¹ And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

² `Son of man, set thy face unto Jerusalem, and prophesy unto the holy places, and prophesy unto the ground of Israel;

³ and thou hast said unto the ground of Israel: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I [am] against thee, And have brought out My sword from its scabbard, And have cut off from thee righteous and wicked.

⁴ Because that I have cut off from thee righteous and wicked, Therefore go out doth My sword from its scabbard, Unto all flesh, from south to north.

⁵ And known have all flesh that I, Jehovah, Have brought out My sword from its scabbard, It doth not turn back any more.

⁶ And thou, son of man, sigh with breaking of loins, yea, with bitterness thou dost sigh before their eyes,

⁷ and it hath come to pass, when they say unto thee, For what art thou sighing? that thou hast said: Because of the report, for it is coming, And melted hath every heart, And feeble hath been all hands, And weak is every spirit, And all knees go -- waters, Lo, it is coming, yea, it hath been, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.'

⁸ And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

⁹ `Son of man, prophesy, and thou hast said, Thus said Jehovah, say: A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

¹⁰ So as to slaughter a slaughter it is sharpened. So as to have brightness it is polished, Desire hath rejoiced the sceptre of my son, It is despising every tree.

¹¹ And he giveth it for polishing, For laying hold of by the hand. It is sharpened -- the sword -- and polished, To give it into the hand of a slayer.

¹² Cry and howl, son of man, For it hath been among My people, It [is] among all the princes of Israel, Cast unto the sword have been My people. Therefore strike on thy thigh,

¹³ Because [it is] a trier, And what if even the sceptre it is despising? It shall not be, an affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

¹⁴ And thou, son of man, prophesy, And smite hand on hand, And bent is the sword a third time, The sword of the wounded! It [is] the sword of the wounded -- the great one, That is entering the inner chamber to them.

¹⁵ To melt the heart, and to multiply the ruins, By all their gates I have set the point of a sword. Ah, it is made for brightness, Wrapt up for slaughter.

¹⁶ Take possession of the right, place thyself at the left, Whither thy face is appointed.

¹⁷ And I also, I smite My hand on my hand, And have caused My fury to rest; I, Jehovah, have spoken.'

¹⁸ And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

¹⁹ `And thou, son of man, appoint for thee two ways, for the coming in of the sword of the king of Babylon; from one land they come forth, both of them, and a station prepare thou, at the top of the way of the city prepare [it].

²⁰ A way appoint for the coming of the sword, Unto Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, And to Judah, in Jerusalem -- the fenced.

²¹ For stood hath the king of Babylon at the head of the way, At the top of the two ways, to use divination, He hath moved lightly with the arrows, He hath asked at the teraphim, He hath looked on the liver.

²² At his right hath been the divination -- Jerusalem, To place battering-rams, To open the mouth with slaughter, To lift up a voice with shouting, To place battering-rams against the gates, To pour out a mount, to build a fortification.

²³ And it hath been to them as a false divination in their eyes, Who have sworn oaths to them, And he is causing iniquity to be remembered to be caught.

²⁴ Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of your causing your iniquity to be remembered, In your transgressions being revealed, For your sins being seen, in all your doings, Because of your being remembered, By the hand ye are caught.

²⁵ And thou, wounded, wicked one, Prince of Israel, whose day hath come, In the time of the iniquity of the end!

²⁶ Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Turn aside the mitre, and bear away the crown, This -- not this -- the low make high, And the high make low.

²⁷ An overturn, overturn, overturn, I make it, Also this hath not been till the coming of Him, Whose [is] the judgment, and I have given it.

²⁸ And thou, son of man, prophesy, and thou hast said: Thus said the Lord Jehovah concerning the sons of Ammon, and concerning their reproach: and thou hast said: A sword, a sword, open for slaughter, Polished to the utmost for brightness!

²⁹ In the seeing for thee of a vain thing, In the divining for thee of a lie, To put thee on the necks of the wounded of the wicked, whose day hath come, In the time of the iniquity of the end.

