1. AND THE word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2. Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and direct your [prophetic] word against the holy places; prophesy against the land of Israel
3. And say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you and will draw forth My sword out of its sheath and will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
4. Because I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north,
5. And all living shall know, understand, and realize that I the Lord have drawn My sword out of its sheath; it shall not be sheathed any more.
6. Sigh therefore, son of man! With breaking heart and with bitterness shall you sigh before their eyes.
7. And it shall be that when they say to you, Why do you sigh? that you shall answer, Because of the tidings. When it comes, every heart will melt and all hands will be feeble, and every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it shall be fulfilled, says the Lord God.
8. Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
9. Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord: Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened and also polished;
10. It [the sword of Babylon] is sharpened that it may make a slaughter, polished that it may flash and glitter like lightning! Shall we then rejoice and make mirth [when such a calamity is impending]? But the rod or scepter of My son [Judah] rejects and views with contempt every tree [that is, since God's promise long ago to Judah is certain, he believes Judah's scepter must remain no matter what power arises against it]! [Gen. 49:9, 10; II Sam. 7:23.]