Berean Study Bible

English Standard Version

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

1The word of the LORD came to me:

2“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel

2“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel

3and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.

3and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked.

4Because I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.

4Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north.

5Then all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have taken My sword from its sheath, not to return it again.’

5And all flesh shall know that I am the LORD. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.

6But you, son of man, groan! Groan before their eyes with a broken heart and bitter grief.

6“As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes.

7And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.’ Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD.”

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

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

8And the word of the LORD came to me:

9“Son of man, prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord says: ‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—

9“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: “A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished,

10it is sharpened for the slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every such stick.

10sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! (Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.)

11The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished, to be placed in the hand of the slayer.

11So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer.

12Cry out and wail, O son of man, for the sword is wielded against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel! They are tossed to the sword with My people; therefore strike your thigh.

12Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh.

13Surely testing will come! And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue?’ declares the Lord GOD.

13For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise the rod?” declares the Lord GOD.

14‘So then, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together. Let the sword strike two times, even three. It is a sword that slays, a sword of great slaughter closing in on every side!

14“As for you, son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, three times, the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them,

15So that their hearts may melt and many may stumble, I have appointed at all their gates a sword for slaughter. Yes, it is ready to flash like lightning; it is drawn for slaughter.

15that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; it is taken up for slaughter.

16Slash to the right; set your blade to the left—wherever your blade is directed.

16Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed.

17I too will strike My hands together, and I will satisfy My wrath.’ I, the LORD, have spoken.”

17I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the LORD have spoken.”

18Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

18The word of the LORD came to me again:

19“Now you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same land. And make a signpost where the road branches off to each city.

19“As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city.

20Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.

20Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified.

21For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the liver.

21For 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 teraphim; he looks at the liver.

22In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp, and to erect a siege wall.

22Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers.

23It will seem like a false omen to the eyes of those who have sworn allegiance to him, but it will draw attention to their guilt and take them captive.

23But to them it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken.

24Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds—because you have come to remembrance—you shall be taken in hand.

24“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have made your guilt 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 shall be taken in hand.

25And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your final punishment.’

25And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment,

26This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are: Exalt the lowly and bring low the exalted.

26thus says the Lord GOD: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted.

27A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! And it will not be restored until the arrival of Him to whom it belongs, to whom I have assigned the right of judgment.’

27A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.

28Now prophesy, son of man, and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt: ‘A sword! A sword is drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning—

28“And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning—

29while they offer false visions for you and lying divinations about you—to be placed on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.

29while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment.

30Return the sword to its sheath! In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge 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 anger upon you; I will breathe the fire of My fury against you; I will hand you over to brutal men, skilled in destruction.

31And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy.

32You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will stain your own land. You will not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.’ ”

32You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I the LORD have spoken.”

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ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.