Ezekiel 5 - The Voice (VOICE)

5 Eternal One: Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a straight razor to shave your head and beard. Then take scales and divide the hair up by weight into thirds. 2 When the days prescribed for the siege are over, take a third of the hair and burn it in a fire within the city walls. Then take another third and thrash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter the last third of the hair to the wind. Then I will draw My sword and chase them! 3 Keep a few strands of the hairs and tie them to the edges of your garment. 4 Take some of these extra strands of hair and fling them into the fire to burn them up. From there, a fire will spread to the whole house of Israel.

5 This is what the Eternal One says:

Eternal One: This stands for Jerusalem. I have placed her at the center of all nations, with countries surrounding her. 6 Yet she has defied My teachings and acted more wickedly than any of the other nations living around her; she has rejected My decrees and ignored My guidance. 7 This is what I, the Eternal Lord, have to say: You have been more rebellious toward My guidance and decrees than any other nation, choosing not to live even under the ethical and moral standards of other nations, and certainly not under My laws. 8 Therefore, I say, I am no longer your ally, Jerusalem. I am your enemy! I am going to punish you in front of all nations. 9 Because of your shocking actions, I am going to do something I have never done before and will never do again: 10 The day will come when fathers will devour their sons, and sons will feed off their fathers’ flesh. This is how I will punish you and scatter the few of you who survive to the wind.

When a powerful army surrounds the walls of a city, it cuts off the people’s access to their fields, animals, and water sources. If the siege lasts long enough, death is inevitable for those inside the city walls. As the bodies pile up and hunger becomes unbearable, cannibalism may be the only way to stay alive. There is something horrid about cannibalism. The notion that parents may be reduced to eating their children disrupts every natural impulse a parent has. But Scripture teaches that those who break God’s law and violate His holiness may be cursed with this punishment (Leviticus 26:29).

Eternal One: 11 Consequently, as surely as I live, because you have degraded My holy sanctuary with all your detestable images and shocking actions, I will leave you. I will shed no tears of compassion over you. 12 One-third of your people will suffer during the siege, starving to death or dying from disease within the city walls. Another third of you will die in battles outside of the city walls as they try to escape. The remaining third will be scattered to the winds, and I will draw My sword and chase after them.

13 After this My anger will subside. I will not be satisfied until I have unleashed My fiery judgment on them. Then they will know that I, the Eternal One, am the one who commanded all of this, for I jealously desire their devotion. 14 When I am finished with you, your nation will lie in ruins. You will be mocked and ridiculed by the nations around you and those who pass by. 15 You will become a byword to the nations, a warning to the world as they watch your horrific downfall when I punish you with anger, with fury, and with fiery judgment. I, the Eternal One, have spoken. 16 When I shoot My deadly arrows of famine and war at you, I will shoot to kill. I’ll curse you with more famine and cut off your food supply. 17 And when the famine has run its course, I will send savage beasts to attack you and eat the rest of your children. Plague, disease, murder, and bloodshed will pass through your land as I wage war against you!

I, the Eternal, have spoken.

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5 `And thou, son of man, take to thee a sharp weapon, the barber's razor thou dost take to thee, and thou hast caused [it] to pass over thy head, and over thy beard, and thou hast taken to thee weighing scales, and apportioned them. 2 A third part with fire thou dost burn in the midst of the city, a...
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Ezekiel 5 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

5 And thou, son of man, take to thee a sharp sword, [or (a) razor,] (for) shaving hairs; and thou shalt take it, and shalt lead it by thine head, and by thy beard. And thou shalt take to thee a balance of weight(s), and thou shalt part those. (And thou, son of man, get thee a sharp razor for shaving...
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Ezekiel 5 - World English Bible (WEB)

5 “You, son of man, take a sharp sword. You shall take it as a barber’s razor to yourself, and shall cause it to pass over your head and over your beard. Then take balances to weigh and divide the hair. 2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the middle of the city, when the days of the siege ...
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Ezekiel 5 - The Voice (VOICE)

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Ezekiel 5 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Sign of a Shaved Head5 “Now you, son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take balances to weigh and divide the hair. 2 A third you will burn in fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are complete. Take a third and strike ...
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Ezekiel 5 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

A Sword against Jerusalem5 “And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair. 2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are compl...
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Ezekiel 5 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

A Sword against Jerusalem5 “And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair. 2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are compl...
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Ezekiel 5 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

A Sword against Jerusalem5 And you, O mortal, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor and run it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair. 2 One-third of the hair you shall burn in the fire inside the city, when the days of the siege are completed; ...
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Ezekiel 5 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

A Sword against Jerusalem5 “And you, O mortal, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor and run it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair.(A)2 One third of the hair you shall burn in the fire inside the city when the days of the siege are completed;...
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Ezekiel 5 - New Living Translation (NLT)

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Ezekiel 5 - New Life Version (NLV)

Ezekiel Cuts His Hair with a Sword5 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it to cut the hair from your head and face. Then weigh and divide the hair. 2 A third part you must burn in the fire in the center of the city, when the days of the battle are completed. Then take a third part and ...
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Ezekiel 5 - New King James Version (NKJV)

A Sword Against Jerusalem5 “And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, (A)and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. 2 (B)You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of (C)the city, when (D)the days of the siege are finis...
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Ezekiel 5 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

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God’s Razor of Judgment5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor(A) to shave(B) your head and your beard.(C) Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. 2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn(D) a third(E) of the hair inside the city. Take a third and st...
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Ezekiel 5 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

God’s Judgment Will Be Like a Barber’s Razor5 “Son of man, get a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor. Shave your head and beard with it. Then get a set of scales and weigh the hair. Separate it into three piles. 2 Burn up a third of the hair inside the city. Do this when you stop attacking the ...
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Ezekiel 5 - New English Translation (NET)

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