5 ‘Son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it like a knife to cut off your hair and your beard. Then use some scales to weigh the hair. Put it into three separate parts that are the same weight. [ a ]
2 Wait until all the days when you are lying on your side have finished. Take one part of your hair and burn it on the brick which has the picture of Jerusalem. Take another part and use a sword to cut it into small pieces. Let the pieces fall all around the brick which shows the city. Then take the third part and throw the hairs into the wind. I will run after them with a sword. 3 But keep a few of your hairs. Tie them into the edge of your clothes. 4 Finally, take out some of these hairs. Throw them into the fire and burn them. This fire will grow so that it reaches all Israel's people.
5 I, the Almighty Lord , say this: This shows what will happen to Jerusalem. I have put the city in the centre of all the nations. It has countries all around it. 6 But Jerusalem's people have refused to obey my rules and my commands. They have become more wicked than the nations and countries around them. They have not obeyed my laws.
7 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: You people of Jerusalem have done worse things than any of the nations around you. You have not obeyed my rules or my laws. You have not even obeyed the laws of the nations around you.
8 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: I myself have become your enemy, people of Jerusalem. I will punish you while the other nations watch. 9 I will punish you for all the disgusting things that you have done. I have never punished anyone like that before. And I will never do it again. 10 When I punish you like that, you will have no food to eat. Parents will be so hungry that they will eat their children. Children will eat their parents. I will chase away those few people who are still alive. They will go to all parts of the earth.
11 The Almighty Lord says this: I promise you as surely as I live that I will remove you. You have made my holy place unclean. You have put your disgusting idols in my house. You have done wicked things there. Because of that I will not be sorry for you. I will not save you. 12 Illness or famine will kill one third of your people inside the city. The soldiers who are around the city will kill a third of your people. And I will chase away a third of them to all parts of the earth. I will cause their enemies to run after them with their swords. [ b ]
13 When I have done all that to them, I will not be angry any longer. I will not punish them any more, because it is enough. When I have finished, they will know that I, the Lord , have spoken to them. I have been angry with them because they have not been faithful to me.
14 I will cause your city to become a heap of stones. People of the other nations around you will laugh at you when they see what has happened to you. 15 They will all laugh at you and insult you. They will see that I was very angry with you and I punished you. Then they will be afraid of my great anger. I, the Lord , say this!
16 I will take away your bread so that famine kills more and more of you. It will seem that I am shooting arrows at you to destroy you. 17 Famine or wild animals will kill you. Your children will no longer live. Illness and war will destroy you. I will send soldiers to attack you. I, the Lord , say this!’
5 “Son of man, [ a ] after your famine [ b ] you must do this: Take a sharp sword and use it like a barber’s razor. Shave off your hair and beard. Put the hair on a scale and weigh it. Separate it into three equal parts. Put a third of your hair on the brick that has the picture of the city on it. Burn that hair in that ‘city.’ Then use the sword and cut a third of your hair into small pieces all around the outside of the ‘city.’ Next, throw a third of your hair into the air and let the wind blow it away. This will show that I will pull out my sword and chase some of the people into faraway countries. 3 But then you must get a few of those hairs and wrap them up in your robe. 4 Take some of those hairs and throw them into the fire. This will show that a fire will start there and burn throughout the whole house of Israel. [ c ] ”
5 Then the Lord God said to me, “The brick is a picture of Jerusalem. I put Jerusalem in the middle of other nations with countries all around her. 6 The people rebelled against my commands. They were worse than any of the other nations! They broke more of my laws than any of the people in the countries around them. They refused to listen to my commands. They did not obey my laws.”
7 So the Lord God says, “I will do this because you did not obey my laws and commands. You broke more of my laws than the people who lived around you, and you did what even they know is wrong!” 8 So the Lord God says, “So now, even I am against you! I will punish you while those other people watch. 9 I will do things to you that I have never done before. And I will never do those terrible things again, because you did so many terrible things. 10 People in Jerusalem will be so hungry that parents will eat their own children, and children will eat their own parents. I will punish you in many ways, and those who are left alive, I will scatter to the winds.”
11 The Lord God says, “Jerusalem, I promise by my life that I will punish you! I promise that I will punish you, because you did terrible things to my Holy Place. You did horrible things that made it dirty. I will punish you. I will not show any mercy or feel sorry for you. 12 A third of your people will die inside the city from diseases and hunger. Another third will die in battle outside the city. And then I will pull out my sword and chase the last third of your people into faraway countries. 13 Only then will I stop being angry with your people. I will know that they have been punished for the bad things they did to me. They will know that I am the Lord and that I spoke to them because of my strong love [ d ] for them!”
