Ezekiel:21

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* Then the word of the LORD came unto me , saying : * 'Son of man , set thy face toward Jerusalem , and preach toward the sanctuaries , and prophesy against the land of Israel ; * and say to the land of Israel : Thus saith the LORD : Behold , I am against thee , and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath , and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked . * Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked , therefore shall My sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north ; * and all flesh shall know that I the LORD have drawn forth My sword out of its sheath ; it shall not return any more . * Sigh therefore , thou son of man ; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes . * And it shall be , when they say unto thee : Wherefore sighest thou ? that thou shalt say : Because of the tidings , for it cometh ; and every heart shall melt , and all hands shall be slack , and every spirit shall be faint , and all knees shall drip with water ; behold , it cometh , and it shall be done , saith the Lord GOD .' * And the word of the LORD came unto me , saying : * 'Son of man , prophesy , and say : Thus saith the LORD : Say : A sword , a sword , it is sharpened , and also furbished : * It is sharpened that it may make a sore slaughter , it is furbished that it may glitter--or shall we make mirth ?--against the rod of My son , contemning every tree . * And it is given to be furbished , that it may be handled ; the sword , it is sharpened , yea , it is furbished , to give it into the hand of the slayer . * Cry and wail , son of man ; for it is upon My people , it is upon all the princes of Israel ; they are thrust down to the sword with My people ; smite therefore upon thy thigh . * For there is a trial ; and what if it contemn even the rod ? It shall be no more , saith the Lord GOD . * Thou therefore , son of man , prophesy , and smite thy hands together ; and let the sword be doubled the third time , the sword of those to be slain ; it is the sword of the great one that is to be slain , which compasseth them about . * I have set the point of the sword against all their gates , that their heart may melt , and their stumblings be multiplied ; ah ! it is made glittering , it is sharpened for slaughter . * Go thee one way to the right , or direct thyself to the left ; whither is thy face set ? * I will also smite My hands together , and I will satisfy My fury ; I the LORD have spoken it .' * And the word of the LORD came unto me , saying : * 'Now , thou son of man , make thee two ways , that the sword of the king of Babylon may come ; they twain shall come forth out of one land ; and mark a signpost , mark it clear at the head of the way to the city . * Thou shalt make a way , that the sword may come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon , and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified . * For the king of Babylon standeth at the parting of the way , at the head of the two ways , to use divination ; he shaketh the arrows to and fro , he inquireth of the teraphim , he looketh in the liver . * In his right hand is the lot Jerusalem , to set battering rams , to open the mouth for the slaughter , to lift up the voice with shouting , to set battering rams against the gates , to cast up mounds , to build forts . * And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight , who have weeks upon weeks ! but it bringeth iniquity to remembrance , that they may be taken . * Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD : Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered , in that your transgressions are uncovered , so that your sins do appear in all your doings ; because that ye are come to remembrance , ye shall be taken with the hand . * And thou , O wicked one , that art to be slain , the prince of Israel , whose day is come , in the time of the iniquity of the end ; * thus saith the Lord GOD : The mitre shall be removed , and the crown taken off ; this shall be no more the same : that which is low shall be exalted , and that which is high abased . * A ruin , a ruin , a ruin , will I make it ; this also shall be no more , until he come whose right it is , and I will give it him . * And thou , son of man , prophesy , and say : Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the children of Ammon , and concerning their taunt ; and say thou : O sword , O sword keen-edged , furbished for the slaughter , to the uttermost , because of the glitterings ; * While they see falsehood unto thee , while they divine lies unto thee , to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are to be slain , whose day is come , in the time of the iniquity of the end ! * Cause it to return into its sheath !--In the place where thou wast created , in the land of thine origin , will I judge thee . * And I will pour out My indignation upon thee , I will blow upon thee with the fire of My wrath ; and I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men , skilful to destroy . * 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 .'

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