2. Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop {cf15I thy word} toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
3. And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I {cf15I am} against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
4. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
5. That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
6. Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of {cf15I thy} loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
7. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak {cf15I as} water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
8. Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9. Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
10. It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, {cf15I as} every tree.
11. And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
12. Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it {cf15I shall be} upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon {cf15I thy} thigh.
13. Because {cf15I it is} a trial, and what if {cf15I the sword} contemn even the rod? it shall be no {cf15I more}, saith the Lord GOD.
14. Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite {cf15I thine} hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it {cf15I is} the sword of the great {cf15I men that are} slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
15. I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that {cf15I their} heart may faint, and {cf15I their} ruins be multiplied: ah! {cf15I it is} made bright, {cf15I it is} wrapped up for the slaughter.
16. Go thee one way or other, {cf15I either} on the right hand, {cf15I or} on the left, whithersoever thy face {cf15I is} set.
17. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said {cf15I it}.
18. The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
19. Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose {cf15I it} at the head of the way to the city.
20. Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
21. For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made {cf15I his} arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
22. At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint {cf15I battering} rams against the gates, to cast a mount, {cf15I and} to build a fort.
23. And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
24. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, {cf15I I say}, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand.
25. And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity {cf15I shall have} an end,
26. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this {cf15I shall} not {cf15I be} the same: exalt {cf15I him that is} low, and abase {cf15I him that is} high.
27. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no {cf15I more}, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it {cf15I him}.
28. And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach; even say thou, The sword, the sword {cf15I is} drawn: for the slaughter {cf15I it is} furbished, to consume because of the glittering:
29. Whiles they see vanity unto thee, whiles they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of {cf15I them that are} slain, of the wicked, whose day is come, when their iniquity {cf15I shall have} an end.
30. Shall I cause {cf15I it} to return into his sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity.
31. And I will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, {cf15I and} skilful to destroy.
32. Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt be no {cf15I more} remembered: for I the LORD have spoken {cf15I it}.