Category: DAB Readings

The Lord’s Punishing Sword Is Drawn

21 The word of the Lord came to me.^[a]

⁸ The word of the Lord came to me.

Two Roads for the Sword

¹⁸ The word of the Lord came to me.

Judgment on the Bloody City for Her Abominations

22 The word of the Lord came to me.

¹⁷ The word of the Lord came to me.

²³ The word of the Lord came to me.

Animal Sacrifices Are Not Sufficient

10 In fact, the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the actual realization of those things. It will never be able to make perfect those who continually offer the same sacrifices year after year. ² If it could do this, would they not have stopped bringing sacrifices, because the worshippers, once they were cleansed, would no longer have a bad conscience about sins? ³ Instead, these sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year. ⁴ The fact is that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins.

⁵ Therefore when he entered the world, Christ said:

⁸ First he said:

⁹ Then he said:

He does away with the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ By this will, we have been sanctified once and for all, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ.

Christ’s Sacrifice Is Sufficient

¹¹ In the one case, every priest stood ministering day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which are never able to remove sin. ¹² In the other case, this priest, after he offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. ¹³ Since then he has been waiting until his enemies are made a footstool under his feet. ¹⁴ By only one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵ The Holy Spirit also testifies in Scripture^[d] to us, for first he said:

¹⁷ Then he adds:

Psalm 108

My Heart Is Steadfast
(Psalm 108:1-5 parallels Psalm 57:7-11)
(Psalm 108:6-13 parallels Psalm 60:5-12)

Heading
A song. A psalm by David.

David’s Confident Praise

David’s Prayer

David’s Confidence in God’s Help

A Review of the Old Covenant and a Promise of the New

20 In the seventh year,^[a] in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, men came from the elders of Israel to consult the Lord, and they sat down in front of me. ² Then the word of the Lord came to me. ³ “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and tell them this.”

This is what the Lord God says to them:

²⁷ Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them this.

³⁰ Therefore, say this to the house of Israel.

Prophecy Against the Southland

⁴⁵ The word of the Lord came to me.^[g]

⁴⁹ Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, they are saying about me, ‘Doesn’t he just talk in puzzling parables?’”

Jesus’ Blood

¹¹ But when Christ appeared as the high priest of the good things that were coming,^[a] he went through the greater and more complete tent, which was not made by human hands (that is, it is not part of this creation). ¹² He entered once into the Most Holy Place and obtained eternal redemption, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. ¹³ Now if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who were unclean, sanctifies them so that their flesh is clean, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our^[b] consciences from dead works, so that we worship the living God?

¹⁵ For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant. A death took place as payment for the trespasses committed under the first covenant, so that those who are called would receive the promised eternal inheritance. ¹⁶ For where a will^[c] exists, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made the will. ¹⁷ For a will takes effect at the time of death, since it is never in force when the one who made the will is still living.

¹⁸ For this reason, the first covenant was not ratified without blood. ¹⁹ Indeed, after every command was spoken by Moses to all the people, in accordance with the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats,^[d] with water and scarlet wool and a hyssop branch, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood of the covenant that God established for you.”^{[e] 21} In the same way he sprinkled blood on the tent and all the objects for worship. ²² And nearly everything is cleansed with blood according to the law. And, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

One Perfect Sacrifice

²³ Therefore, it was necessary that the copies of the things in heaven be cleansed by these sacrifices, but it was necessary that the heavenly things themselves be cleansed with sacrifices better than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a handmade sanctuary, a representation of the true sanctuary. Instead, he entered into heaven itself, now to appear before God on our behalf. ²⁵ And he did not enter to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise he would have needed to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once and for all, at the climax of the ages, in order to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment, ²⁸ so also Christ was offered only once to take away the sins of many, and he will appear a second time—without sin—to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Book V
Psalms 107–150

Psalm 107

He Redeemed Them From Trouble

Invocation to Give Thanks

First Crisis: The Wilderness

Refrain

Second Crisis: Imprisonment

Refrain

Third Crisis: Rebellion

Refrain

Fourth Crisis: On the Sea

Refrain

Curses and Blessings

Application: Be Wise

The Wicked Will Die; The Righteous Will Live

18 The word of the Lord came to me.

A Parable About Israel’s Princes

19 Now you are to take up a lament for the princes of Israel. ² This is what you are to say:

This is a lament, and it was used as a lament.

