Ezekiel 21:3-14
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 21
3and 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. 4Because 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. 5So humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again.'?’ 6As for you, son of man, groan with a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. 7And 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.'
10Sharpened to make a slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning!’ Or shall we rejoice, the rod of My son despising every tree?
11And 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.
12Cry 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.
13For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will cease to be?' declares the Lord God.
King James Version
Chapter 21
3And 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. 4Seeing 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: 5That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
6Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
7And 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.
8Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
12Cry 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.
13Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God.
14Thou 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.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 21
3and say to it, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4Since I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will therefore come out of its sheath against all people from the south to the north. 5So all people will know that I, the Lord, have taken my sword from its sheath—it will not be sheathed again.’
6"But you, son of man, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart right before their eyes.
7And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ then say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will become weak. Every spirit will be discouraged, and all knees will run with urine. Yes, it is coming and it will happen. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’"
9"Son of man, prophesy, ‘This is what the Lord says!’ You are to proclaim, ‘A sword! A sword is sharpened and also polished.
10It is sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! Should we rejoice? The scepter of my son, the sword despises every tree.
11The sword is given to be polished, to be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened, and it is polished, to be put in the hand of the slayer.’
12"Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel! They are given over to the sword with my people. Therefore strike your thigh in grief.
13Surely it will be a trial! And what if the sword despises even the scepter? The scepter will not continue." This is the declaration of the Lord God.
New Living Translation
Chapter 21
3Tell her, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people — the righteous and the wicked alike. 4Yes, I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked! I will draw my sword against everyone in the land from south to north. 5Everyone in the world will know that I am the Lord. My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished.’
6Son of man, groan before the people! Groan before them with bitter anguish and a broken heart.
7When they ask why you are groaning, tell them, ‘I groan because of the terrifying news I have heard. When it comes true, the boldest heart will melt with fear; all strength will disappear. Every spirit will faint; strong knees will become as weak as water. And the Sovereign Lord says: It is coming! It’s on its way!’'
9Son of man, give the people this message from the Lord: '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!
11Yes, the sword is now being sharpened and polished; it is being prepared for the executioner.
English Standard Version
Chapter 21
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 from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. 5And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again.
6"As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes.
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.
8And the word of the Lord came to me:
9"Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say: "A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished,
10 sharpened for slaughter, polished to flash like lightning! (Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.)
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, 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.
13For it will not be a testing — what could it do if you despise the rod?" declares the Lord God.
New International Version
Chapter 21
3and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. 5Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’
6"Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.
7And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.’ It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord."
11" ‘The sword is appointed to be polished, to be grasped with the hand; it is sharpened and polished, made ready for the hand of the slayer.
12Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are thrown to the sword along with my people. Therefore beat your breast.
New King James Version
Chapter 21
3and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you. 4Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north, 5that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return anymore.” ’ 6Sigh therefore, son of man, with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. 7And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”
9“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say: ‘A sword, a sword is sharpened And also polished!
10Sharpened to make a dreadful slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning! Should we then make mirth? It despises the scepter of My son, As it does all wood.
11And He has given it to be polished, That it may be handled; This sword is sharpened, and it is polished To be given into the hand of the slayer.’
12“Cry and wail, son of man; For it will be against My people, Against all the princes of Israel. Terrors including the sword will be against My people; Therefore strike your thigh.
