O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. O thou sword of the Lord - This is a most grand prosopopoeia - a dialogue between the sword of the Lord and the prophet. Nothing can be imagined more sublime.
Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still - Shed no more blood, destroy no more lives, erase no more cities, desolate no more countries. Rest: - hast thou not been long enough at this work of judgment? O be still: - let wars and desolations cease for ever.