| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1The word of the LORD came to me: | 1The word of the LORD came to me: |
| 2“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel | 2"Son of man, turn toward Jerusalem and speak out against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel |
| 3and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. | 3and say to them, 'This is what the LORD says: Look, 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 will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. | 4Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will go out from its sheath against everyone from the south to the north. |
| 5And all flesh shall know that I am the LORD. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again. | 5Then everyone will know that I am the LORD, who drew my sword from its sheath--it will not be sheathed again!' |
| 6“As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. | 6"And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart and bitterness; groan before their eyes. |
| 7And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord GOD. | 7When they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you will reply, 'Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.' Pay attention--it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign LORD." |
| 8And the word of the LORD came to me: | 8The word of the LORD came to me: |
| 9“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: “A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished, | 9"Son of man, prophesy and say: 'This is what the Lord says: "'A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished. |
| 10sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! (Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.) | 10It is sharpened for slaughter, it is polished to flash like lightning! "'Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree! |
| 11So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer. | 11"'He gave it to be polished, to be grasped in the hand--the sword is sharpened, it is polished--giving it into the hand of the executioner. |
| 12Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh. | 12Cry out and moan, son of man, for it is wielded against my people; against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people. Therefore, strike your thigh. |
| 13For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise the rod?” declares the Lord GOD. | 13"'For testing will come, and what will happen when the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? declares the sovereign LORD.' |
| 14“As for you, son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, three times, the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them, | 14"And you, son of man, prophesy, and clap your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times! It is a sword for slaughter, a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them. |
| 15that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; it is taken up for slaughter. | 15So hearts melt with fear and many stumble. At all their gates I have stationed the sword for slaughter. Ah! It is made to flash, it is drawn for slaughter! |
| 16Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. | 16Cut sharply on the right! Swing to the left, wherever your edge is appointed to strike. |
| 17I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the LORD have spoken.” | 17I too will clap my hands together, I will exhaust my rage; I the LORD have spoken." |
| 18The word of the LORD came to me again: | 18The word of the LORD came to me: |
| 19“As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city. | 19"You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon's sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. |
| 20Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified. | 20Mark out the routes for the sword to take: "Rabbah of the Ammonites" and "Judah with Jerusalem in it." |
| 21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver. | 21For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: He shakes arrows, he consults idols, he examines animal livers. |
| 22Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. | 22Into his right hand comes the portent for Jerusalem--to set up battering rams, to give the signal for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. |
| 23But to them it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken. | 23But those in Jerusalem will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, but the king of Babylon will accuse them of violations in order to seize them. |
| 24“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. | 24"Therefore this is what the sovereign LORD says: 'Because you have brought up your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force. |
| 25And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment, | 25"'As for you, profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of final punishment, |
| 26thus says the Lord GOD: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted. | 26this is what the sovereign LORD says: Tear off the turban, take off the crown! Things must change! Exalt the lowly, bring down the proud! |
| 27A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him. | 27A total ruin I will make it! It will come to an end when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.' |
| 28“And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning— | 28"As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the sovereign LORD says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; say: "'A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning-- |
| 29while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment. | 29while seeing false visions for you and reading lying omens for you--to place that sword on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of final punishment. |
| 30Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. | 30Return it to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in your native land, I will judge you. |
| 31And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy. | 31I will pour out my anger on you; the fire of my fury I will blow on you. I will hand you over to brutal men, who are skilled in destruction. |
| 32You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I the LORD have spoken.” | 32You will become fuel for the fire--your blood will stain the middle of the land; you will no longer be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.'" |
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