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1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against Thaeman, and look toward Darom, and prophesy against the chief forest of Negeb, 3 and thou shalt say to the forest of Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord, even the Lord; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour in thee every green tree, and every dry tree: the flame that is kindled shall not be quenched, and every face shall be scorched with it from the south to the north. 4 And all flesh shall know that I the Lord have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
5 And I said, Not so, O Lord God! they say to me, Is not this that is spoken a parable?
6 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
7 Therefore prophesy, son of man, set thy face steadfastly toward Jerusalem, and look toward their holy places, and thou shalt prophesy against the land of Israel, 8 and thou shalt say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I am against thee, and I will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and I will destroy out of thee the transgressor and unrighteous. 9 Because I will destroy out of thee the unrighteous and the transgressor, therefore so shall my sword come forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: 10 and all flesh shall know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath: it shall not return anymore.
11 And thou, son of man, groan with the breaking of thy loins; thou shalt even groan heavily in their sight. 12 And it shall come to pass, if they shall say to thee, Wherefore dost thou groan? that thou shalt say, For the report; because it comes: and every heart shall break, and all hands shall become feeble, and all flesh and every spirit shall faint, and all thighs shall be defiled with moisture: behold, it comes, saith the Lord.
13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 14 Son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Say, Sword, sword, be sharpened and rage, 15 that thou mayest slay victims; be sharpened that thou mayest be bright, ready for slaughter, slay, set at nought, despise every tree. 16 And he made it ready for his hand to hold: the sword is sharpened, it is ready to put into the hand of the slayer.
17 Cry out and howl, son of man: for this sword is come upon my people, this sword is come upon all the princes of Israel: they shall be as strangers: judgment with the sword is come upon my people: therefore clap thy hands, for sentence has been passed: 18 and what if even the tribe be rejected? it shall not be, saith the Lord God.
19 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and clap thy hands, and take a second sword: the third sword is the sword of the slain, the great sword of the slain: and thou shalt strike them with amazement, lest the heart should faint 20 and the weak ones be multiplied at every gate—they are given up to the slaughter of the sword: it is well fitted for slaughter, it is well fitted for glittering. 21 And do thou go on, sharpen thyself on the right and on the left whithersoever thy face may set itself.
22 And I also will clap my hands, and let loose my fury: I the Lord have spoken it.
23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 24 And thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may enter in: the two shall go forth of one country; and there shall be a force at the top of the way of the city, thou shalt set it at the top of the way, 25 that the sword may enter in upon Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and upon Judea, and upon Jerusalem in the midst thereof.
26 For the king of Babylon shall stand on the old way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination, to make bright the arrow, and to inquire of the graven images, and to examine the victims. 27 On his right was the divination against Jerusalem, to cast a mound, to open the mouth in shouting, to lift up the voice with crying, to cast a mound against her gates, to cast up a heap, and to build forts. 28 And he was to them as one using divination before them, and he himself recounting his iniquities, that they might be borne in mind.
29 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because ye have caused your iniquities to be remembered, in the discovery of your wickedness, so that your sins should be seen, in all your wickedness and in your evil practices; because ye have caused remembrance of them, in these shall ye be taken. 30 And thou profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day, even an end, is come in a season of iniquity, thus saith the Lord; 31 Thou hast taken off the miter and put on the crown, it shall not have such another after it: thou hast abased that which was high, and exalted that which was low. 32 Injustice, injustice, injustice, will I make it: woe to it: such shall it be until he comes to whom it belongs; and I will deliver it to him.
33 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and thou shalt say, O sword, sword, drawn for slaughter, and drawn for destruction, awake, that thou mayest gleam. 34 While thou art seeing vain visions, and while thou art prophesying falsehoods, to bring thyself upon the necks of ungodly transgressors, the day is come, even an end, in a season of iniquity.
35 Turn, rest not in this place wherein thou wert born: in thine own land will I judge thee. 36 And I will pour out my wrath upon thee, I will blow upon thee with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver thee into the hands of barbarians skilled in working destruction. 37 Thou shalt be fuel for fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of thy land; there shall be no remembrance at all of thee: for I the Lord have spoken it.