וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם קַח־לְךָ חֶרֶב חַדָּה תַּעַר הַגַּלָּבִים תִּקָּחֶנָּה לָּךְ וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ עַל־רֹאשְׁךָ וְעַל־זְקָנֶךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ לְךָ מֹאזְנֵי מִשְׁקָל וְחִלַּקְתָּם

You, Son of man, take for yourself a sharp sword, not an actual sword but a barber’s razor; you shall take it for yourself, and pass it over your head and over your beard, and shave them, and take for yourself scales of balance and divide them, the shaved hairs.

שְׁלִשִׁית בָּאוּר תַּבְעִיר בְּתוֹךְ הָעִיר כִּמְלֹאת יְמֵי הַמָּצוֹר וְלָקַחְתָּ אֶת־הַשְּׁלִשִׁית תַּכֶּה בַחֶרֶב סְבִיבוֹתֶיהָ וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁית תִּזְרֶה לָרוּחַ וְחֶרֶב אָרִיק אַחֲרֵיהֶם

One-third of the hair you shall burn in the fire inside the symbolic city that you drew on the brick, with the completion of the days of the siege that you symbolically besiege the city; and you shall take another one-third and strike it with the sword all around it, the city; and the remaining one-third you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw the sword from its sheath after them, the scattered hairs.

וְלָקַחְתָּ מִשָּׁם מְעַט בְּמִסְפָּר וְצַרְתָּ אוֹתָם בִּכְנָפֶיךָ

You shall take from there a few hairs by number, and you shall bind them in your garment’s hems.

וּמֵהֶם עוֹד תִּקָּח וְהִשְׁלַכְתָּ אוֹתָם אֶל־תּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ וְשָׂרַפְתָּ אֹתָם בָּאֵשׁ מִמֶּנּוּ תֵצֵא־אֵשׁ אֶל־כָּל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל

You shall take from them, the last one-third, again, cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; from it, this action, or from this part that you will take and throw into the fire, a fire will emerge and spread to the entire house of Israel.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים זֹאת יְרוּשָׁלִַם בְּתוֹךְ הַגּוֹיִם שַׂמְתִּיהָ וסְבִיבוֹתֶיהָ אֲרָצוֹת

So said the Lord God: This is Jerusalem. In the midst of the nations I placed it, and all around it there are countries.

וַתֶּמֶר אֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַי לְרִשְׁעָה מִן־הַגּוֹיִם וְאֶת־חֻקּוֹתַי מִן־הָאֲרָצוֹת אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתֶיהָ כִּי בְמִשְׁפָּטַי מָאָסוּ וְחֻקּוֹתַי לֹא־הָלְכוּ בָהֶם

It exchanged My ordinances for wickedness beyond that of the nations, by performing more evil than the other nations, and My statutes for evil beyond that of the countries that are around it. The residents of Jerusalem have adopted the worst elements from the surrounding nations, as they spurned My ordinances, and My statutes, they did not follow them.

לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים יַעַן הֲמָנְכֶם מִן־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתֵיכֶם בְּחֻקּוֹתַי לֹא הֲלַכְתֶּם וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַי לֹא עֲשִׂיתֶם וכְמִשְׁפְּטֵי הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתֵיכֶם לֹא עֲשִׂיתֶם

Therefore, so said the Lord God: Because you have surpassed [hamonkhem] the wickedness of the nations that are around you, or, alternatively, because you are a distinct multitude [hamon] compared to the nations around you, or because you behaved like a wild mob more so than the nations around you: You did not follow My statutes, you did not perform My ordinances, and you did not even act in accordance with the proper and fair ordinances of the nations that are around you but rather you performed only evil;

לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' אֱלוֹהִים הִנְנִי עָלַיִךְ גַּם־אָנִי וְעָשִׂיתִי בְתוֹכֵךְ מִשְׁפָּטִים לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם

therefore, so said the Lord God: Behold, I too am against you, and I will execute judgments, rebukes and punishments, in your midst before the eyes of the nations.

וְעָשִׂיתִי בָךְ אֵת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָשִׂיתִי וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר־לֹא־אֶעֱשֶׂה כָמֹהוּ עוֹד יַעַן כָּל־תּוֹעֲבֹתָיִךְ

I will do to you that which I have not done and the like of which I will not do again; your punishment will be greater than that of the other nations because of all your abominations.

