| New International Version | New Living Translation |
| 1The word of the LORD came to me: | 1 Then this message came to me from the LORD: |
| 2"Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel | 2“Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries. |
| 3and say to her: 'This is what the LORD says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. | 3Tell her, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people—the righteous and the wicked alike. |
| 4Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. | 4Yes, I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked! I will draw my sword against everyone in the land from south to north. |
| 5Then all people will know that I the LORD have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.' | 5Everyone in the world will know that I am the LORD. My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished.’ |
| 6"Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. | 6“Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart. |
| 7And when they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you shall say, 'Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.' It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD." | 7When they ask why you are groaning, tell them, ‘I groan because of the terrifying news I have heard. When it comes true, the boldest heart will melt with fear; all strength will disappear. Every spirit will faint; strong knees will become as weak as water. And the Sovereign LORD says: It is coming! It’s on its way!’” |
| 8The word of the LORD came to me: | 8Then the LORD said to me, |
| 9"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the Lord says: "'A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished-- | 9“Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord: “A sword, a sword is being sharpened and polished. |
| 10sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! "'Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick. | 10It is sharpened for terrible slaughter and polished to flash like lightning! Now will you laugh? Those far stronger than you have fallen beneath its power! |
| 11"'The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer. | 11Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for 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 thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast. | 12“Son of man, cry out and wail; pound your thighs in anguish, for that sword will slaughter my people and their leaders— everyone will die! |
| 13"'Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign LORD.' | 13It will put them all to the test. What chance do they have? says the Sovereign LORD. |
| 14"So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times. It is a sword for slaughter-- a sword for great slaughter, closing in on them from every side. | 14“Son of man, prophesy to them and clap your hands. Then take the sword and brandish it twice, even three times, to symbolize the great massacre, the great massacre facing them on every side. |
| 15So that hearts may melt with fear and the fallen be many, I have stationed the sword for slaughter at all their gates. Look! It is forged to strike like lightning, it is grasped for slaughter. | 15Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning and is polished for slaughter! |
| 16Slash to the right, you sword, then to the left, wherever your blade is turned. | 16O sword, slash to the right, then slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want. |
| 17I too will strike my hands together, and my wrath will subside. I the LORD have spoken." | 17I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Omens for Babylon’s King |
| 18The word of the LORD came to me: | 18Then this message came to me from the LORD: |
| 19"Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city. | 19“Son of man, make a map and trace two routes on it for the sword of Babylon’s king to follow. Put a signpost on the road that comes out of Babylon where the road forks into two— |
| 20Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. | 20one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem. |
| 21For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. | 21The king of Babylon now stands at the fork, uncertain whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbah. He calls his magicians to look for omens. They cast lots by shaking arrows from the quiver. They inspect the livers of animal sacrifices. |
| 22Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. | 22The omen in his right hand says, ‘Jerusalem!’ With battering rams his soldiers will go against the gates, shouting for the kill. They will put up siege towers and build ramps against the walls. |
| 23It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive. | 23The people of Jerusalem will think it is a false omen, because of their treaty with the Babylonians. But the king of Babylon will remind the people of their rebellion. Then he will attack and capture them. |
| 24"Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do--because you have done this, you will be taken captive. | 24“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Again and again you remind me of your sin and your guilt. You don’t even try to hide it! In everything you do, your sins are obvious for all to see. So now the time of your punishment has come! |
| 25"'You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, | 25“O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here! |
| 26this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low. | 26This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Take off your jeweled crown, for the old order changes. Now the lowly will be exalted, and the mighty will be brought down. |
| 27A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.' | 27Destruction! Destruction! I will surely destroy the kingdom. And it will not be restored until the one appears who has the right to judge it. Then I will hand it over to him. A Message for the Ammonites |
| 28"And you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says about the Ammonites and their insults: "'A sword, a sword, drawn for the slaughter, polished to consume and to flash like lightning! | 28“And now, son of man, prophesy concerning the Ammonites and their mockery. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: “A sword, a sword is drawn for your slaughter. It is polished to destroy, flashing like lightning! |
| 29Despite false visions concerning you and lying divinations about you, it will be laid on the necks of the wicked who are to be slain, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax. | 29Your prophets have given false visions, and your fortune-tellers have told lies. The sword will fall on the necks of the wicked for whom the day of final reckoning has come. |
| 30"'Let the sword return to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your ancestry, I will judge you. | 30“Now return the sword to its sheath, for in your own country, the land of your birth, I will pass judgment upon you. |
| 31I will pour out my wrath on you and breathe out my fiery anger against you; I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, men skilled in destruction. | 31I will pour out my fury on you and blow on you with the fire of my anger. I will hand you over to cruel men who are skilled in destruction. |
| 32You will be fuel for the fire, your blood will be shed in your land, you will be remembered no more; for I the LORD have spoken.'" | 32You will be fuel for the fire, and your blood will be spilled in your own land. You will be utterly wiped out, your memory lost to history, for I, the LORD, have spoken!” |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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