Ezekiel 21:1-32, NLT
Ezekiel 21
The Lord’s Sword of Judgment
1*21:1 Verses 21:1-32 are numbered 21:6-37 in Hebrew text.Then this message came to me from the Lord:
6“Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart.
8Then the Lord said to me,
“A sword, a sword
is being sharpened and polished.
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!*21:10 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
11Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished;
it is being prepared for the executioner.
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!
13It will put them all to the test.
What chance do they have?*21:13 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
says the Sovereign Lord.
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.
15Let their hearts melt with terror,
for the sword glitters at every gate.
It flashes like lightning
and is polished for slaughter!
16O sword, slash to the right,
then slash to the left,
wherever you will,
wherever you want.
17I, too, will clap my hands,
and I will satisfy my fury.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Omens for Babylon’s King
18Then this message came to me from the Lord:
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!
25“O you corrupt and wicked prince of Israel, your final day of reckoning is here!
“Take off your jeweled crown,
for the old order changes.
Now the lowly will be exalted,
and the mighty will be brought down.
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.
A Message for the Ammonites
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!
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.
30“Now return the sword to its sheath,
for in your own country,
the land of your birth,
I will pass judgment upon you.
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.
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!”