The Earthly Tent

9 The first covenant had regulations for worship and for an earthly sanctuary. ² The first room of the tent was furnished with the lampstand, the table, and the Bread of the Presence.^[a] This room was called the Holy Place. ³ And behind the second curtain was the room of the tent called the Most Holy Place. ⁴ It had the golden censer for incense^[b] and the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered entirely with gold. Inside the Ark was the golden jar holding the manna, Aaron’s staff that had sprouted buds, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the Ark, the glorious cherubim overshadowed the atonement seat. We are not going to talk about these things in detail now.

⁶ After these things had been furnished in this way, the priests would always enter the first room of the tent to perform their ministries. ⁷ But only the high priest would enter the second section of the tent, once each year, and not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people committed in ignorance. ⁸ By this the Holy Spirit indicates that, while the first room of the tent existed, a way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed.

⁹ This tent is a picture pointing to the present time. Since it is only a picture, the gifts and sacrifices that are brought there are not able to clear the conscience of the worshipper. ¹⁰ They are only bodily regulations about foods, drinks, and various washings, which were in force until the time of the new order.

Rebellion Continues in the Land

The Judgment

God’s Grace

Closing Prayer

Closing Doxology

The Parable About the Cedar Sprig

17 The word of the Lord came to me. ² Son of man, present a challenging parable to the house of Israel. ³ Tell the Israelites that this is what the Lord God says.

¹¹ The word of the Lord came to me. ¹² Tell this to the rebellious house.

A Better Promise

8 The main point of what we are saying is this: We have the kind of high priest who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. ² He is the minister in the Holy Place, which is the true sanctuary, which the Lord set up, not man. ³ For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, and for that reason this priest also needed to have something that he offered.

⁴ If this priest were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because there are priests^[a] who are designated by the law to offer gifts. ⁵ They serve at a place that is a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, a place exactly like that about which Moses was told when he was about to complete the tent.^[b] For God said, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain.”^[c]

⁶ But now, Jesus has obtained a ministry that is as much superior as the covenant that he mediates is better, because it has been established on the basis of better promises. ⁷ Indeed, if that first covenant were without fault, there would have been no reason to look for a second. ⁸ But because God found fault with the people, he said:^[d]

¹³ When God said “new,” he made the first covenant obsolete, and something that is obsolete and growing old is going to disappear.

Rebellions in the Wilderness

God’s Grace

More Rebellions in the Wilderness

Jerusalem Will Not Be Spared

¹² And the word of the Lord came to me: ^13 (A)“Son of man, when a land sins against me ^(B)by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and ^(C)break its supply^[a] of bread and send famine upon it, and ^(D)cut off from it man and beast, ^14 (E)even if these three men, ^(F)Noah, ^(G)Daniel, and ^(H)Job, were in it, ^(I)they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.

^15 (J)“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, ^(K)and it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts, ¹⁶ even if these three men were in it, ^(L)as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but ^(M)the land would be desolate.

¹⁷ “Or ^(N)if I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, ^(O)and I cut off from it man and beast, ^18 (P)though these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.

¹⁹ “Or ^(Q)if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, ²⁰ even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.

²¹ “For thus says the Lord God: How much more ^(R)when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, ^(S)sword, ^(T)famine, ^(U)wild beasts, and ^(V)pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! ²² But behold, ^(W)some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and ^(X)you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. ²³ They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.”

Jerusalem, a Useless Vine

15 And the word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (Y)“Son of man, how does ^(Z)the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? ³ Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take ^(AA)a peg from it to hang any vessel on it? ^4 (AB)Behold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? ^5 (AC)Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! ⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(AD)Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, ^(AE)which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ^7 (AF)And I will set my face against them. Though ^(AG)they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, ^(AH)and you will know that I am the Lord, ^(AI)when I set my face against them. ^8 (AJ)And I will make the land desolate, because ^(AK)they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.”

