Lit flow}be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will happen,’ declares the Lord ^{▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord , and so throughout the ch}God.”

8 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord.’ Say, ‘ ^oA sword, a sword sharpened
And also polished!
10 ‘Sharpened to make a ^pslaughter,
Polished ^{▼▼ Lit lightning to be to her}to flash like lightning!’
Or shall we rejoice, the ^{▼▼ Or scepter}rod of My son ^sdespising every tree?

11 “It is given to be polished, that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. 12 ^t“Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the ^uofficials of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people, therefore strike your thigh. 13 “For there is a testing; and what if even the ^{▼▼ Or scepter}rod which despises will be no more?” declares the Lord God.

14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together; and let the sword be ^wdoubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15 that their ^xhearts may melt, and many ^yfall at all their ^zgates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter. 16 ^{▼▼ Or Unite yourself}“Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your ^{▼▼ Lit face}edge is appointed. 17 “I will also clap My hands together, and I will ^{▼▼ Lit cause to rest
,} ^adappease My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Instrument of God’s Judgment

18 The word of the Lord came to me saying, 19 “As for you, son of man, ^{▼▼ Or set for yourself
,} ^afmake two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And ^{▼▼ Lit cut out a hand}make a signpost; ^{▼▼ Lit cut it}make it at the head of the way to the city. 20 “You shall ^{▼▼ Lit set}mark a way for the sword to come to ^ajRabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into ^akfortified Jerusalem. 21 “For the king of Babylon stands at the ^{▼▼ Lit mother}parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use ^amdivination; he ^anshakes the arrows, he consults the ^{▼▼ Heb teraphim
,} ^aphousehold idols, he looks at the liver. 22 “Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to ^aqset battering rams, to open the mouth ^{▼▼ Lit in}for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall. 23 “And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; ^asthey have sworn solemn oaths. But he ^atbrings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized.

24 “Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear— because you have come to remembrance, you will be seized with the hand. 25 ‘And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose ^auday has come, in the time of the ^{▼▼ Or iniquity}punishment of the end,’ 26 thus says the Lord God, ‘Remove the turban and take off the ^awcrown; this will ^{▼▼ Lit not this}no longer be the same. ^ayExalt that which is low and abase that which is high. 27 ‘ ^azA ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until ^baHe comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’

28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their ^bbreproach,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it ^{▼▼ Lit to finish}to ^bdconsume, that it may be like lightning— 29 while they see for you ^befalse visions, while they divine lies for you— to place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the ^bftime of the ^{▼▼ Or iniquity}punishment of the end. 30 ‘ ^bhReturn it to its sheath. In the ^biplace where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 ‘I will ^bjpour out My indignation on you; I will ^bkblow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, ^{▼▼ Or artisans of
,} ^bmskilled in destruction. 32 ‘You will be ^{▼▼ Lit food
,} ^bofuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will ^bpnot be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”