1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2“Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, preach21:2 proclaim, lit. drop against the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel;

3and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am against you, and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off both righteous and wicked from you.

4Because I will cut off both righteous and wicked from you, therefore My sword shall go out of its sheath against all flesh from south to north,

5that all flesh may know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not return anymore.” ’

6Sigh therefore, son of man, with 21:6 Emotional distress, lit. the breaking of your loinsa breaking heart, and sigh with bitterness before their eyes.

7And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?’ that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,’ says the Lord God.”

8Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

9“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ Say:

18The word of the Lord came to me again, saying:

19“And son of man, appoint for yourself two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to go; both of them shall go from the same land. Make a sign; put it at the head of the road to the city.

20Appoint a road for the sword to go to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and to Judah, into fortified Jerusalem.

21For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the 21:21 Heb. teraphimimages, he looks at the liver.

22In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem: to set up battering rams, to call for a slaughter, to lift the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to heap up a siege mound, and to build a wall.

23And it will be to them like a false divination in the eyes of those who have sworn oaths with them; but he will bring their iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.

24“Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand.

25‘Now to you, O profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end,

26thus says the Lord God:

28“And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach,’ and say: