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¹Then this message came to me from the LORD:

²“Son of man, turn and face Jerusalem and prophesy against Israel and her sanctuaries.

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.’

⁶“Son 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!’”

⁸Then the LORD said to me,

⁹“Son 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.

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? 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!”

¹⁸Then this message came to me from the LORD:

¹⁹“Son of man, make a map and trace two routes on it for the sword of Babylon’s king to follow. Put a signpost on the road that comes out of Babylon where the road forks into two —

²⁰one road going to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah, and the other to Judah and fortified Jerusalem.

²¹The king of Babylon now stands at the fork, uncertain whether to attack Jerusalem or Rabbah. He calls his magicians to look for omens. They cast lots by shaking arrows from the quiver. They inspect the livers of animal sacrifices.

²²The omen in his right hand says, ‘Jerusalem!’ With battering rams his soldiers will go against the gates, shouting for the kill. They will put up siege towers and build ramps against the walls.

²³The people of Jerusalem will think it is a false omen, because of their treaty with the Babylonians. But the king of Babylon will remind the people of their rebellion. Then he will attack and capture them.

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!

²⁶This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “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.

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!”

¹Now this message came to me from the LORD:

²“Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,

³and give her this message from the Sovereign LORD: O city of murderers, doomed and damned — city of idols, filthy and foul —

⁴you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world.

⁵O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near.

⁶“Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.

⁷Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.

⁸You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.

⁹People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.

¹⁰Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating.

¹¹Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters-in-law, or who rape their own sisters.

¹²There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign LORD.

¹³“But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.

¹⁴How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do what I said.

¹⁵I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.

¹⁶And when I have been dishonored among the nations because of you, you will know that I am the LORD.”

¹⁷Then this message came to me from the LORD:

¹⁸“Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over — a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.

¹⁹So tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.

²⁰Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.

²¹I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,

²²and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you.’”

²³Again a message came to me from the LORD:

²⁴“Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will be like a polluted land, a land without rain.

²⁵Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.

²⁶Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.

²⁷Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!

²⁸And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign LORD,’ when the LORD hasn’t spoken a single word to them.

²⁹Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.

³⁰“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

³¹So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”