Ezekiel 21

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

Suddenly, I felt a profound message from the Lord wash over me, whispering,

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

Hey there, turn your face toward Jerusalem, let your words flow against its sacred sites, and prophesy against the land of Israel.

And 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.

Speak to Israel, this is God's message: I am against you. My sword is drawn from its sheath, and I will cut off from you both the good and the bad.

Seeing 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:

Since I will cut off both the good and the bad from you, my sword will come out of its sheath against everyone, from the south to the north.

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

So everyone may understand, I, the LORD, have unsheathed my sword: it won't be put away again.

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

Grieve deeply, oh human, feel your heart shatter; let your sorrow be seen by all, let it be raw and bitter.

And 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.

When people ask why you're upset, tell them it's because of the news that's coming. Every heart will melt, every hand will go limp, every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water. It is coming, and it will surely happen, declares the Lord God.

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

Once more, I felt the divine whisper of the LORD speaking to me, saying,

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

Human child, speak the divine prophecy: The Lord declares, "Behold, a sword, a sword is honed and polished."

It 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.

The blade is honed for a terrible slaughter, polished to shine brightly. Should we then laugh? It disdains the discipline of my child, as it does every tree.

And 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.

He has prepared it for use, so it can be wielded: this blade is honed and polished, ready to be given to the one who will strike.

Cry 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.

Weep and wail, human child, for disaster is coming to my people and all of Israel's leaders. Fear of war will consume them. So, strike your thigh in grief.

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

This is a test, and what if even the sword disdains the staff? It will cease to exist, declares the Lord God.

Thou 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.

So, human, speak out and clap your hands in urgency. Let the sword strike thrice, the sword that brings death. It's the weapon that kills the mighty, invading their most private spaces.

I 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.

I've aimed the sharp edge of conflict at every entrance, so their hearts may tremble and their destruction multiply. Alas! It's been polished, prepared for the devastation.

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

Slash to the right, strike to the left, wherever your edge is turned.

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

I, the Lord, declare that I too will clap my hands together, and I will satisfy my fury. I have spoken.

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

Once more, I felt the divine whisper of the LORD, gently speaking to me, saying,

Also, 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.

You, human, prepare two paths for the king of Babylon's sword to arrive from the same land. Choose a spot, preferably at the city's entrance.

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

Mark out one path for the sword to come against Rabbath of the Ammonites, and another for it to come against Judah, against fortified Jerusalem.

For 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.

The Babylonian king stood at life's crossroads, torn between two paths. He sought guidance through mystical rituals: he polished his arrows, sought wisdom from idols, and read omens in a liver.

At 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.

In his right hand came the omen for Jerusalem. It called for him to appoint commanders, to order the slaughter, to raise battle cries, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a siege ramp, and to put up siege works against the city.

And 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.

They will see it as a misguided prophecy, those who have made promises. Yet, their wrongdoings will be brought to light, leading to their downfall.

Therefore 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.

So says the Lord God; because you've let your wrongdoings be known and your sins are evident in all your actions, you've drawn attention to yourselves. Therefore, you will be seized and taken captive.

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

You, unholy and evil ruler of Israel, your time is up. The day when your wrongdoings will finally cease has arrived.

Thus 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.

The Lord God commands, "Lay down your crown, for things are about to change. Lift up the humble, and humble the proud."

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

I will overturn it, overturn it, overturn it into ruin, and it will be no more, until the rightful one arrives. Then I will hand it over to him.

And 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:

You, human, speak God's words about the Ammonites and their disrespect. Say this: The sword is out, ready for battle. It's sharpened and gleaming, prepared to bring destruction.

Whiles 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.

While they feed you illusions and deceive you with lies, they aim to place you among the fallen, the wicked whose time is up, and whose wrongdoings will soon meet their end.

Shall 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.

Should I let it go back into its sheath? I will judge you right where you were born and raised.

And 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.

I will unleash my fury on you, my anger will burn like fire, and I will hand you over to ruthless men, experts in destruction.

Thou 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.

You'll be consumed by the flames, your life essence spilled across the earth, forgotten forever, for this is the decree of the Lord.