Ezekiel 5

1And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp sword; as a barber’s razor shalt thou take it unto thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

1Son of man, take a sharp sword and use it like a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take scales to weigh the hair and divide it into three parts.

2A third part shalt thou burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and thou shalt take a third part, and smite with the sword round about it; and a third part thou shalt scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.

2Burn one-third of the hair in the fire in the center of your model city when the days of the siege are over. Take another third and strike it with the sword all around the city. Scatter the last third to the wind, for I will chase them with a drawn sword.

3And thou shalt take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.

3Take a few strands of the hair and tuck them into the folds of your robe.

4And of these again shalt thou take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; therefrom shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.

4Even from those, take a few and throw them into the fire to burn them up. From there, a fire will spread to the entire house of Israel.

5Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are round about her.

5This is what the Lord GOD says: This is Jerusalem. I placed her at the center of the nations, with other countries all around her.

6And she hath rebelled against mine ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are round about her; for they have rejected mine ordinances, and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them.

6But she has rebelled against my laws and my rules. She has been more wicked than the nations and countries around her. Her people have rejected my laws and refused to live by my rules.

7Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because ye are turbulent more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept mine ordinances, neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are round about you;

7Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: You have been more rebellious than the nations around you. You have not followed my rules or kept my laws. You haven't even lived up to the standards of the nations surrounding you.

8therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I, even I, am against thee; and I will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

8So the Lord GOD says: Look, I myself am against you. I will carry out justice among you while the other nations watch.

9And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

9Because of all your disgusting idols, I will do things to you that I have never done before and will never do again.

10Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on thee; and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter unto all the winds.

10As a result, parents among you will eat their own children, and children will eat their parents. I will punish you and scatter whoever is left to the winds.

11Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, and I also will have no pity.

11Therefore, as surely as I live, says the Lord GOD, because you have defiled my Temple with your vile idols and disgusting practices, I will cut you down. I will show no mercy and have no pity.

12A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter unto all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.

12One-third of your people will die from disease or starve to death inside the city. One-third will be killed by the sword outside your walls. And I will scatter the final third to the winds and chase them with a drawn sword.

13Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath toward them to rest, and I shall be comforted: and they shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my wrath upon them.

13Then my anger will be spent, and my fury against them will subside. I will be satisfied. When I have finished pouring out my rage on them, they will know that I, the LORD, have spoken because of my intense devotion.

14Moreover I will make thee a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.

14I will turn you into a ruin and an object of mockery among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by.

15So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments on thee in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful rebukes (I, Jehovah, have spoken it);

15You will be a target of insults and taunts. You will be a warning and a cause for horror to the nations around you when I punish you in my Great Anger and furious rebukes. I, the LORD, have spoken.

16when I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you. And I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread;

16I will shoot the deadly arrows of famine at you to destroy you. I will make the hunger worse and cut off your food supply.

17and I will send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee: I, Jehovah, have spoken it.

17I will send famine and wild animals against you to take your children. Disease and violence will sweep through you, and I will bring war against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.