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Babylon as God’s Sword of Judgment
The word of the Lord came to me:
The word of the Lord came to me:
The Parable of the Lord's Sword
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
“Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel
Son of man, set thy face against Jerusalem, and drop [words] against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
and 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.
and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.
Seeing 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;
Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.’
and all flesh shall know that I Jehovah have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return any more.
“Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.
Sigh then, thou son of man; with breaking of the loins, and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
And 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.”
And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore dost thou sigh? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall languish, and all knees shall melt into water: behold, it cometh; it is here, saith the Lord Jehovah.
“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“ ‘A sword, a sword,
sharpened and polished —
“ ‘A sword, a sword,
sharpened and polished —
Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished.
sharpened for the slaughter,
polished to flash like lightning!
“ ‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.
polished to flash like lightning!
“ ‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.
It is sharpened for sore slaughter, it is furbished that it may glitter. Shall we then make mirth, [saying,] The sceptre of my son contemneth all wood?
“ ‘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.
to be grasped with the hand;
it is sharpened and polished,
made ready for the hand of the slayer.
And he hath given it to be furbished that it may be handled. The sword, -- it is sharpened, and it is furbished to give it into the hand of the slayer.
Cry 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.
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.
Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be against my people, it shall be against all the princes of Israel: they are given up to the sword along with my people: smite therefore upon the thigh.
“ ‘Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign Lord.’
For the trial [is made]; and what if even the contemning sceptre shall be no [more]? saith the Lord Jehovah.
“So then, son of man, prophesy
and strike your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice,
even three times.
It is a sword for slaughter —
a sword for great slaughter,
closing in on them from every side.
and strike your hands together.
Let the sword strike twice,
even three times.
It is a sword for slaughter —
a sword for great slaughter,
closing in on them from every side.
And thou, son of man, prophesy, and smite thy hands together; for [the strokes of] the sword shall be doubled the third time: it is the sword of the slain, the sword that hath slain the great one, which encompasseth them privily.
In order that the heart may melt, and the stumbling-blocks be multiplied, I have set the threatening sword against all their gates: ah! it is made glittering, it is whetted for the slaughter.
Slash to the right, you sword,
then to the left,
wherever your blade is turned.
then to the left,
wherever your blade is turned.
Gather up [strength], go to the right hand, turn thee, go to the left, whithersoever thy face is appointed.
I too will strike my hands together,
and my wrath will subside.
I the Lord have spoken.”
and my wrath will subside.
I the Lord have spoken.”
And I myself will smite my hands together, and I will satisfy my fury: I Jehovah have spoken [it].
“Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city.
And thou, son of man, set thee two ways, by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come -- out of one land shall they both come -- and make thee a signpost, make it at the head of the way to the city.
Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.
Appoint a way for the coming of the sword to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah at the fenced [city] of Jerusalem.
For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.
For the king of Babylon standeth at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh [his] arrows, he inquireth of the teraphim, he looketh in the liver.
Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works.
In his right hand is the lot of Jerusalem to appoint battering-rams, to open the mouth for bloodshed, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering-rams against the gates, to cast mounds, to build siege-towers.
It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.
And this shall be a false divination in their sight, for them that have sworn oaths; but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do — because you have done this, you will be taken captive.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye make your iniquity to be remembered in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
“ ‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax,
And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end,
this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.
-- thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Remove the mitre and take off the crown; what is shall be no [more]. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.
A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.’
I will overturn, overturn, overturn it! This also shall be no [more], until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [to him].
“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites and their insults:
“ ‘A sword, a sword,
drawn for the slaughter,
polished to consume
and to flash like lightning!
“ ‘A sword, a sword,
drawn for the slaughter,
polished to consume
and to flash like lightning!
And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus speaketh the Lord Jehovah concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, A sword, a sword is drawn; for the slaughter is it furbished, that it may consume, that it may glitter:
Despite false visions concerning you
and lying divinations about you,
it will be laid on the necks
of the wicked who are to be slain,
whose day has come,
whose time of punishment has reached its climax.
and lying divinations about you,
it will be laid on the necks
of the wicked who are to be slain,
whose day has come,
whose time of punishment has reached its climax.
whilst they see vanity for thee, whilst they divine a lie unto thee, to lay thee upon the necks of the wicked that are slain, whose day is come at the time of the iniquity of the end.
“ ‘Let the sword return to its sheath.
In the place where you were created,
in the land of your ancestry,
I will judge you.
In the place where you were created,
in the land of your ancestry,
I will judge you.
Restore [it] to its sheath. I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy birth.
I will pour out my wrath on you
and breathe out my fiery anger against you;
I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,
men skilled in destruction.
and breathe out my fiery anger against you;
I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,
men skilled in destruction.
And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow upon thee the fire of my wrath, and give thee into the hand of brutish men, skilful to destroy.