Ezekiel 21

vayehi devar-Adonai elay lemor

The word of GOD came to me:

ben-adam sim panekha derekh temanah vehattef el-darom vehinnave el-ya'ar hassadeh negev

O mortal, set your face toward Teman, and proclaim to Darom, and prophesy against the brushland of the Negeb.

ve'amarta leya'ar hannegev shema devar-Adonai koh-amar adonay Elohim hinni matsit-bekha esh ve'okhlah vekha khol-ets-lakh vekhol-ets yavesh lo-tikhbeh lahevet shalhevet venitsrevu-vah kol-panim minnegev tsafonah

Say to the brushland of the Negeb: Hear the word of GOD. Thus said the Sovereign GOD: I am going to kindle a fire in you, which shall devour every tree of yours, both green and withered. Its leaping flame shall not go out, and every face from south to north shall be scorched by it.

vera'u kol-basar ki ani Adonai bi'artiha lo tikhbeh

Then all flesh shall recognize that I, GOD, have kindled it; it shall not go out.

va'omar ahah adonay Elohim hemmah omerim li halo memashel meshalim hu

And I said, “Ah, my Sovereign GOD! They say of me: He is just a riddlemonger.”

vayehi devar-Adonai elay lemor

Then the word of GOD came to me:

ben-adam sim panekha el-yerushalai͏m vehattef el-miqdashim vehinnave el-admat yisra'el

O mortal, set your face toward Jerusalem and proclaim against her sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel.

ve'amarta le'admat yisra'el koh amar Adonai hinni elayikh vehotseti kharbi mittarah vehikhratti mimmekh tsaddiq verasha

Say to the land of Israel: Thus said GOD: I am going to deal with you! I will draw My sword from its sheath, and I will wipe out from you both the righteous and the wicked.

ya'an asher-hikhratti mimmekh tsaddiq verasha lakhen tetse kharbi mittarah el-kol-basar minnegev tsafon

In order to wipe out from you both the righteous and the wicked, My sword shall assuredly be unsheathed against all flesh from south to north;

veyade'u kol-basar ki ani Adonai hotseti kharbi mittarah lo tashuv od

and all flesh shall know that I, GOD, have drawn My sword from its sheath, not to be sheathed again.

ve'attah ven-adam he'anakh beshivron motnayim uvimrirut te'anakh le'enehem

And you, O mortal, sigh; with tottering limbs and bitter grief, sigh before their eyes.

vehayah ki-yomeru elekha al-mah attah ne'enakh ve'amarta el-shemu'ah khi-va'ah venames kol-lev verafu khol-yadayim vekhihatah khol-ruakh vekhol-birkayim telakhnah mayim hinneh va'ah venihyatah ne'um adonay Elohim

And when they ask you, “Why do you sigh?” answer, “Because of the tidings that have come.” Every heart shall sink and all hands hang nerveless; every spirit shall grow faint and all knees turn to water because of the tidings that have come. It is approaching, it shall come to pass—declares the Sovereign GOD.

vayehi devar-Adonai elay lemor

The word of GOD came to me:

ben-adam hinnave ve'amarta koh amar adonay emor kherev kherev hukhaddah vegam-merutah

O mortal, prophesy and say: Thus said the Sovereign: A sword! A sword has been whetted and polished.

lema'an tevoakh tevakh hukhaddah lema'an-heyeh-lah baraq morattah o nasis shevet beni mo'eset kol-ets

It has been whetted to wreak slaughter; [therefore] it has been ground to a brilliant polish. How can we rejoice? My child, it scorns the rod and every stick.

vayyitten otah lemortah litpos bakkaf hi-hukhaddah kherev vehi morattah latet otah beyad-horeg

It has been given to be polished and then grasped in the hand; for this has the sword been whetted, for this polished—to be put into the hand of a slayer.

ze'aq vehelel ben-adam ki-hi hayetah ve'ammi hi bekhol-nesi'e yisra'el megure el-kherev hayu et-ammi lakhen sefoq el-yarekh

Cry and wail, O mortal, for this shall befall My people, this shall befall all the chieftains of Israel: they shall be cast before the sword together with My people; oh, strike the thigh [in grief].

ki vokhan umah im-gam-shevet mo'eset lo yihyeh ne'um adonay Elohim

Consider: How shall it fail to happen, seeing that it even scorns the rod?—says the Sovereign GOD.

ve'attah ven-adam hinnave vehakh kaf el-kaf vetikkafel kherev shelishitah kherev khalalim hi kherev khalal haggadol hakhoderet lahem

