The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
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The Lord spoke to me.
2 Son of man, let your face be turned to Jerusalem, let your words be dropped in the direction of her holy place, and be a prophet against the land of Israel;
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"Mortal man," he said, "denounce Jerusalem. Denounce the places where people worship. Warn the land of Israel
3 And say to the land of Israel, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, and I will take my sword out of its cover, cutting off from you the upright and the evil.
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that I, the Lord, am saying: I am your enemy. I will draw my sword and kill all of you, good and evil alike.
4 Because I am going to have the upright and the evil cut off from you, for this cause my sword will go out from its cover against all flesh from the south to the north:
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I will use my sword against everyone from south to north.
5 And all flesh will see that I the Lord have taken my sword out of its cover: and it will never go back.
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Everyone will know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword and that I will not put it away.
6 Make sounds of grief, son of man; with body bent and a bitter heart make sounds of grief before their eyes.
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"Mortal man, groan as if your heart is breaking with despair. Groan in sorrow where everyone can watch you.
7 And when they say to you, Why are you making sounds of grief? then say, Because of the news, for it is coming: and every heart will become soft, and all hands will be feeble, and every spirit will be burning low, and all knees will be turned to water: see, it is coming and it will be done, says the Lord.
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When they ask you why you are groaning, tell them it is because of the news that is coming. When it comes, their hearts will be filled with fear, their hands will hang limp, their courage will fail, and their knees will tremble. The time has come; it is here." The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
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The Lord said to me,
9 Son of man, say as a prophet, These are the words of the Lord: Say, A sword, a sword which has been made sharp and polished:
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"Mortal man, prophesy. Tell the people what I, the Lord, am saying: A sword, a sword is sharpened and polished.
10 It has been made sharp to give death; it is polished so that it may be like a thunder-flame: ...
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It is sharpened to kill, polished to flash like lightning. There can be no rejoicing, for my people have disregarded every warning and punishment.
11 And I have given it to the polisher so that it may be taken in the hand: he has made the sword sharp, he has had it polished, to put it into the hand of him who gives death.
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The sword is being polished, to make it ready for use. It is sharpened and polished, to be put in the hands of a killer.
12 Give loud cries and make sounds of grief, O son of man: for it has come on my people, it has come on all the rulers of Israel: fear of the sword has come on my people: for this cause give signs of grief.
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Howl in grief, mortal man; this sword is meant for my people and for all the leaders of Israel. They are going to be killed with all the rest of my people. Beat your breast in despair!
13 ...
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I am testing my people, and if they refuse to repent, all these things will happen to them.
14 So then, son of man, be a prophet, and put your hands together with a loud sound, and give two blows with the sword, and even three; it is the sword of those who are wounded, even the sword of the wounded; the great sword which goes round about them.
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"Now, mortal man, prophesy. Clap your hands, and the sword will strike again and again. It is a sword that kills, a sword that terrifies and slaughters.
15 In order that hearts may become soft, and the number of those who are falling may be increased, I have sent death by the sword against all their doors: you are made like a flame, you are polished for death.
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It makes my people lose courage and stumble. I am threatening their city with a sword that flashes like lightning and is ready to kill.
16 Be pointed to the right, to the left, wherever your edge is ordered.
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Cut to the right and the left, you sharp sword! Cut wherever you turn.
17 And I will put my hands together with a loud sound, and I will let my wrath have rest: I the Lord have said it.
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I also will clap my hands, and my anger will be over. I, the Lord, have spoken."
18 And the word of the Lord came to me again, saying,
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The Lord spoke to me.
19 And you, son of man, have two ways marked out, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; let the two of them come out of one land: and let there be a pillar at the top of the road:
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"Mortal man," he said, "mark out two roads by which the king of Babylonia can come with his sword. Both of them are to start in the same country. Put up a signpost where the roads fork.
20 Put a pillar at the top of the road for the sword to come to Rabbah in the land of the children of Ammon, and to Judah and to Jerusalem in the middle of her.
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One will show the king the way to the Ammonite city of Rabbah, and the other the way to Judah, to the fortified city, Jerusalem.
21 For the king of Babylon took his place at the parting of the ways, at the top of the two roads, to make use of secret arts: shaking the arrows this way and that, he put questions to the images of his gods, he took note of the inner parts of dead beasts.
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The king of Babylonia stands by the signpost at the fork of the road. To discover which way to go, he shakes the arrows; he consults his idols; he examines the liver of a sacrificed animal.
22 At his right hand was the fate of Jerusalem, to give orders for destruction, to send up the war-cry, to put engines of war against the doors, lifting up earthworks, building walls.
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Now! His right hand holds the arrow marked "Jerusalem'! It tells him to go and set up battering rams, to shout the battle cry, to place battering rams against the gates, to throw up earthworks, and to dig trenches.
23 And this answer given by secret arts will seem false to those who have given their oaths and have let them be broken: but he will keep the memory of evil-doing so that they may be taken.
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The people of Jerusalem won't believe this because of the treaties they have made. But this prediction is to remind them of their sins and to warn them that they will be captured.
24 For this cause the Lord has said: Because you have made your evil-doing come to mind by the uncovering of your wrongdoing, causing your sins to be seen in all your evil-doings; because you have come to mind, you will be taken in them.
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This then is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: Your sins are exposed. Everyone knows how guilty you are. You show your sins in your every action. You stand condemned, and I will hand you over to your enemies.
25 And you, O evil one, wounded to death, O ruler of Israel, whose day has come in the time of the last punishment;
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"You wicked, unholy ruler of Israel, your day, the day of your final punishment, is coming.
26 This is what the Lord has said: Take away the holy head-dress, take off the crown: this will not be again: let that which is low be lifted up, and that which is high be made low.
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I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. Take off your crown and your turban. Nothing will be the same again. Raise the poor to power! Bring down those who are ruling!
27 I will let it be overturned, overturned, overturned: this will not be again till he comes whose right it is; and I will give it to him.
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Ruin, ruin! Yes, I will make the city a ruin. But this will not happen until the one comes whom I have chosen to punish the city. To him I will give it.
28 And you, son of man, say as a prophet, This is what the Lord has said about the children of Ammon and about their shame: Say, A sword, even a sword let loose, polished for death, to make it shining so that it may be like a flame:
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"Mortal man, prophesy. Announce what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to the Ammonites, who are insulting Israel. Say to them: "A sword is ready to destroy; It is polished to kill, to flash like lightning.
29 Your vision is to no purpose, your use of secret arts gives a false answer, to put it on the necks of evil-doers who are wounded to death, whose day has come, in the time of the last punishment.
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The visions that you see are false, and the predictions you make are lies. You are wicked and evil, and your day is coming, the day of your final punishment. The sword is going to fall on your necks.
30 Go back into your cover. In the place where you were made, in the land from which you were taken, I will be your judge.
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" "Put up the sword! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land where you were born.
31 And I will let loose my burning passion on you, breathing out on you the fire of my wrath: and I will give you up into the hands of men like beasts, trained to destruction.
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You will feel my anger when I turn it loose on you like a blazing fire. And I will hand you over to brutal men, experts at destruction.
32 You will be food for the fire; your blood will be drained out in the land; there will be no more memory of you: for I the Lord have said it.
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You will be destroyed by fire. Your blood will be shed in your own country, and no one will remember you any more.' " The Lord has spoken.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.