Fire in the Woods
Ezekiel 21, verse 1. Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezekiel 21, verse 2. “Son of man, set your face against Teman, and look against Darom, and prophesy against the forest which leads to Nageb. Ezekiel 21, verse 3. You will say to the forest of Nageb, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord and Master: “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green wood and every dry wood in you. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and every face from north to south shall be burned up by it. Ezekiel 21, verse 4. All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, kindled it, and it shall not be quenched.”’” Ezekiel 21, verse 5. Then I said, “By no means, O Lord and Master. They say to me, ‘This is a parable, is it not?’”
The Sword of the Lord
Ezekiel 21, verse 6. So the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezekiel 21, verse 7. “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and set your face against Jerusalem, and look against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel. Ezekiel 21, verse 8. You shall say to the land of Israel, ‘Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and destroy both the unrighteous man and the lawless man from among you. Ezekiel 21, verse 9. Because I will destroy both the unrighteous man and the lawless man from among you, thus My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from north to south, Ezekiel 21, verse 10. and all flesh will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; and it shall not return anymore.’ Ezekiel 21, verse 11. As for you, son of man, groan with a breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes. Ezekiel 21, verse 12. It will be, if they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ that you shall say, ‘Because of the news, for it is coming. Every heart will be oppressed, all hands will be feeble, all flesh and every spirit will faint, and every thigh will be stained with urine. Behold, it is coming and will be,’ says the Lord and Master.” Ezekiel 21, verse 13. Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Ezekiel 21, verse 14. “Son of man, prophesy and you will say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Say, ‘O sword, sword, be sharpened and furious, Ezekiel 21, verse 15. that you may slay victims. Be sharpened, that you may be glistening and ready for destruction. Despise and reject every tree.’ Ezekiel 21, verse 16. So he made it ready for his hand to hold. The sword is sharpened and ready to put in the hand of the slayer.’” Ezekiel 21, verse 17. “Cry out and wail, son of man, for this sword is come among My people; this sword is come among all the leaders of Israel. They shall be as strangers because of the sword that is come among My people; therefore, clap your hands, Ezekiel 21, verse 18. because it is justified; and what if even the tribe is rejected? It shall not be,” says the Lord and Master. Ezekiel 21, verse 19. “So you, son of man, prophesy, and clap your hands, and take a second sword. The third is the sword of the slain, the great sword of the slain. It will amaze them, Ezekiel 21, verse 20. that the heart may be oppressed, and the weak multiplied at every gate of theirs. They are handed over for slaughter by the sword, a sword well suited for slaughter, a sword well suited for glistening. Ezekiel 21, verse 21. Pass through and strike from the right and from the left, wherever your face may set itself. Ezekiel 21, verse 22. I also will clap My hands together and let go My anger. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
The Sword of the King of Babylon
Ezekiel 21, verse 23. Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Ezekiel 21, verse 24. “So you, son of man, order two roads for yourself, for the sword of the king of Babylon to enter. The two roads will go forth from one region. There shall be a force at the top of the way leading to the city. Ezekiel 21, verse 25. You shall order for a sword to enter against Rabbath of the children of Ammon, against Judah and against Jerusalem in its midst. Ezekiel 21, verse 26. For the king of Babylon will stand at the ancient road, at the fork of the two roads, to practice divination by casting a stick, consulting the graven images, and inspecting the liver for soothsaying. Ezekiel 21, verse 27. The divination against Jerusalem has come to pass—to set up barricades, to open the mouth with shouting, to lift up the voice with great shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, and to build engines of war. Ezekiel 21, verse 28. He will be to them as one who practices divination before them, and he will bring their wrongdoings to remembrance. Ezekiel 21, verse 29. “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Because you caused your wrongdoings to be remembered in the revelation of your ungodliness, that your sins should be seen in all your ungodliness and ways of living—because you caused remembrance of them—you shall be taken captive. Ezekiel 21, verse 30. Now you, O godless and lawless leader of Israel, whose day has come, whose end of wrongdoing has come at the proper time, Ezekiel 21, verse 31. thus says the Lord: “You removed the turban and put on the crown; another will not follow. You humbled what was high and exalted what was low. Ezekiel 21, verse 32. I will reckon it as wrongdoing, wrongdoing! Another shall not follow it until He comes whose right it is, and I will deliver it to Him.’”
A Sword for Ammon
Ezekiel 21, verse 33. “As for you, son of man, prophesy, and you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord to the sons of Ammon and to their shame,’ and you shall say, ‘O sword, sword, drawn for slaughter and for an end; arise, that you may glisten. Ezekiel 21, verse 34. While you are seeing a worthless vision, and while you are prophesying falsehood, and while you are handing over the necks of wounded and lawless men whose day has come, whose end of wrongdoing has come at the proper time, Ezekiel 21, verse 35. turn back, and do not lodge in this place in which you were born, for I will judge you in your own land. Ezekiel 21, verse 36. I will pour out My wrath upon you; I will breathe upon you with the fire of My wrath, and deliver you into the hands of barbarians, skilled in working destruction. Ezekiel 21, verse 37. You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of your land. There will be no remembrance of you; for I the Lord have spoken.’”