14 God said, “Jerusalem, I will destroy you—you will be nothing but a pile of rocks. The people around you will make fun of you. Everyone who walks by will make fun of you. 15 People around you will make fun of you, but you will also be a lesson for them. They will see that I was angry and punished you. I was very angry and I warned you. I, the Lord , told you what I would do. 16 I told you I would send you terrible times of hunger. I told you I would send you things that would destroy you. I told you that I would take away your supply of food and that those times of hunger would come again and again. 17 I told you I would send hunger and wild animals against you that would kill your children. I told you there would be disease and death everywhere in the city. I told you I would bring enemy soldiers to fight against you. I, the Lord , told you all these things would happen!”
5 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.
3 Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.
4 Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.
5 Thus saith the Lord God ; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.
6 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;
8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.
9 And 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.
10 Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.
11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God ; 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, neither will I have any pity.
12 A 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 I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
13 Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.
14 Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
15 So 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 in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it.
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17 So will I 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 the Lord have spoken it.
5 “As for you, son of man, take a ( A ) sharp sword; take and [ a ] use it as a barber’s razor on your head and beard. Then take ( B ) scales for weighing and divide [ b ] the hair. 2 A third you shall burn in the fire at the center of the city, when the ( C ) days of the siege are completed. Then you shall take a third and strike it with the sword all around [ c ] the city, and a third you shall scatter to the wind; for I will ( D ) unsheathe a sword behind them. 3 Take also a few hairs in number from [ d ] them and bind them in the hems of your robes . 4 Take again some of them and throw them into the fire and burn them in the fire; from it a fire will [ e ] spread to all the house of Israel.
5 “This is what the Lord [ f ] God says: ‘This is ( E ) Jerusalem; I have placed her at the ( F ) center of the nations, with lands around her. 6 But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes ( G ) more than the lands which surround her; for they have ( H ) rejected My ordinances and have not walked [ g ] in My statutes.’ 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have ( I ) more turmoil than the nations that surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor executed My ordinances, nor acted in accordance with the ordinances of the nations around you,’ 8 therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I, even I, am ( J ) against you, and I will ( K ) execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. 9 And because of all your abominations I will do among you what I have ( L ) not done, and the like of which I will never do again. 10 Therefore, ( M ) fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and ( N ) scatter all your remnant to every wind. 11 Therefore as I live,’ declares the Lord God , ‘Because you have ( O ) defiled My sanctuary with all your ( P ) detestable idols and with all your abominations, I definitely will also withdraw and My eye will have no pity, and I also will not spare. 12 A third of you will die by ( Q ) plague or perish by famine among you, a third will fall by the sword around you, and a third I will ( R ) scatter to every wind, and I will ( S ) unsheathe a sword behind them.
13 ‘Then My anger will be spent and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be ( T ) appeased; then they will know that I, the Lord , have ( U ) spoken in My zeal, when I have spent My wrath upon them. 14 Moreover, I will make you a site of ruins and a ( V ) disgrace among the nations that surround you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 15 So [ h ] it will be a disgrace, an object of abuse, a ( W ) warning, and an object of horror to the nations that surround you when I ( X ) execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging reprimands. I, the Lord , have spoken. 16 When I send against them the [ i ] deadly arrows of famine which [ j ] were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will also intensify the famine upon you and break off your [ k ] provision of bread. 17 ( Y ) I will send on you famine and vicious animals, and they will bereave you of children; ( Z ) plague and bloodshed also will pass through you, and I will bring the sword on you. I, the Lord , have spoken.’”
5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor ( A ) to shave ( B ) your head and your beard. ( C ) Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. 2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn ( D ) a third ( E ) of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. ( F ) For I will pursue them with drawn sword. ( G ) 3 But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment. ( H ) 4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire ( I ) and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. ( J ) 6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees. ( K )
7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even [ a ] conformed to the standards of the nations around you. ( L )
8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. ( M ) 9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. ( N ) 10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. ( O ) I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds. ( P ) 11 Therefore as surely as I live, ( Q ) declares the Sovereign ( R ) Lord , because you have defiled my sanctuary ( S ) with all your vile images ( T ) and detestable practices, ( U ) I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. ( V ) 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds ( W ) and pursue with drawn sword. ( X )
13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath ( Y ) against them will subside, and I will be avenged. ( Z ) And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal. ( AA )
14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. ( AB ) 15 You will be a reproach ( AC ) and a taunt, a warning ( AD ) and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. ( AE ) I the Lord have spoken. ( AF ) 16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food. ( AG ) 17 I will send famine and wild beasts ( AH ) against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed ( AI ) will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken. ( AJ ) ”
