21Then this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 2“Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries.H1121H120H7760H6440H3389H5197H4720H5012H127H3478 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.H559H127H3478H559H3068H3318H2719H8593H3772H6662H7563 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.H3282H3772H6662H7563H2719H3318H8593H1320H5045H6828 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.’H1320H3045H3068H3318H2719H8593H7725 6“Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart.H584H1121H120H7670H4975H4814H584H5869 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!’”H559H584H559H8052H935H3820H4549H3027H7503H7307H3543H1290H3212H4325H935H1961H5002H136H3069 8Then the Lord said to me,H1697H3068H559 9“Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord. “A sword, a sword is being sharpened and polished.H1121H120H5012H559H559H3068H559H2719H2719H2300H4803 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!H2300H2874H2873H4178H1300H176H7797H3988H7626H1121H6086 11Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner.H5414H4803H3709H8610H2719H2300H4178H5414H3027H2026 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!H2199H3213H1121H120H5971H5387H3478H4048H413H2719H5971H5606H3409 13It will put them all to the test. What chance do they have? says the Sovereign Lord.H974H3988H7626H5002H136H3069 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.H1121H120H5012H5221H3709H3709H5221H2719H3717H7992H2719H2491H2719H1419H2491H2314 15Let their hearts melt with terror, for the sword glitters at every gate. It flashes like lightning and is polished for slaughter!H5414H19H2719H8179H3820H4127H4383H7235H253H6213H1300H4593H2874 16O sword, slash to the right, then slash to the left, wherever you will, wherever you want.H258H7760H3231H8041H575H6440H3259 17I, too, will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H5221H3709H3709H2534H5117H3068H1696 18Then this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 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—H1121H120H7760H8147H1870H2719H4428H894H935H8147H3318H259H776H1254H3027H1254H7218H1870H5892 20one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem.H7760H1870H2719H935H7237H1121H5983H3063H3389H1219 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.H4428H894H5975H517H1870H7218H8147H1870H7080H7081H2671H7043H7592H8655H7200H3516 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.H3225H7081H3389H7760H3733H6605H6310H7524H7311H6963H8643H7760H3733H8179H8210H5550H1129H1785 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.H7723H7080H5869H7650H7621H2142H5771H8610 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!H559H136H3069H5771H2142H6588H1540H5949H2403H7200H2142H8610H3709 25“O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here!H2491H7563H5387H3478H3117H935H6256H5771H7093 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.H559H136H3069H5493H4701H7311H5850H2063H1361H8217H8213H1364 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.H5754H5754H5754H7760H935H4941H5414 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!H1121H120H5012H559H559H136H3069H1121H5983H2781H559H2719H2719H6605H2874H4803H398H1300 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.H2372H7723H7080H3577H5414H6677H2491H7563H3117H935H6256H5771H7093 30“Now return the sword to its sheath, for in your own country, the land of your birth, I will pass judgment upon you.H7725H8593H8199H4725H1254H776H4351 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.H8210H2195H6315H784H5678H5414H3027H1197H582H2796H4889 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!”H402H784H1818H8432H776H2142H3068H1696
22Now this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 2“Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,H1121H120H8199H8199H1818H5892H3045H8441 3and give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: O city of murderers, doomed and damned—city of idols①, filthy and foul—/ ①The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung; also in 22.4.H559H559H136H3069H5892H8210H1818H8432H6256H935H6213H1544H2930 4you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world.H816H1818H8210H2930H1544H6213H3117H7126H935H8141H5414H2781H1471H7048H776 5O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near.H7138H7350H7046H2931H8034H7227H4103 6“Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.H5387H3478H376H2220H8210H1818 7Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.H7043H1H517H8432H6213H6233H1616H3238H3490H490 8You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.H959H6944H2490H7676 9People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.H582H7400H8210H1818H398H2022H8432H6213H2154 10Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and have intercourse with women who are menstruating.H1540H1H6172H6031H5079H2931 11Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters.H376H6213H8441H7453H802H376H2154H2930H3618H376H6031H269H1H1323 12There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.H3947H7810H8210H1818H3947H5392H8636H1214H7453H6233H7911H5002H136H3069 13“But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.H5221H3709H1215H6213H1818H8432 14How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said.H3820H5975H3027H2388H3117H6213H3068H1696H6213 15I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.H6327H1471H2219H776H8552H2932 16And when I have been dishonored among the nations because of you, you will know that I am the Lord.”H2490H5157H5869H1471H3045H3068 17Then this message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 18“Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.H1121H120H1004H3478H5509H5178H913H1270H5777H8432H3564H5509H3701 19So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.H559H136H3069H5509H6908H8432H3389 20Just as copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.H6910H3701H5178H1270H5777H913H8432H3564H5301H784H5413H6908H639H2534H3240H5413 21I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,H3664H5301H784H5678H5413H8432 22and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.’”H3701H2046H8432H3564H5413H8432H3045H3068H8210H2534 23Again a message came to me from the Lord:H1697H3068H559 24“Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will be like a polluted land, a land without rain.H1121H120H559H776H2891H1656H3117H2195 25Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.H7195H5030H8432H7580H738H2963H2964H398H5315H3947H2633H3366H7235H490H8432 26Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.H3548H2554H8451H2490H6944H914H6944H2455H3045H2931H2889H5956H5869H7676H2490H8432 27Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!H8269H7130H2061H2963H2964H8210H1818H6H5315H1214H1215 28And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them.H5030H2902H8602H2374H7723H7080H3577H559H559H136H3069H3068H1696 29Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.H5971H776H6231H6233H1497H1498H3238H6041H34H6231H1616H4941 30“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.H1245H376H1443H1447H5975H6556H6440H776H7843H4672 31So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”H8210H2195H3615H784H5678H1870H5414H7218H5002H136H3069
Dublin, OH
Then this message came to me from the Lord:H1697