לָכֵן אָבוֹת יֹאכְלוּ בָנִים בְּתוֹכֵךְ וּבָנִים יֹאכְלוּ אֲבוֹתָם וְעָשִׂיתִי בָךְ שְׁפָטִים וְזֵרִיתִי אֶת־כָּל־שְׁאֵרִיתֵךְ לְכָל־רוּחַ

Therefore, due to extreme hunger, fathers will eat sons in your midst, and sons will eat their fathers. People will be reduced to eating the corpses of their relatives. And I will administer punishments to you, and I will scatter your entire remnant in every direction.

לָכֵן חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם ה' אֱלוֹהִים אִם־לֹא יַעַן אֶת־מִקְדָּשִׁי טִמֵּאת בְּכָל־שִׁקּוּצַיִךְ וּבְכָל־תּוֹעֲבֹתָיִךְ וְגַם אֲנִי אֶגְרַע וְלֹא־תָחוֹס עֵינִי וְגַם־אֲנִי לֹא אֶחְמוֹל

Therefore, as I live – the utterance of the Lord God – if not, I swear, that it will be because you have defiled My Sanctuary with all your repugnant objects and with all your abominations, I too will surely cause diminution, My eye will not pity, and I too will have no compassion.

שְׁלִשִׁתֵיךְ בַּדֶּבֶר יָמוּתוּ וּבָרָעָב יִכְלוּ בְתוֹכֵךְ וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁית בַּחֶרֶב יִפְּלוּ סְבִיבוֹתָיִךְ וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית לְכָל־רוּחַ אֱזָרֶה וְחֶרֶב אָרִיק אַחֲרֵיהֶם

One-third of you will die of pestilence, and they will perish of famine in your midst, corresponding to the aforementioned conflagration in the model of Jerusalem (verse 2), one-third will fall by sword around you, and one-third I will scatter in every direction, and I will draw a sword after them.

וְכָלָה אַפִּי וַהֲנִחֹתִי חֲמָתִי בָּם וְהִנֶּחָמְתִּי וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי ה' דִּבַּרְתִּי בְּקִנְאָתִי בְּכַלּוֹתִי חֲמָתִי בָּם

My wrath will be spent, I will assuage My fury upon them, and I will be consoled, and then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in My zeal, when I spend My fury upon them.

וְאֶתְּנֵךְ לְחָרְבָּה וּלְחֶרְפָּה בַּגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתָיִךְ לְעֵינֵי כָּל־עוֹבֵר

Until that time, many evils will befall Jerusalem: I will render you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations that are around you; Jerusalem will be desolate and shamed before the eyes of every passerby.

וְהָיְתָה חֶרְפָּה וּגְדוּפָה מוּסָר וּמְשַׁמָּה לַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתָיִךְ בַּעֲשׂוֹתִי בָךְ שְׁפָטִים בְּאַף וּבְחֵמָה וּבְתֹכְחוֹת חֵמָה אֲנִי ה' דִּבַּרְתִּי

It, the city, will be a model of disgrace and a taunt. When someone wishes to curse a place, they will say: May your fate be like that of Jerusalem. Likewise, the city will be a chastisement and an astonishment for the nations that are around you when I will administer punishments to you in wrath, in fury, and in furious rebukes; I, the Lord, have spoken;

בְּשַׁלְּחִי אֶת־חִצֵּי הָרָעָב הָרָעִים בָּהֶם אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ לְמַשְׁחִית אֲשֶׁר־אֲשַׁלַּח אוֹתָם לְשַׁחֶתְכֶם וְרָעָב אֹסֵף עֲלֵיכֶם וְשָׁבַרְתִּי לָכֶם מַטֵּה־לָחֶם

when I send among them, the nations that surround you, the evil arrows of famine, that were for destruction, that I will also send to destroy you, and I will intensify famine upon you, more than upon the other nations, and I will break for you the staff of bread.

וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם רָעָב וְחַיָּה רָעָה וְשִׁכְּלֻךְ וְדֶבֶר וָדָם יַעֲבָר־בָּךְ וְחֶרֶב אָבִיא עָלַיִךְ אֲנִי ה' דִּבַּרְתִּי

I will send against you famine and evil beasts, and they will bereave you, pestilence and blood will pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you; I, the Lord, have spoken.