Ezekiel 21

1 The Lord’s word came to me.

2 “Therefore prophesy, son of man. Set your face firmly toward Jerusalem, look toward their holy places, and prophesy against Israel’s land.”

3 “Tell Israel’s land, ‘Look, I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and destroy both the unrighteous and the lawless from you.’”

4 “Because I will destroy both the unrighteous and the lawless from you, my sword will come out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north.”

5 “Everyone will know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its sheath. It will not return.”

6 “Son of man, groan until your body breaks. Groan deeply before their eyes.”

7 “When they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ answer, ‘Because of the report that is coming. Every heart will break, every hand lose its strength, every body and spirit faint, and moisture run down every thigh. Look, it is coming, says the Lord God.’”

8 The Lord’s word came to me.

9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Sword, sword, be sharpened and rage!’”

10 “‘Be sharpened to kill victims and polished for slaughter. Kill, treat with contempt, and despise every tree.’”

11 “He prepared the sword for his hand to hold. It is sharpened and ready to be placed in the killer’s hand.”

12 “Cry out and wail, son of man, because this sword has come against my people and all Israel’s leaders. They will live as strangers, for the sword has come against my people. So clap your hands.”

13 “For sentence has been passed. What if even the tribe is rejected? It will not be, says the Lord God.”

14 “Son of man, prophesy and clap your hands. Take a second sword; the third is the sword for those killed, the great sword for those killed, and it will bewilder them.”

15 “Hearts will break, and the weak will multiply at every gate. They are handed over for slaughter by the sword, which is fitted for slaughter and polished to flash.”

16 “Go on. Sharpen yourself to the right and left, wherever your face turns.”

17 “I too will clap my hands and unleash my fury. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

18 The Lord’s word came to me.

19 “Son of man, mark two roads for Babylon’s king and his sword to enter. Both will begin in one country. Place a sign at the head of each road to a city.”

20 “Mark one road for the sword to enter Rabbah of Ammon and the other for it to enter Judea and Jerusalem.”

21 “Babylon’s king will stand at the ancient road, at the fork of the two roads, to practice divination. He will toss the rod, inquire of the carved images, and examine the liver at his right hand.”

22 “The divination fell on Jerusalem: raise a mound, shout aloud, raise the battle cry, cast a mound against her gates, pile up earthworks, and set up siege engines.”

23 “It will seem like divination before them, while he recalls its wrongdoing so it will be remembered.”

24 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You caused your wrongdoings to be remembered when your ungodliness was exposed and your sins were seen in all your ungodly acts and your practices. Because you made them remembered, you will be captured through them.”

25 “You common and lawless leader of Israel, your day and end have come in a season of wrongdoing.”

26 “This is what the Lord says: You took off the turban and put on the crown. It will not stay like this. You brought low what was high and raised what was low.”

27 “Wrongdoing, wrongdoing—I will make it that. It will not remain as it is until the one to whom it belongs comes, and I will hand it over to him.”

28 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says about the people of Ammon and their taunt: Sword, sword, drawn for slaughter and destruction, awake and flash!’”

29 “‘While you see empty visions and practice false divination, you are laid on the necks of the slain among the lawless. Their day and end have come in a season of wrongdoing.’”

30 “Turn back. Do not stay in this place where you were born; I will judge you in your own land.”

31 “I will pour out my wrath on you, blow the fire of my wrath against you, and hand you over to foreign-speaking people skilled in destruction.”

32 “You will become fuel for the fire, and your blood will be shed in your own land. No one will remember you, because I, the Lord, have spoken.”