1The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, look toward Jerusalem, preach against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel.
3Tell the land of Israel, ‘Yahweh says: “Look, I am against you. I will pull my sword from its sheath and wipe out both the righteous and the wicked among you.
4Since I will destroy both the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be drawn against everyone from south to north.
5Everyone will know that I, Yahweh, have drawn my sword from its sheath, and it will not be put away again.”’
6“So groan, son of man. Groan in front of them with a broken heart and bitter sorrow.
7When they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you must say, ‘Because of the news that is coming! Every heart will melt, all hands will become weak, every spirit will fail, and all knees will turn to water. Look, it is coming, and it will happen,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”
8Yahweh’s message came to me, saying,
9“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Yahweh says: “A sword! A sword! It is sharpened and also polished.
10It is sharpened to kill. It is polished to flash like lightning. Should we then celebrate? My son’s punishment ignores every warning.
11It is polished so it can be used. The sword is sharpened. Yes, it is polished, to be put into the hand of the killer.”’
12Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is coming to my people. It is coming to all the leaders of Israel. They are given over to the sword along with my people. So hit your thigh in despair.
13“For there is a testing. What if even the rod that warns is no more?” says the Lord Yahweh.
14“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together. Let the sword strike a third, then a fourth time, the sword that causes deadly wounds. It is the sword of the great leader who is fatally wounded; it enters their private rooms.
15I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, so their hearts may melt and their stumbles may increase. Oh! It is made to flash like lightning. It is ready for slaughter.
16Gather yourselves. Go to the right. Take your stand. Go to the left, wherever you are turned.
17I will also clap my hands together, and I will calm my anger. I, Yahweh, have spoken it.”
18Yahweh’s message came to me again, saying,
19“Also, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both roads will start from the same land, and you must mark a signpost where the road divides to the city.
20You must mark a road for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah in fortified Jerusalem.
21For the king of Babylon stood at the fork in the road, at the beginning of the two roads, to use divination. He shook the arrows to make a choice. He consulted idols. He examined the liver of an animal.”
22In his right hand was the decision for Jerusalem, to set up battering rams, to command a slaughter, to shout loudly, to set up battering rams against the gates, to build up siege ramps, and to construct towers.
23To them, these prophecies will seem like a false prediction, to those who have sworn oaths to them. But he brings their wickedness to mind so they can be captured.
24“Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Because your wickedness has been brought to mind, in that your wrongdoings are exposed, so that your sins are obvious in everything you do; because you have been remembered, you will be captured.
25“‘You, wicked prince of Israel, mortally wounded, whose day has come, at the time of the final punishment for wickedness—
26this is what the Lord Yahweh says: “Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things will not stay as they are. What is low will be made high, and what is high will be brought low.
27I will overturn it, overturn it, overturn it. This will also not continue until the one comes who has the right to it; and I will give it to him.”’
28“You, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says about the Ammonites and their insults: “A sword! A sword is drawn! It is polished for slaughter, to devour, to flash like lightning;
29while they see false visions for you, while they tell you lies to hand you over to the necks of the wicked who are mortally wounded, whose day has come at the time of the final punishment for wickedness.
30Put it back in its scabbard. I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land of your birth.
31I will pour out my anger on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath; and I will hand you over to brutal men, skilled in destruction.
32You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will be spilled in the middle of the land. You will be remembered no more, for I, Yahweh, have spoken it.”’