The Lord says He is Israel's enemy
1The Lord talked to me and He said: 2‘Son of man, you must look towards Jerusalem and you must preach against the holy places and prophesy_against the land_of_Israel. 3Tell the land_of_Israel, the Lord God says: “Israel, I am your enemy. I will take out my sword and I will kill everyone in you, the people who have done right and those who did wrong. 4I want to kill everyone in you, the people who did right and those who did wrong. I will take my sword out of its holder and I will attack all people, from the south to the north. 5Then everyone who lives will know that I have taken my sword out of its holder and I will not put it back.”
6But you, Son of man, you must cry and complain and fall to the ground. You must be very sad and groan very hard in front of the people. 7And when they ask you why you are complaining, you must say: “I do it because of the news that is coming, because they told me what is going to happen. Everyone will be afraid and their hands will become weak. Everyone will be discouraged and their urine will flow down their knees. You must know this. It will happen.” ’ This is what the Lord God said.
The Lord prepares his sword to kill people
8The Lord talked to me and He said: 9‘Son of man, you must talk to the people. Prophesy_against them and say: “The Lord says: I have prepared my sword. It is shining. 10I have prepared it to kill people. It shines like lightning. Being happy will not help us. God will judge every tree and destroy it with his sword. 11The Lord has prepared his sword and made it shine, and He has given it to someone to hold it and to be ready. The sword is sharp and shining and the Lord has given it to the person who must kill people.
12Son of man, you must shout and cry, because he will use the sword against my people. It will kill everyone who rules over Israel. I give the rulers and my people, so that the sword can kill them. This is why you must show that you are angry and upset. This is why you must beat_your_chest. 13I am going to test my people like they test metal in fire. What will happen if there is not a king or a sceptre anymore, because the sword has destroyed it all?” ’ This is what the Lord God said.
14‘Son of man, you must prophesy_against them. You must clap your hands and let the sword come down on them, 2 or 3 times. It is a sword that kills people. It is a sword that attacks them and leaves a lot of people dead. 15The sword makes them afraid. It makes a lot of people fall and die. It kills them at all their gates. Yes, I have made the sword to shine, and it is sharp to kill people. 16Sword, you must attack the people wherever I send you to go, to the right and to the left. 17Then I will also clap my hands. I will punish them until I am not angry anymore.’
The king of Babylon is the sword of the Lord
18The Lord talked to me and He said: 19‘Son of man, you must prepare 2 roads. The king of Babylon must come by 2 roads and he must bring his sword. The 2 roads must come from the same land. You must put up a sign where the road to the city starts. 20You must show where the king must come with his sword, by the road to the town of Rabbah of the Ammonites or by the road to Judah, to the city of Jerusalem with strong walls. 21Because the king of Babylon is standing at the place where the road becomes 2 roads, and he is looking for a sign to tell him where he must go. He shakes his arrows and asks them to show him where he must go, he asks his images what he must do, and he kills an animal and looks at its liver to show him which road he must go on. 22And then he finds a sign and the sign shows that he must go to Jerusalem and that he must bring battering_rams with him. He will shout to his soldiers and tell them to attack and kill the people. He will shout and tell them to use the battering_rams to break down the gates. He will build up sand against the wall and build a ramp to get over the wall of the city. 23The people in Jerusalem will think that the sign is false, because they have promised the king of Babylon to serve him. But he will tell them what they have done wrong and why he wants to catch them.’
24The Lord God says: ‘You showed that you are guilty when you rebelled_against Me. Everyone could see that you are sinful in everything that you do. That is why the king of Babylon will catch you. 25And you, king_of_Israel, you are guilty and you will die. Your last day has come. The time of your last punishment has come.’
26The Lord God says to the king_of_Israel: ‘You must take off your turban and your crown. Everything will change now. The people who were not important will become important now, and everyone who was important will now become unimportant. 27I will make them break down the city, and there will be only heaps of stones left of the city, only heaps of stones. But I will wait until the man comes who must punish the city and I will give the city to him.
28And you, Son of man, you must talk to the Ammonites and prophesy_against them. You must tell them: “The Lord God speaks to the Ammonites. They are the people who have laughed at my people, the Israelites.” You must say to the sword: “Sword, sword, I have taken you out of your holder to kill people. I have prepared you to shine and to kill people. 29You sinful Ammonites, you see false_visions and you believe things that are not_true. The signs that you have seen are false. Sword, I will use you and I will cut the necks of the people who have to die, those who do things that are wrong. Their last day has come, and the time of their last punishment has come. 30Sword, after that you must go back into your holder. You, king of Babylon, you are my sword. After this, you must go back to your land. Then I will punish you at the place where I made you, in the land that you come from. 31I am very angry with you, and my breath is like fire that will burn you. I will give you to cruel people who know how to destroy. 32The fire will burn you and your blood will flow onto the ground. No one will remember you, because I have spoken. I am the Lord.” ’