The Lord's Faithless Bride

16 Again the word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (AL)“Son of man, ^(AM)make known to Jerusalem her abominations, ³ and say, Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Canaanites; your father was an ^(AN)Amorite and your mother a ^(AO)Hittite. ⁴ And as for your birth, ^(AP)on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. ⁵ No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, ^(AQ)but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, ^(AR)on the day that you were born.

⁶ “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing ^(AS)in your blood, I said to you ^(AT)in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you ^(AU)in your blood, ‘Live!’ ^7 (AV)I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall ^(AW)and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet ^(AX)you were naked and bare.

⁸ “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and ^(AY)I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you ^(AZ)and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, ^(BA)and you became mine. ⁹ Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and ^(BB)anointed you with oil. ^10 (BC)I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.^{[b] 11 (BD)}And I adorned you with ornaments and ^(BE)put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. ¹² And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. ^(BF)You ate fine flour and honey and oil. ^(BG)You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. ¹⁴ And ^(BH)your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God.

^15 (BI)“But you trusted in your beauty ^(BJ)and played the whore^[c] because of your renown ^(BK)and lavished your whorings^[d] on any passerby; your beauty^[e] became his. ¹⁶ You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be.^{[f] 17} You also took ^(BL)your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and ^(BM)made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. ¹⁸ And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, ^(BN)and set my oil and my incense before them. ^19 (BO)Also my bread that I gave you—^(BP)I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey—you set before them for ^(BQ)a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord God. ^20 (BR)And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and ^(BS)these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter ²¹ that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? ²² And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember ^(BT)the days of your youth, ^(BU)when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.

²³ “And after all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! declares the Lord God), ²⁴ you built yourself ^(BV)a vaulted chamber and made yourself a lofty place in every square. ²⁵ At the head of every street ^(BW)you built your lofty place and made ^(BX)your beauty an abomination, ^(BY)offering yourself^[g] to any passerby and multiplying your whoring. ^26 (BZ)You also played the whore ^(CA)with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors, ^(CB)multiplying your whoring, ^(CC)to provoke me to anger. ²⁷ Behold, therefore, I stretched out my hand against you ^(CD)and diminished your allotted portion ^(CE)and delivered you to the greed of your enemies, ^(CF)the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. ^28 (CG)You played the whore also ^(CH)with the Assyrians, because you were not satisfied; yes, you played the whore with them, and still you were not satisfied. ²⁹ You multiplied your whoring also with the trading land ^(CI)of Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.

³⁰ “How sick is your heart,^[h] declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, ³¹ building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, ^(CJ)because you scorned payment. ³² Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! ³³ Men give gifts to all prostitutes, ^(CK)but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. ³⁴ So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and ^(CL)you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different.

³⁵ “Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: ³⁶ Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, ^(CM)and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, ³⁷ therefore, behold, ^(CN)I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and ^(CO)all those you hated. ^(CP)I will gather them against you from every side ^(CQ)and will uncover your nakedness to them, that ^(CR)they may see all your nakedness. ^38 (CS)And I will judge you ^(CT)as women who commit adultery and ^(CU)shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. ³⁹ And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your ^(CV)vaulted chamber and break down ^(CW)your lofty places. ^(CX)They shall strip you of your clothes and take ^(CY)your beautiful jewels and leave you ^(CZ)naked and bare. ^40 (DA)They shall bring up a crowd against you, ^(DB)and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. ^41 (DC)And they shall ^(DD)burn your houses and ^(DE)execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. ^(DF)I will make you stop playing the whore, and ^(DG)you shall also give payment no more.

¹⁸ For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside ^(A)because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹ (for ^(B)the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, ^(C)a better hope is introduced, through which ^(D)we draw near to God.

²⁰ And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹ but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

²² This makes Jesus the guarantor of ^(F)a better covenant.

²³ The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴ but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues ^(G)forever. ²⁵ Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost^{[a] (H)}those who draw near to God ^(I)through him, since he always lives ^(J)to make intercession for them.

²⁶ For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, ^(K)holy, innocent, unstained, ^(L)separated from sinners, and ^(M)exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, ^(N)first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this ^(O)once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints men ^(P)in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made ^(Q)perfect forever.

