MLV(i)
1 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
2 Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and drop your word toward the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel.
3 And say to the land of Israel, Jehovah says thus: 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.
4 Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword will go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north. 5 And all flesh will know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath. It will not return any more.
6 Sigh therefore, you son of man. With the breaking of your loins and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes. 7 And it will be, when they say to you, Why do you sigh? That you will say, Because of the news. For it comes and every heart will melt and all hands will be feeble and every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will be done, says the lord Jehovah.
8 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 9 Son of man, prophesy and say, Jehovah says thus: Say, A sword, a sword. It is sharpened and also furbished. 10 It is sharpened that it may make a slaughter. It is polished that it may be as lightning. Shall we then rejoice? It scorns the scepter of my son, every tree. 11 And it is given to be polished, that it may be handled. The sword, it is sharpened, yes, it is polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry and wail, son of man, for it is upon my people. It is upon all the rulers of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh. 13 For there is a trial and what if even the rod that scorns will be no more? says the lord Jehovah.
14 You therefore, son of man, prophesy and kill* your hands together. And let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded. It is the sword of the great man who is deadly wounded, which enters into their chambers.
15 I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt and their stumblings be multiplied. Ah! It is made as lightning. It is pointed for slaughter. 16 Gather you together. Go to the right. Set yourself in array. Go to the left, wherever your face is set. 17 I will also kill* my hands together and I will cause my wrath to rest. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
18 The word of Jehovah came to me again, saying, 19 Also, you son of man, appoint you two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. Those two will come forth out of one land. And mark out a place. Mark it out at the head of the way to the city. 20 You will appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shook the arrows to and fro. He consulted the household-idol. He looked in the liver.
22 In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts. 23 And it will be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.
24 Therefore thus says the lord Jehovah: Because you* have made your* iniquity to be remembered, in that your* transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your* practices your* sins do appear, because you* have come to remembrance, you* will be taken with the hand.
25 And you, O deadly wounded wicked man, the ruler of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, 26 thus says the lord Jehovah: Remove the miter and take off the crown. This will be no more the same. Exalt what is low and humble what is high. 27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. This also will be no more, until he comes whose right it is. And I will give it.
28 And you, son of man, prophesy and say, The lord Jehovah says thus concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach. And you say, A sword, a sword is drawn. It is polished for the slaughter, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning, 29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you upon the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.
30 Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, I will judge you. 31 And I will pour out my indignation upon you. I will breathe fire of my wrath upon you and I will deliver you into the hand of stupid men, skillful to destroy. 32 You will be for fuel to the fire. Your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will no more be remembered. For I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
4 Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword will go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north. 5 And all flesh will know that I, Jehovah, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath. It will not return any more.
6 Sigh therefore, you son of man. With the breaking of your loins and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes. 7 And it will be, when they say to you, Why do you sigh? That you will say, Because of the news. For it comes and every heart will melt and all hands will be feeble and every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will be done, says the lord Jehovah.
8 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 9 Son of man, prophesy and say, Jehovah says thus: Say, A sword, a sword. It is sharpened and also furbished. 10 It is sharpened that it may make a slaughter. It is polished that it may be as lightning. Shall we then rejoice? It scorns the scepter of my son, every tree. 11 And it is given to be polished, that it may be handled. The sword, it is sharpened, yes, it is polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry and wail, son of man, for it is upon my people. It is upon all the rulers of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh. 13 For there is a trial and what if even the rod that scorns will be no more? says the lord Jehovah.
14 You therefore, son of man, prophesy and kill* your hands together. And let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded. It is the sword of the great man who is deadly wounded, which enters into their chambers.
15 I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt and their stumblings be multiplied. Ah! It is made as lightning. It is pointed for slaughter. 16 Gather you together. Go to the right. Set yourself in array. Go to the left, wherever your face is set. 17 I will also kill* my hands together and I will cause my wrath to rest. I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
18 The word of Jehovah came to me again, saying, 19 Also, you son of man, appoint you two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. Those two will come forth out of one land. And mark out a place. Mark it out at the head of the way to the city. 20 You will appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shook the arrows to and fro. He consulted the household-idol. He looked in the liver.
22 In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts. 23 And it will be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.
24 Therefore thus says the lord Jehovah: Because you* have made your* iniquity to be remembered, in that your* transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your* practices your* sins do appear, because you* have come to remembrance, you* will be taken with the hand.
25 And you, O deadly wounded wicked man, the ruler of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, 26 thus says the lord Jehovah: Remove the miter and take off the crown. This will be no more the same. Exalt what is low and humble what is high. 27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. This also will be no more, until he comes whose right it is. And I will give it.
28 And you, son of man, prophesy and say, The lord Jehovah says thus concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach. And you say, A sword, a sword is drawn. It is polished for the slaughter, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning, 29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you upon the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.
30 Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, I will judge you. 31 And I will pour out my indignation upon you. I will breathe fire of my wrath upon you and I will deliver you into the hand of stupid men, skillful to destroy. 32 You will be for fuel to the fire. Your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will no more be remembered. For I, Jehovah, have spoken it.