## The Prophesy of Yahweh's Sword 

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And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 

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"Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and speak, dripping out _words_ against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel 

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and say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Behold, I am against you; and I will bring out My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. 

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Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against all flesh from south _to_ north. 

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Thus all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have brought out My sword from its sheath. It will not return _to its sheath_ again."' 

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Now as for you, son of man, groan with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 

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And it will be _that_ when they say to you, 'Why do you groan?' you shall say, 'Because of the report that is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will fall limp, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will happen,' declares Lord Yahweh." 

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Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 

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"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord.' Say, 'A sword, a sword sharpened And also polished! 

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Sharpened to make a slaughter, Polished to flash like lightning!' Or shall we rejoice _in_ the scepter of My son? _The sword_ despises every tree. 

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It is given to be polished, that it may be seized by the hand; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the one who kills. 

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Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people; therefore slap _your_ thigh. 

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For _there is_ a testing; and what if even the scepter which _the sword_ despises will be no more?" declares Lord Yahweh. 

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"You therefore, son of man, prophesy and strike _your_ hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 

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that _their_ hearts may melt, and many _will be_ stumbling blocks at all their gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made _for striking_ like lightning, it is wrapped up _in readiness_ for slaughter. 

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Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is appointed. 

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And I will also strike My hands together, and I will cause My wrath to be at rest; I, Yahweh, have spoken." 

## A Sword for Slaughter 

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And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 

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"Now as for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city. 

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You shall mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem. 

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For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows; he asks the household idols; he looks at the liver. 

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Into his right hand came the divination, 'Jerusalem,' to set battering rams, to open the mouth for killing, to lift up the voice with a shout of war, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall. 

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And it will be to them like a worthless divination in their eyes; they have _sworn_ solemn oaths. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized. 

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"Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, 'Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear--because you have come to remembrance, you will be seized with the hand. 

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And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,' 

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thus says Lord Yahweh, 'Remove the turban and take off the crown; this _will_ no longer _be_ the same. Make high that which is low and make low that which is high. 

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A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until He comes to whom the _legal_ judgment belongs, and I will give it _to Him_.' 

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"Now as for you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'Thus says Lord Yahweh concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach,' and say: 'A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it to consume, that it may be like lightning-- 

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while they behold for you worthless visions, while they divine lies for you--to place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end. 

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Return _it_ to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 

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And I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My fury, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, craftsmen of destruction. 

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You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, Yahweh, have spoken.'"