Eze 21 | NASB2020 | 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 against Jerusalem, and ^{▼▼Lit flow} ^dspeak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, ^eI am against you; and I will draw My sword from 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 out from its sheath against ^{▼▼Lit all flesh} ^hhumanity from south to north. 5 So ^{▼▼Lit all flesh}humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will ^jnot return to its sheath again.”’ 6 As for you, son of man, groan with ^{▼▼Lit shaking hips}a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. 7 And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the ^lnews, for it is coming; and ^mevery heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all ^{▼▼Heb idiom meaning to wet oneself}knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch}God.”

8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Say,
‘ ^pA sword, a sword sharpened
And also polished!
10 ‘Sharpened to make a ^qslaughter,
Polished ^{▼▼Lit that lightning may be to her}to flash like lightning!’

Or shall we rejoice, the ^{▼▼Or scepter}rod of My son ^tdespising every tree? 11 And 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. 12 ^uCry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the ^vofficials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore ^{▼▼I.e., in grief}slap your thigh. 13 For there is a testing; and what if even the ^{▼▼Or scepter}rod 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 ^ydoubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15 so that their ^zhearts will waver, and many ^aafall at all their ^abgates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter. 16 Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your ^{▼▼Lit face}edge is ordered. 17 I will also clap My hands, and I will ^adsatisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Instrument of God’s Judgment

18 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 19 “Now 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 up battering rams, to open the mouth ^{▼▼Lit in}for ^{▼▼Another reading is war-cry}slaughter, 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. 23 And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; ^atthey have sworn solemn oaths. But he ^aumakes 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. 25 And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose ^avday has come, in the time of the ^{▼▼Or wrongdoing}punishment of the end,’ 26 this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the ^{▼▼Or headband}turban and take off the ^aycrown; this will ^{▼▼Lit not this}no longer be the same. ^baExalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. 27 ^bbRuins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until ^bcHe 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 ^bdtaunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it ^{▼▼Lit finish} ^bfconsume, so that it may be like lightning-- 29 while they see ^bgfalse 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 ^bhtime of the ^{▼▼Or wrongdoing}punishment of the end. 30 ^bjReturn it to its sheath. In the ^bkplace where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 I will ^blpour out My indignation on you; I will ^bmblow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, ^bncraftsmen of destruction. 32 You will be ^{▼▼Lit food} ^bpfuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will ^bqnot be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”