The Sword of the Lord: Judgment on Jerusalem and the Nations
Ezekiel 21:1-32
1The word of the LORD came to me, saying:2Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, drip toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy toward the land of Israel.3Say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.4Because I have cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword shall go forth from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north.5All flesh shall know that I am the LORD; I have brought my sword out of its sheath, and it shall not return again.6And you, son of man, sigh with a breaking of the loins; with bitterness you shall sigh before their eyes.7And it shall be, when they say to you, On account of what are you sighing? that you shall say, Because of the news that is coming; every heart will melt, and every hand will go slack, and every spirit will faint, and all knees will turn to water. Behold, it comes and it will be, declares the Lord GOD.8The word of the LORD came to me, saying:9Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the LORD: A sword, a sword, sharpened and also polished.10It is sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning, or shall we rejoice over the scepter of my son that rejects every tree?11He gave it to be polished, to be grasped by the hand; the sword has been sharpened and polished to be placed in the hand of the slayer.12Cry out and wail, son of man, for the sword has come upon my people and upon all the princes of Israel. They are delivered to the sword with my people; therefore strike your thigh.13For it is a test; and what if the scepter that rejects should not be? declares the Lord GOD.14Son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together; let the sword strike twice, even three times; it is the sword of the slain, the great sword of slaughter that surrounds them.15So that hearts may melt and many may stumble at all their gates, I have appointed the slaughter of the sword. Ah, it is made for flashing lightning, sharpened for slaughter.16Turn to either side, go to the right or set your course to the left; wherever your face is directed.17I also will strike my hands together and satisfy my wrath; I the LORD have spoken.18The word of the LORD came to me, saying:19Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take; both will come from the same land. Mark a signpost at the head of the city road; mark out a way.20Set the way for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and against Judah in fortified Jerusalem.21The king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road, at the head of the two ways, to practice divination; he shakes the arrows, consults the teraphim, and examines the liver.22The divination for Jerusalem falls to his right: to set up battering rams, to open mouths in the slaughter, to lift the voice in the battle cry, to station rams against the gates, to heap up a siege ramp, and to build a siege wall.23It will seem to them like false divination; though they have sworn oaths, he will call their iniquity to mind so that they may be captured.24Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have called your iniquity to remembrance by uncovering your transgressions so that your sins appear in all your wanton acts, because you have been remembered, you will be captured.25And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come at the time when iniquity reaches its end.26Thus says the Lord GOD: Remove the turban and take off the crown; this shall not be this; exalt the low and bring low the high.27Ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it; and it shall not be restored until he comes to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.28And you, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach: A sword, a sword is drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to be lightning.29Because false visions have been seen for you and lying divinations spoken, you will be placed among the necks of the wicked slain whose day has come when iniquity reaches its end.30Return the sword to its sheath in the place where you were created, in the land of your origin; there I will judge you.31I will pour out my indignation upon you; with the fire of my fury I will blow against you and deliver you into the hands of brutal men, skilled in destruction.32You will become fuel for the fire; your blood will be shed in the land; you will not be remembered, for I the LORD have spoken.