Part 4 (2/2)

They shall call the n.o.bles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches. And the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; yea, the night-monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest. There shall the arrowsnake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: yea, there shall the kites be gathered, every one with her mate.

Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: No one of these shall be missing, None shall want her mate: For my mouth it hath commanded, And his spirit it hath gathered them.

And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.

2

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of the LORD, the excellency of our G.o.d.

Strengthen ye the weak hands, And confirm the feeble knees; Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: Behold, your G.o.d will come with vengeance, With the recompence of G.o.d he will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water: in the habitation of jackals, where they lay, shall be gra.s.s with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pa.s.s over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon, they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

VI

EZEKIEL'S DISCOURSE

THE SWORD OF THE LORD

1

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel; and say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my SWORD out of its sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.

Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more. Sigh therefore, thou son of man; with the breaking of thy loins and with bitterness shalt thou sigh before their eyes. And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt say, Because of the tidings, for it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord G.o.d.

2

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD: Say,

A sword, A sword, It is sharpened, And also furbished: It is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; It is furbished that it may be as lightning!

'Shall we then make mirth? The Rod of my son, it contemneth every tree.'

And it is given to be furbished That it may be handled: The sword, it is sharpened, yea it is furbished, To give it into the hand of the slayer.

Cry and howl, son of man: for it is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh. For there is a trial; and what if even the Rod that contemneth shall be no more? saith the Lord G.o.d. Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together.

And let the sword be doubled the third time; The sword of the deadly wounded: It is the sword of the great one that is deadly wounded Which compa.s.seth them about.

I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, That their heart may melt, And their stumblings be multiplied: Ah! it is made as lightning!

It is pointed for slaughter-- Gather thee together, go to the right; Set thyself in array, go to the left-- Whithersoever thy face is set.

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