Ezekiel 20:33–21:32

God Will Restore Israel

33 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, xwith an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there yI will plead My case with you face to face. 36 zJust as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,” says the Lord God.

37 “I will make you apass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the bcovenant; 38 cI will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the country where they dwell, but dthey shall not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God: e“Go, serve every one of you his idols—and hereafter—if you will not obey Me; fbut profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols. 40 For gon My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord God, “there hall the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there iI will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your 7sacrifices, together with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you as a jsweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. 42 kThen you shall know that I am the Lord, lwhen I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. 43 And mthere you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and nyou shall 8loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. 44 oThen you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you pfor My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord God.’ ”

Fire in the Forest

45 Furthermore the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 46 q“Son of man, set your face toward the south; 9preach against the south and prophesy against the forest land, the 1South, 47 and say to the forest of the South, ‘Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, rI will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour severy green tree and every dry tree in you; the blazing flame shall not be quenched, and all faces tfrom the south to the north shall be scorched by it. 48 All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ’ ”

49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! They say of me, ‘Does he not speak uparables?’ ”

Babylon, the Sword of God

21 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 a“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, bpreach 1against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am cagainst you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both drighteous and wicked from you. 4 Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh efrom south to north, 5 that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it fshall not return anymore.” ’ 6 gSigh therefore, son of man, with 2a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. 7 And 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, hall 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.”

8 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say:

i‘A sword, a sword is sharpened

And also polished!

10 Sharpened 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.

11 And 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 jthe 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 kstrike your thigh.

13 “Because it is la testing,

And what if the sword despises even the scepter?

mThe scepter shall be no more,”

says the Lord God.

14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy,

And nstrike your hands together.

The third time let the sword do double damage.

It is the sword that slays,

The sword that slays the great men,

That enters their oprivate chambers.

15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates,

That the heart may melt and many may stumble.

Ah! pIt is made bright;

It is grasped for slaughter:

16 “Swords q 3at the ready!

Thrust right!

Set your blade!

Thrust left—

Wherever your 4edge is ordered!

17 “I also will rbeat My fists together,

And sI will cause My fury to rest;

I, the Lord, have spoken.”

18 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying: 19 “And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city. 20 Appoint a road for the sword to go to tRabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the 5images, he looks at the liver. 22 In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to ulift the voice with shouting, vto set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall. 23 And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who whave sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

24 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.

25 ‘Now to you, O xprofane, wicked prince of Israel, ywhose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 26 thus says the Lord God:

“Remove the turban, and take off the crown;

Nothing shall remain the same.

zExalt the humble, and humble the exalted.

27 6Overthrown, overthrown,

I will make it overthrown!

aIt shall be no longer,

Until He comes whose right it is,

And I will give it to bHim.” ’

A Sword Against the Ammonites

28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God cconcerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say:

‘A sword, a sword is drawn,

Polished for slaughter,

For consuming, for flashing—

29 While they dsee false visions for you,

While they divine a lie to you,

To bring you on the necks of the wicked, the slain

eWhose day has come,

Whose iniquity shall end.

30 ‘Return fit to its sheath.

gI will judge you

In the place where you were created,

hIn the land of your 7nativity.

31 I will ipour out My indignation on you;

I will jblow against you with the fire of My wrath,

And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to kdestroy.

32 You shall be fuel for the fire;

Your blood shall be in the midst of the land.

lYou shall not be remembered,

For I the Lord have spoken.’ ”