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

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

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

Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,

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

And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

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

Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:

"So humanity will know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again."'

That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.

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

Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

"And when they say to you, 'Why are you groaning?' you shall say, 'Because of the news, for it is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,' declares the Lord GOD."

And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God .

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

Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the LORD says:' Say, 'A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished!

Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord ; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:

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

It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.

"And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer.

And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.

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

Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.

"For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will cease to be?" declares the Lord GOD.

Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God .

"You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; 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,

Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together. and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.

so that their hearts will waver, and many fall at all their gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter.

I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.

"Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is ordered.

Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.

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

I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the Lord have said it.

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

The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,

"Now 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.

Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

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

Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.

"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.

For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.

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

At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.

"And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; they have sworn solemn oaths. But he makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.

And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.

"Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.

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

And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end,

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

Thus saith the Lord God ; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.

'Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.'

I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

"And you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the Lord GOD says concerning the sons of Ammon and their taunting,' and say: 'A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it consume, so that it may be like lightning—

And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn: for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering:

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

Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end.

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

Shall I cause it to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.

'I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, craftsmen of destruction.

And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skilful to destroy.

'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.'"

Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no more remembered: for I the Lord have spoken it.