The Razor of Judgment 1 Brenton And thou, son of man, take thee a sword sharper than a barber's razor; thou shalt procure it for thyself, and shalt bring it upon thine head, and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take a pair of scales, and shalt separate the hair. BSB BSB: “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair.
2 Brenton A fourth part thou shalt burn in the fire in the midst of the city, at the fulfilment of the days of the siege: and thou shalt take a fourth part, and burn it up in the midst of it: and a fourth part thou shalt cut with a sword round about it: and a fourth part thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. BSB BSB: When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind. For I will unleash a sword behind them.
3 Brenton And thou shalt take thence a few in number, and shalt wrap them in the fold of thy garment. BSB BSB: But you are to take a few strands of hair and secure them in the folds of your garment.
4 Brenton And thou shalt take of these again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them up with fire: from thence shall come forth fire; and thou shalt say to the whole house of Israel, BSB BSB: Again, take a few of these, throw them into the fire, and burn them. From there a fire will spread to the whole house of Israel.
5 Brenton Thus saith the Lord; This is Jerusalem: I have set her and the countries round about her in the midst of the nations. BSB BSB: This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.
6 Brenton And thou shalt declare mine ordinances to the lawless one from out of the nations; and my statutes to the sinful one of the countries round about her: because they have rejected mine ordinances, and have not walked in my statutes. BSB BSB: But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes worse than the countries around her. For her people have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.’
7 Brenton Therefore thus saith the Lord, Because your occasion for sin has been taken from the nations round about you, and ye have not walked in my statutes, nor kept mine ordinances, nay, ye have not even done according to the ordinances of the nations round about you; therefore thus saith the Lord; BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You have been more insubordinate than the nations around you; you have not walked in My statutes or kept My ordinances, nor have you even conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.’
8 Brenton Behold, I am against thee, and I will execute judgment in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
9 Brenton And I will do in thee things which I have not done, and the like of which I will not do again, for all thine abominations. BSB BSB: Because of all your abominations, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.
10 Brenton Therefore the fathers shall eat their children in the midst of thee, and children shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and I will scatter all that are left of thee to every wind. BSB BSB: As a result, fathers among you will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.’
Famine, Sword, and Dispersion 11 Brenton Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord; surely, because thou hast defiled my holy things with all thine abominations, I also will reject thee; mine eye shall not spare, and I will have no mercy. BSB BSB: Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you.
12 Brenton A fourth part of thee shall be cut off by pestilence, and a fourth part of thee shall be consumed in the midst of thee with famine: and as for another fourth part of thee, I will scatter them to every wind; and a fourth part of thee shall fall by the sword round about thee, and I will draw out a sword after them. BSB BSB: A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them.
13 Brenton And my wrath and mine anger shall be accomplished upon them: and thou shalt know that I the Lord have spoken in my jealousy, when I have accomplished mine anger upon them. BSB BSB: And when My anger is spent and I have vented My wrath against them, I will be appeased. And when I have spent My wrath on them, they will know that I, the LORD, in My zeal have spoken.
14 Brenton And I will make thee desolate, and thy daughters round about thee, in the sight of every one that passes through. BSB BSB: I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
15 Brenton And thou shalt be mourned over and miserable among the nations round about thee, when I have executed judgments in thee in the vengeance of my wrath. I the Lord have spoken. BSB BSB: So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you, when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging fury. I, the LORD, have spoken.
16 Brenton And when I have sent against them shafts of famine, then they shall be consumed, and I will break the strength of thy bread. BSB BSB: When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food.
17 Brenton So I will send forth against thee famine and evil beasts, and I will take vengeance upon thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through upon thee; and I will bring a sword upon thee round about. I the Lord have spoken. BSB BSB: I will send famine and wild beasts 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.”