1And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2Son of man, direct thy face toward Jerusalem, and preach toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 3And say to the land of Israel, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will be against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath; and I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. 4But because I shall have 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; 5That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more. 6But thou, son of man, do thou sigh: as though with broken loins, and with bitterness of grief shalt thou sigh before their eyes. 7And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, For the report, because it cometh, when every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be made feeble, and every spirit shall become faint, and all knees shall be changed into water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord Eternal. 8And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord, Say, The sword, the sword is sharpened, and also polished; 10In order to make a thorough slaughter is it sharpened; in order that it may glitter is it polished: how can we now rejoice, when the rod which reacheth my son excelleth in hardness every tree? 11And he hath given it to be polished, to make it fit to grasp it in the hand: it is the sword which is sharpened, and it is polished, to place it into the hand of the slayer. 12Cry aloud and wail, O son of man; for it cometh against my people, it cometh against all the princes of Israel; brought together for the sword are they with my people: therefore strike thy hand upon thy thigh. 13For a purification taketh place: and what if the irresistible rod will also come? my son would not be able to exist, saith the Lord Eternal. 14But thou, son of man, prophesy, and strike thy hands together, and let "The sword" be repeated the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great that are slain, which lieth in wait for them everywhere. 15In order to make timid the heart, and to multiply the stumbling–blocks, do I bring the howling of the sword against all their gates: ah! it is made bright, it is made thin–edged for the slaughter. 16Gather up thy strength, go to the right hand, direct thyself, go to the left, whithersoever thy edge is turned. 17And I also,––I will strike my hands together, and I will cause my fury to be assuaged: I the Lord have spoken it. 18And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 19But thou, O son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; out of one land shall both of them come forth: and select a place; at the head of the way to a city do thou select it. 20A way shalt thou appoint, that the sword may come against Rabbah of the children of ‘Ammon, and the other against Judah dwelling in Jerusalem the fortified. 21For the king of Babylon hath halted at the parting of the way, at the commencement of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh the arrows, he consulteth with images, he looketh at the liver. 22At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to erect battering–rams, to open the mouth with the cry for murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to place battering–rams against the gates, to cast up a mound, and to build works of attack. 23And it will appear unto them as a false divination in their eyes, to those that had sworn oaths; but he will bring to remembrance their iniquity, that they may be caught. 24Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Because ye have brought your iniquity to remembrance, as your transgressions are discovered, so that your sins do appear in all your doings: because ye are thus brought to remembrance, ye shall be caught by his hand. 25And thou, death–deserving wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end,–– 26Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Remove the mitre, and take off the crown: this shall not be always so; exalt him that is low, and make him low that is high. 27Overthrown, overthrown, overthrown will I render it: also this shall not belong to any one, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him. 28And thou, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus hath said the Lord Eternal concerning the children of ‘Ammon, and concerning their reproach: even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn; for the slaughter is it polished, to destroy, that it may continue to glitter; 29While they foresee unto thee falsehood, while they divine unto thee lies, to lay thee by the necks of the slain wicked, whose day is come, at the time of the iniquity of the end. 30Put back the sword into its sheath! in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy origin, will I judge thee. 31And I will pour out over thee my indignation, with the fire of my wrath will I blow against thee, and I will give thee up into the hand of brutish men, skilful in destroying. 32To the fire shalt thou be given to be devoured; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land: thou shalt not be remembered any more; for I the Lord have spoken it.