³⁰ Turn [it] back unto its scabbard, In the place where thou wast produced, In the land of thy birth I do judge thee.

³¹ And I have poured on thee Mine indignation, With fire of My wrath I blow against thee, And have given thee into the hand of brutish men -- artificers of destruction.

³² To the fire thou art for fuel, Thy blood is in the midst of the land, Thou art not remembered, For I, Jehovah, have spoken!'

¹ In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, hath this word been from Jehovah, saying:

² `Thus said Jehovah, Stand thou in the court of the house of Jehovah, and thou hast spoken unto all [those of] the cities of Judah who are coming in to bow themselves in the house of Jehovah, all the words that I have commanded thee to speak unto them, thou dost not diminish a word.

³ If so be they hearken, and turn back each from his evil way, then I have repented concerning the evil that I am thinking of doing to them, because of the evil of their doings.

⁴ `And thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah, If ye do not hearken unto Me, to walk in My law, that I set before you,

⁵ To hearken to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I am sending unto you, yea, rising early and sending, and ye have not hearkened,

⁶ Then I have given up this house as Shiloh, and this city I give up for a reviling to all nations of the earth.'

⁷ And the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, hear Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah,

⁸ And it cometh to pass, at the completion of Jeremiah's speaking all that Jehovah hath commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests, and the prophets, and all the people catch him, saying, Thou dost surely die,

⁹ Wherefore hast thou prophesied in the name of Jehovah, saying, `As Shiloh this house shall be, and this city is wasted, without inhabitant?' and all the people are assembled unto Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah.

¹⁰ And the heads of Judah hear these things, and they go up from the house of the king [to] the house of Jehovah, and sit in the opening of the new gate of Jehovah.

¹¹ And the priests and the prophets speak unto the heads, and unto all the people, saying, `Judgment of death [is] for this man, for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.'

¹² And Jeremiah speaketh unto all the heads, and unto all the people, saying, `Jehovah sent me to prophesy concerning this house, and concerning this city, all the words that ye have heard;

¹³ And now, amend your ways, and your doings, and hearken to the voice of Jehovah your God, and Jehovah doth repent concerning the evil that He hath spoken against you.

¹⁴ `And I, lo, I [am] in your hand, do to me as is good and as is right in your eyes;

¹⁵ Only, know ye certainly, that if ye are putting me to death, surely innocent blood ye are putting on yourselves, and on this city, and on its inhabitants; for truly hath Jehovah sent me unto you to speak in your ears all these words.'

¹⁶ And the heads and all the people say unto the priests and unto the prophets, `There is not for this man a judgment of death, for in the name of Jehovah our God he hath spoken unto us.'

¹⁷ And certain of the elders of the land rise up, and speak unto all the assembly of the people, saying,

¹⁸ `Micah the Morashtite hath been prophesying in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and he saith unto all the people of Judah, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Zion is a plowed field, and Jerusalem is heaps, And the mountain of the house is for high places of a forest.

¹⁹ `Put him at all to death did Hezekiah king of Judah, and all Judah? Did he not fear Jehovah? yea, he appeaseth the face of Jehovah, and Jehovah repenteth concerning the evil that He spake against them; and we are doing great evil against our souls.

²⁰ `And also there hath been a man prophesying in the name of Jehovah, Urijah son of Shemaiah, of Kirjath-Jearim, and he prophesieth against this city, and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah,

²¹ And the king Jehoiakim, and all his mighty ones, and all the heads, hear his words, and the king seeketh to put him to death, and Urijah heareth, and feareth, and fleeth, and goeth in to Egypt.

²² And the king Jehoiakim sendeth men to Egypt -- Elnathan son of Achbor, and men with him unto Egypt --

²³ And they bring out Urijah from Egypt, and bring him in unto the king Jehoiakim, and he smiteth him with a sword, and casteth his corpse unto the graves of the sons of the people.'

²⁴ Only, the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan hath been with Jeremiah so as not to give him up into the hand of the people to put him to death.