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

Judah's Captivity Symbolized

12 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ^(B)a rebellious house, ^(C)who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are ^(D)a rebellious house. ³ As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself ^(E)an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day ^(F)in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place ^(G)in their sight. ^(H)Perhaps they will understand, though^[a] they are a rebellious house. ⁴ You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself ^(I)at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. ⁵ In their sight ^(J)dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. ⁶ In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you ^(K)a sign for the house of Israel.”

^7 (L)And I did as I was commanded. ^(M)I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: ^9 (N)“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^(O)the rebellious house, said to you, ^(P)‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns^{[b] (Q)}the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’^{[c] 11} Say, ^(R)‘I am a sign for you: ^(S)as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ ^12 (T)And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. ^(U)They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. ^(V)He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. ^13 (W)And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And ^(X)I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, ^(Y)yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. ^14 (Z)And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, ^(AA)and I will unsheathe the sword after them. ^15 (AB)And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ^16 (AC)But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, ^(AD)and may know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^18 (AE)“Son of man, ^(AF)eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: ^(AG)They shall eat their bread with anxiety, ^(AH)and drink water in dismay. In this way ^(AI)her land will be stripped of all it contains, ^(AJ)on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ^20 (AK)And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²² “Son of man, ^(AL)what is this proverb that you^[d] have about the land of Israel, saying, ^(AM)‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, ^(AN)The days are near, and the fulfillment^[e] of every vision. ^24 (AO)For there shall be no more any ^(AP)false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the Lord; I will speak ^(AQ)the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. ^(AR)It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, ^(AS)O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”

²⁶ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ^(AT)‘The vision that he sees is ^(AU)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(AV)None of my words will be delayed any longer, ^(AW)but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”

False Prophets Condemned

13 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (AX)“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those ^(AY)who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ³ Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! ⁴ Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. ^5 (AZ)You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. ^6 (BA)They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ ^(BB)when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. ⁷ Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, ^(BC)whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, ^(BD)I am against you, declares the Lord God. ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, ^(BE)nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, ^(BF)nor shall they enter the land of Israel. ^(BG)And you shall know that I am the Lord God. ¹⁰ Precisely because they have misled my people, ^(BH)saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, ^(BI)these prophets smear it with whitewash,^{[f] 11} say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! ^(BJ)There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. ¹² And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ ¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(BK)I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, ^(BL)and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. ¹⁴ And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, ^(BM)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, ¹⁶ the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem ^(BN)and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God.

¹⁷ “And you, son of man, ^(BO)set your face against ^(BP)the daughters of your people, ^(BQ)who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them ¹⁸ and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women ^(BR)who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and ^(BS)make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in ^(BT)the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? ¹⁹ You have profaned me among my people ^(BU)for handfuls of barley ^(BV)and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.

²⁰ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^(BW)I am against ^(BX)your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. ²¹ Your veils also I will tear off and ^(BY)deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, ^(BZ)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ^22 (CA)Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and ^(CB)you have encouraged the wicked, that ^(CC)he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, ^23 (CD)therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Idolatrous Elders Condemned

14 Then certain of the ^(CE)elders of Israel came to me ^(CF)and sat before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me: ^3 (CG)“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set ^(CH)the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. ^(CI)Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? ⁴ Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, ^(CJ)I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, ^5 (CK)that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, ^(CL)who are all estranged from me through their idols.

⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(CM)Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. ⁷ For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, ^(CN)who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, ^(CO)I the Lord will answer him myself. ⁸ And ^(CP)I will set my face against that man; I ^(CQ)will make him a sign and a byword ^(CR)and cut him off from the midst of my people, ^(CS)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁹ And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, ^(CT)I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. ¹⁰ And they shall bear their punishment^[g]—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike— ¹¹ that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor ^(CU)defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, ^(CV)but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.”