Further, O mortal, prophesy, striking hand against hand. Let the sword strike a second time and yet a third time; it is a sword for massacre, a sword for great carnage, that presses upon them.

lema'an lamug lev veharbeh hammikhsholim al kol-sha'arehem natatti ivkhat-kharev akh asuyah levaraq me'uttah letavakh

Thus hearts shall lose courage and many shall fall. At all their gates I have appointed slaughter by the sword. Ah! it is made to flash brilliantly, it is honed for slaughter.

hitakhadi hemini hasimi hasmili anah panayikh mu'adot

Be united, go to the right, turn left; whither are you bound?

vegam-ani akkeh khappi el-kappi vahanikhoti khamati ani Adonai dibbarti

I, too, will strike hand against hand and will satisfy My fury upon you; I, GOD, have spoken.

vayehi devar-Adonai elay lemor

The word of GOD came to me:

ve'attah ven-adam sim-lekha shenayim derakhim lavo kherev melekh-bavel me'erets ekhad yetse'u shenehem veyad bare berosh derekh-ir bare

And you, O mortal, choose two roads on which the sword of the king of Babylon may advance, both issuing from the same country; and select a spot, select it where roads branch off to [two] cities.

derekh tasim lavo kherev et rabbat bene-ammon ve'et-yehudah virushalai͏m betsurah

Choose a way for the sword to advance on Rabbah of the Ammonites or on fortified Jerusalem in Judah.

ki-amad melekh-bavel el-em hadderekh berosh shene hadderakhim liqsom-qasem qilqal bakhitsim sha'al batterafim ra'ah bakkaved

For the king of Babylon has stood at the fork of the road, where two roads branch off, to perform divination: He has shaken arrows, consulted oracle idols, and inspected the liver.

bimino hayah haqqesem yerushalai͏m lasum karim liftoakh peh beretsakh leharim qol bitru'ah lasum karim al-she'arim lishpokh solelah livnot dayeq

In his right hand came up the omen against Jerusalem—to set battering rams, to proclaim murder, to raise battle shouts, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to erect towers.

vehayah lahem (khqsvm) [kiqsom-]shav be'enehem shevu'e shevu'ot lahem vehu-mazkir avon lehittafes

In their eyes, the oaths they had sworn to them were like empty divination; but this shall serve to recall their guilt, for which they shall be taken to task.

lakhen koh-amar adonay Elohim ya'an hazkarkhem avonekhem behiggalot pishekhem lehera'ot khattovtekhem bekhol alilotekhem ya'an hizzakherkhem bakkaf tittafesu

Assuredly, thus said the Sovereign GOD: For causing your guilt to be recalled, your transgressions to be uncovered, and your sins to be revealed—all your misdeeds—because you have brought yourselves to [My] mind, you shall be taken to task.

ve'attah khalal rasha nesi yisra'el asher-ba yomo be'et avon qets

And to you, O dishonored wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come—the time set for your punishment—

koh amar adonay Elohim hasir hammitsnefet veharim ha'atarah zot lo-zot hashafalah hagbeah vehaggavoah hashpil

thus said the Sovereign GOD: Remove the turban and lift off the crown! This shall not remain as it is; exalt the low and abase the high.

avvah avvah avvah asimennah gam-zot lo hayah ad-bo asher-lo hammishpat unetattiv

Ruin, an utter ruin I will make it. It shall be no more until he comes to whom it rightfully belongs; and I will give it to him.

ve'attah ven-adam hinnave ve'amarta koh amar adonay Elohim el-bene ammon ve'el-kherpatam ve'amarta kherev kherev petukhah letevakh merutah lehakhil lema'an baraq

Further, O mortal, prophesy and say: Thus said the Sovereign GOD concerning the Ammonites and their blasphemies: Proclaim: O sword! O sword unsheathed for slaughter, polished to the utmost, to a flashing brilliance!

bakhazot lakh shav biqsom-lakh kazav latet otakh el-tsavvere khalle resha'im asher-ba yomam be'et avon qets

Because they have prophesied falsely about you and have divined deceitfully concerning you, you shall be wielded over the necks of the dishonored wicked ones, for their day has come, the time set for their punishment.

hashav el-tarah bimqom asher-nivret be'erets mekhurotayikh eshpot otakh

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

veshafakhti alayikh zami be'esh evrati afiakh alayikh unetattikh beyad anashim bo'arim kharashe mashkhit

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 barbarians, skilled in destruction.

la'esh tihyeh le'okhlah damekh yihyeh betokh ha'arets lo tizzakheri ki ani Adonai dibbarti

You shall be fuel for the fire, your blood shall sink into the earth, you shall not be remembered, for I, GOD, have spoken.