Ezekiel 5
Ezekiel shaves his head and divides the hair into three parts — one burned, one struck with a sword, one scattered to the wind — picturing how Jerusalem's people will perish by famine, sword, and exile. The LORD declares He will execute unprecedented judgment because the city has defiled His sanctuary.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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. | "You, Son of man — take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber's razor and shave Your head and Your beard. Then take a scale and divide the hair into three parts." |
| 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. | "When the days of the siege are over, burn one third of the hair in the middle of the city. Take another third and strike it with the sword all around the city. Scatter the last third to the wind, and I will pursue them with a drawn sword." |
| 3 | Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. | "Take a few strands of hair and tuck them in the folds of Your robe." |
| 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. | "Then take some of these and throw them into the fire and burn them. From there fire will spread to 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. | This is what the Lord GOD says: "This is Jerusalem. I placed her at the center of the nations, with lands all around 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. | "She has rebelled against My laws and decrees more wickedly than the nations around her. She has rejected My laws and has not lived by My decrees." |
| 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; | Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "Because You have been more unruly than the nations around you, not living by My decrees or following My laws — not even following the practices of the surrounding nations —" |
| 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. | Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "I Myself am against You, and I will execute judgment in Your midst 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. | "Because of all Your abominations, I will do to You what I have never done before and will never do again." |
| 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. | "In Your midst, fathers will eat their children and children will eat their fathers. I will execute judgment on You and scatter all Your survivors to every direction." |
| 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. | "Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because You have defiled My sanctuary with all Your vile images and detestable practices, I will cut You down. My eye will not spare, and I will have no 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. | "A third of Your people will die of plague and famine inside the city. A third will fall by the sword outside the walls. A third I will scatter to every direction and pursue with a drawn sword." |
| 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. | "So My anger will be spent and My wrath against them satisfied. When I have vented My fury on them, they will know that I the LORD have spoken in My zeal." |
| 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. | "I will make You a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who 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. | "You will be a reproach and a mockery, a warning and a horror to the nations around you when I execute judgment on you in anger and fury and with stinging rebukes. I the LORD have spoken." |
| 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: | "I will send against You famine — deadly arrows of famine — sent to destroy You. I will increase the famine and cut off Your food supply." |
| 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. | "I will send famine and wild animals against You, and they will leave You childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through You, and I will bring a sword against You. I the LORD have spoken." |