Babylon, the Sword of God
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop your word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, speak out against
3And say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord; Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.
4Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
5That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth My sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more.
6Sigh therefore, you son of man, with the breaking of your loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. heart; grief
7And it shall be, when they say to you, Why sigh you? that you shall answer, For the tidings; because it comes: 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 shall be brought to pass, says the Lord God. Adonaip.f. Jehovahs.f.
8Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
9Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: polished
10It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contempts the rod of My son, as every tree. severe; despises, rejects
11And he has 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.
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 your thigh. strike; against
13Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, says the Lord God. despise, reject
14You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite your 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 enter into their privy chambers. private
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. prepared
16Go you one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, wherever your face is set.
17I will also smite My hands together, and I will cause My fury to rest: I the Lord have said it.
18The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,
19Also, you son of man, appoint you two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both the two shall come forth out of one land: and choose you a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.
20Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defensed. fortified
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. predictions; idols; foretold the future
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. build a ramp
23And it shall be to 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.
24Therefore thus says the Lord God; Because youp have made yourp iniquity to be remembered, in that yourp transgressions are discovered, so that in all yourp doings yourp sins do appear; because, I say, that youp are come to remembrance, youp shall be taken with the hand.
25And you, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,
26Thus says 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. turban, headdress
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.
A Sword Against the Ammonites
28And you, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say you, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering: like lightning
29While they see vanity to you, while they divine a lie to you, to bring you upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.
30Shall I cause it to return into its sheath? I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your nativity.
31And I will pour out My indignation upon you, I will blow against you in the fire of My wrath, and deliver you into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy. brutal, stupid
32You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be no more remembered: for I the Lord have spoken it.
