The Parable of the Lord's Sword

1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, set thy face against Jerusalem, and drop words against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 3and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. 4Seeing that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh, from the south to the north; 5and all flesh shall know that I Jehovah have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more. 6Sigh then, thou son of man; with breaking of the loins, and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. 7And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore dost thou sigh? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall languish, and all knees shall melt into water: behold, it cometh; it is here, saith the Lord Jehovah.

8And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

9Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished.

10It is sharpened for sore slaughter, it is furbished that it may glitter. Shall we then make mirth, saying, The sceptre of my son contemneth all wood?

11And he hath given it to be furbished that it may be handled. The sword, it is sharpened, and it is furbished to give it into the hand of the slayer. 12Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be against my people, it shall be against all the princes of Israel: they are given up to the sword along with my people: smite therefore upon the thigh. 13For the trial is made; and what if even the contemning sceptre shall be no more? saith the Lord Jehovah.

14And thou, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; for the strokes of the sword shall be doubled the third time: it is the sword of the slain, the sword that hath slain the great one, which encompasseth them privily. 15In order that the heart may melt, and the stumbling-blocks be multiplied, I have set the threatening sword against all their gates: ah! it is made glittering, it is whetted for the slaughter. 16Gather up strength, go to the right hand, turn thee, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is appointed. 17And I myself will smite my hands together, and I will satisfy my fury: I Jehovah have spoken it.

18And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 19And thou, son of man, set thee two ways, by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come out of one land shall they both come and make thee a signpost, make it at the head of the way to the city. 20Appoint a way for the coming of the sword to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah at the fenced city of Jerusalem. 21For the king of Babylon standeth at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh his arrows, he inquireth of the teraphim, he looketh in the liver. 22In his right hand is the lot of Jerusalem to appoint battering-rams, to open the mouth for bloodshed, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering-rams against the gates, to cast mounds, to build siege-towers. 23And this shall be a false divination in their sight, for them that have sworn oaths; but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.

24Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye make your iniquity to be remembered in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. 25And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end, 26thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre and take off the crown; what is shall be no more. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. 27I will overturn, overturn, overturn it! This also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it to him.

28And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus speaketh the Lord Jehovah concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, A sword, a sword is drawn; for the slaughter is it furbished, that it may consume, that it may glitter: 29whilst they see vanity for thee, whilst they divine a lie unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are slain, whose day is come at the time of the iniquity of the end. 30Restore it to its sheath. I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth. 31And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow upon thee the fire of my wrath, and give thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy. 32Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt not be remembered: for I Jehovah have spoken.