Ezekiel 21

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

1The LORD spoke to me. He said:

2Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,

2Son of man, that is what God called Ezekiel, turn and face Jerusalem. Speak against its holy places. Speak against the land of Israel for me.

3And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

3Say to the land of Israel: This is what the LORD says. I am against you. I will pull my sword out of its cover. I will cut off from you both good people and bad people.

4Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:

4Because I will cut off both the good and the bad, my sword will come out against everyone. It will strike from the south to the north.

5That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.

5Then everyone will know that I, the LORD, have drawn my sword. I will not put it away again.

6Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

6So groan, son of man. Groan where they can see you. Groan with a broken heart and deep sadness.

7And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.

7They will ask you, "Why are you groaning?" Then say, "Because of the news that is coming." Every heart will melt. Every hand will hang down weak. Every spirit will grow faint. Every knee will be as weak as water. It is coming, and it will happen, says the Lord GOD.

8Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

8The LORD spoke to me again. He said:

9Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:

9Son of man, speak for me. Say what the Lord says: A sword, a sword! It has been sharpened and polished.

10It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.

10It is sharp so it can kill many. It is polished so it flashes like lightning. Should we be glad? The sword makes nothing of my son's royal staff, or any stick.

NoteThe "rod" or royal staff was a special stick a king held to show he was the ruler.

11And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

11The sword was given to be polished and held. It is sharp and shining. It is put into the killer's hand.

12Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.

12Cry out and wail, son of man. The sword is against my people. It is against all the leaders of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. So hit your leg.

NoteHitting your leg was a way people showed deep sadness, like crying or covering your face.

13Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.

13A hard testing is coming. What if even the royal staff does not last? says the Lord GOD.

14Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.

14So, son of man, speak for me and clap your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword that kills. It is a sword for great killing. It closes in from every side.

15I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.

15I have set a sword at all their gates. Their hearts will melt, and many will fall. Look, it is polished to flash. It is ready to kill.

16Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.

16Cut to the right, sword. Then turn to the left. Go wherever you are pointed.

17I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.

17I will clap my hands together too. Then my anger will rest. I, the LORD, have said it.

18The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,

18The LORD spoke to me again. He said:

19Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

19Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon. Both roads start from the same land. Put a sign where the road splits toward each city.

20Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.

20Mark one road for the sword to reach Rabbah, a city of the Ammonites. Mark another road to Judah, to the walled city of Jerusalem.

21For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.

21The king of Babylon stops where the road splits. He wants a sign to show him which way to go. He shakes his arrows. He asks his idols. He looks at an animal's liver.

NoteShaking arrows, asking idols, and looking at an animal's liver were ways people tried to learn what would happen next.

22At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.

22The sign in his right hand points to Jerusalem. There he will set up logs to smash the gates. He will call for the killing and raise a war shout. He will pile up dirt ramps and build walls around the city.

23And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.

23The people who promised to obey him will think the sign is false. But it will make people remember their guilt. Then they will be taken away.

24Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.

24So the Lord GOD says: You have made people remember your guilt. Your wrongs are out in the open. Your sins show in everything you do. Because you are remembered, you will be seized.

25And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,

25And you, wicked ruler of Israel, you treat holy things as if they were nothing. Your day has come. It is time for your last punishment.

26Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.

26This is what the Lord GOD says: Take off the turban. Take off the crown. Things will not stay as they are. The low will be lifted up. The high will be brought down.

NoteThe "diadem" was a cloth headdress a leader wore. Taking it off meant he was no longer in charge.

27I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

27A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it! It will not be built up again. It will stay that way until the one comes who has the right to it. I will give it to him.

28And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:

28Son of man, speak for me about the Ammonites and their mean words. Say what the Lord GOD says: A sword! A sword is pulled out. It is polished to kill and to flash like lightning.

29Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.

29People give you false visions and tell you lies about the future. The sword will fall on the necks of wicked men who are killed. Their day has come. It is time for their last punishment.

30Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.

30Should the sword go back into its cover? No. I will judge you in the place where you were made. I will judge you in the land where you were born.

31And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.

31I will pour out my anger on you. I will blow on you with the fire of my anger. I will hand you over to cruel men who are good at destroying.

32Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the LORD have spoken it.

32You will be like wood burned in a fire. Your blood will soak your own land. No one will remember you. I, the LORD, have said it.