Daily Bread

Babylon as God’s Sword of Judgment

21 ^[a]The word of the Lord came to me:^{(A) 2} “Son of man, set your face against^(B) Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary.^(C) Prophesy against^(D) the land of Israel ³ and say to her: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you.^(E) I will draw my sword^(F) from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.^{(G) 4} Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword^(H) will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.^{(I) 5} Then all people will know that I the Lord have drawn my sword^(J) from its sheath; it will not return^(K) again.’^(L)

⁶ “Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.^{(M) 7} And when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?^(N)’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear^(O) and every hand go limp;^(P) every spirit will become faint^(Q) and every leg will be wet with urine.’^(R) It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

⁸ The word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.^(T)

¹³ “‘Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign Lord.’

¹⁸ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁹ “Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword^(AD) of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost^(AE) where the road branches off to the city. ²⁰ Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites^(AF) and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. ²¹ For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots^(AG) with arrows, he will consult his idols,^(AH) he will examine the liver.^{(AI) 22} Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry,^(AJ) to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp^(AK) and to erect siege works.^{(AL) 23} It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind^(AM) them of their guilt^(AN) and take them captive.

²⁴ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do—because you have done this, you will be taken captive.

²⁵ “‘You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come,^(AO) whose time of punishment has reached its climax,^{(AP) 26} this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Take off the turban, remove the crown.^(AQ) It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.^{(AR) 27} A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come;^(AS) to him I will give it.’^(AT)

²⁸ “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about the Ammonites^(AU) and their insults: