1. So the word of the Lord came to me again. He said,
2. “Son of man, look toward Jerusalem and speak against their holy places. Speak against the land of Israel for me.
3. Say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord said: I am against you! I will pull my sword from its sheath. I will remove all people from you—the good and the evil.
4. I will cut off both good people and evil people from you. I will pull my sword from its sheath and use it against all people from south to north.
5. Then everyone will know that I am the Lord. They will know that I have pulled my sword from its sheath. My sword will not go back into its sheath again until it is finished.’
6. “Son of man, make sad sounds like a sad person with a broken heart. Make these sad sounds in front of the people.
7. Then they will ask you, ‘Why are you making these sad sounds?’ Then you must say, ‘Because of the sad news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear. All hands will become weak. Every spirit will become weak. All knees will be like water.’ Look, that bad news is coming. These things will happen!” This is what the Lord GOD said.
8. The word of the Lord came to me. He said,