New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1 Then this message came to me from the LORD:

1And the word of the LORD came to me saying,

2“Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries.

2"Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and speak against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel;

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.

3and say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am against you; and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.

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.

4"Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.

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.’

5"Thus all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again."'

6“Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart.

6"As for you, son of man, groan with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight.

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!’”

7"And when they say to you, 'Why do you groan?' you shall say, 'Because of the news that is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will happen,' declares the Lord GOD."

8Then the LORD said to me,

8Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

9“Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord: “A sword, a sword is being sharpened and polished.

9"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD.' Say, 'A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished!

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!

10'Sharpened to make a slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning!' Or shall we rejoice, the rod of My son despising every tree?

11Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner.

11"It is given to be polished, that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

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!

12"Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the officials of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people, therefore strike your thigh.

13It will put them all to the test. What chance do they have? says the Sovereign LORD.

13"For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will be no more?" declares the Lord GOD.

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.

14"You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them,

15Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning and is polished for slaughter!

15that their hearts may melt, and many fall at all their gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter.

16O sword, slash to the right, then slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want.

16"Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is appointed.

17I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Omens for Babylon’s King

17"I will also clap My hands together, and I will appease My wrath; I, the LORD, have spoken."

18Then this message came to me from the LORD:

18The word of the LORD came to me saying,

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—

19"As for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city.

20one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem.

20"You shall mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem.

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.

21"For 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 household idols, he looks at the liver.

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.

22"Into his right hand came the divination, 'Jerusalem,' to set battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall.

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.

23"And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; they have sworn solemn oaths. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized.

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!

24"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have made your iniquity 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 will be seized with the hand.

25“O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here!

25'And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end,'

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.

26thus says the Lord GOD, 'Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high.

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

27A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.'

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!

28"And you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach,' and say: 'A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it to consume, that it may be like lightning--

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.

29while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you-- to place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end.

30“Now return the sword to its sheath, for in your own country, the land of your birth, I will pass judgment upon you.

30Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you.

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.

31'I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, skilled in destruction.

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!”

32'You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.'"

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.

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org