Ezekiel 21:1-11 ▼

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

2 Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and look at their holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel.

3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD God: Behold, I am against you; I will draw my sword out of its sheath and will destroy from you the righteous and the sinner.

4 Seeing then that I will destroy from you the righteous and the sinner, therefore my sword shall go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north,

5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.

6 And as for you, O Son of man, sigh with a broken heart, and with bitterness groan before their eyes.

7 And if they should say to you, Why do you sigh? you shall say to them, Because of news of disaster which is coming; and every heart shall melt and all hands shall be feeble and every spirit shall faint and all knees shall be weary; behold, it is coming and it shall be brought to pass, says the LORD God.

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

9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the LORD God: A sword, a sword is sharpened;

10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is burnished that it may glitter; and it is sharpened to cut off the family of my son; and to reject every other branch.

11 I have given it to be burnished, that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished to deliver it into the hand of the slayer.