Ezekiel

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

Son of man, set your face toward the south, and drop a [word] toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field.

And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD. So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall burn up every green tree in you, and every dry tree among you. The flaming flame shall not be put out, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned in it.

And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it. It shall not be put out.

And I said, Ah Lord Jehovah! They say of me, Does he not speak parables?

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

Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop [a word] toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel.

And say to the land of Israel, So says the LORD: Behold, I [am] against you, and will draw out My sword out of its sheath and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.

Since then I will cut off the righteous and the wicked from you, therefore My sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north,

so that all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn out My sword from its sheath. It shall not return any more.

And you, son of man, groan with the breaking of [your] loins; and grown with bitterness before their eyes.

And it will be when they say to you, Why do you groan? You shall answer, Because of the news [that] it is coming; 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 comes, and it shall be, says the Lord Jehovah.

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

Son of man, prophesy and say, So says the LORD. Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished.

It is sharpened in order to slaughter; it is polished so that there may be a flash to it. Or shall we rejoice? You are despising the rod of My son, [as if it were] every tree.

And He has given it to be polished, to be taken by the hand. The sword, it is sharpened, and it it polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

Cry and howl, son of man; for it [shall be] on My people; it [shall be] on all the rulers of Israel. They are thrown to the sword with My people; Therefore slap [your] thigh.

Because [it is] a trial, and what if even the despising rod shall not be? says the Lord Jehovah.

And you, son of man, prophesy and strike [your] hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain. It [is] the sword of the slain, the great one that surrounds them;

so that [their] heart may melt, and many stumble at all [their] gates. I have given the threatening sword. Ah! It is made like lightning; it is wrapped for a slaughter.

Sharpen yourself on the right! Set yourself on the left, wherever your face is set.

And also I, I will also strike My hands together, and I will cause My fury to rest. I the LORD have spoken.

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

And you, son of man, set for yourself two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. Both of them shall come out of one land. And create a hand at the head of the way to the city; create it.

You shall set a way that the sword may enter [into] Rabbah of the Ammonites, and [into] Judah, into fortified Jerusalem.

For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.

At his right shall be the divining [for] Jerusalem, to set [battering] rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering-rams against the gates, to pour out and to build a siege wall.

And it shall be to them an empty divining before their eyes, those who have sworn oaths to them. But He will remember iniquity, that they may be taken.

So the Lord Jehovah says this: Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, in that your sins are revealed in all your deeds; because you have been remembered, you shall be taken with the hand.

And you, O slain, wicked king of Israel, of whom has come his day in the time of iniquity of the end.

So says the Lord Jehovah: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown. This [shall] not [be] as it was. Lift up the low one, and put down the high one.

And you, son of man, prophesy and say, So says the Lord Jehovah concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their shame. Even say: The sword, the sword [is] drawn, polished for slaughter to make an end, that [it may be] like lightning;

while they see false visions for you, while they divine a lie to you, to put you on the necks of the slain of the wicked whose day has come in the day of iniquity; [it shall have] an end.

Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.

And I will pour out My disgust on you; with the fire of My wrath I will blow against you, and give you into the hand of burning men, able to destroy.

You shall be for food to the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be remembered no [more]; for I the LORD have spoken.