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7 For this ^(A)Melchizedek, king of ^(B)Salem, priest of ^(C)the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. ³ He is without father or mother ^(D)or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

⁴ See how great this man was to whom Abraham ^(E)the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! ⁵ And ^(F)those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,^[a] though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ But this man ^(G)who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed ^(H)him who had the promises. ⁷ It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸ In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one ^(I)of whom it is testified that ^(J)he lives. ⁹ One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

^11 (K)Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³ For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended ^(L)from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵ This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶ who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is witnessed of him,

The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, ^(A)on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^(B)like a sapphire,^[a] in appearance like a throne. ² And he said to ^(C)the man clothed in linen, “Go in among ^(D)the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with ^(E)burning coals from between the cherubim, and ^(F)scatter them over the city.”

And he went in ^(G)before my eyes. ³ Now the cherubim were standing ^(H)on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^(I)a cloud filled ^(J)the inner court. ⁴ And ^(K)the glory of the Lord ^(L)went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house ^(M)was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with ^(N)the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ And ^(O)the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^(P)like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

⁶ And when he commanded ^(Q)the man clothed in linen, ^(R)“Take fire from between ^(S)the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have ^(T)the form of a human hand under their wings.

^9 (U)And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and ^(V)the appearance of the wheels was ^(W)like sparkling ^(X)beryl. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ^11 (Y)When they went, they went in any of their four directions^{[b] (Z)}without turning as they went, ^(AA)but in whatever direction the front wheel^[c] faced, the others followed without turning as they went. ^12 (AB)And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,^[d] and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ^(AC)“the whirling wheels.” ^14 (AD)And every one had four faces: ^(AE)the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was ^(AF)a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

^15 (AG)And the cherubim mounted up. These were ^(AH)the living creatures that I saw by ^(AI)the Chebar canal. ^16 (AJ)And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And ^(AK)when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. ^17 (AL)When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures^[e] was in them.

^18 (AM)Then ^(AN)the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. ^19 (AO)And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ^(AP)before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the ^(AQ)east gate of the house of the Lord, and ^(AR)the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

^20 (AS)These were the living creatures that I saw ^(AT)underneath the God of Israel by ^(AU)the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. ^21 (AV)Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings ^(AW)the likeness of human hands. ^22 (AX)And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. ^(AY)Each one of them went straight forward.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 ^(AZ)The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^(BA)the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were ^(BB)twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah ^(BC)the son of Azzur, and ^(BD)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. ² And he said to me, ^(BE)“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; ^3 (BF)who say, ^(BG)‘The time is not near^[f] to build houses. ^(BH)This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

⁵ And ^(BI)the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. ^(BJ)For I know the things that come into your mind. ^6 (BK)You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(BL)Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, ^(BM)they are the meat, and ^(BN)this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. ^8 (BO)You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. ⁹ And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ^(BP)give you into the hands of foreigners, and ^(BQ)execute judgments upon you. ^10 (BR)You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ^(BS)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ^11 (BT)This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ¹² and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ^(BU)but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

¹³ And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ^(BV)that ^(BW)Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ^(BX)Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ^(BY)“Ah, Lord God! ^(BZ)Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel's New Heart and Spirit

¹⁴ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^15 (CA)“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,^[g] the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^(CB)‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ ¹⁶ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^(CC)I have been a sanctuary to them for a while^[h] in the countries where they have gone.’ ¹⁷ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(CD)I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^(CE)and I will give you the land of Israel.’ ¹⁸ And when they come there, ^(CF)they will remove from it all its ^(CG)detestable things and all its abominations. ^19 (CH)And I will give them one heart, and ^(CI)a new spirit I will put within them. ^(CJ)I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^(CK)and give them a heart of flesh, ^20 (CL)that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^(CM)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ^21 (CN)But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^(CO)I will^[i] bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

^22 (CP)Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^(CQ)and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^(CR)stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. ^24 (CS)And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^(CT)in the vision by the Spirit of God ^(CU)into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

6 Therefore ^(A)let us leave ^(B)the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance ^(C)from dead works and of faith toward God, ² and of ^(D)instruction about washings,^{[a] (E)}the laying on of hands, ^(F)the resurrection of the dead, and ^(G)eternal judgment. ³ And this we will do ^(H)if God permits. ⁴ For it is impossible, in the case of those ^(I)who have once been enlightened, who have tasted ^(J)the heavenly gift, and ^(K)have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and ^(L)have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and ^(M)then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since ^(N)they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. ⁷ For ^(O)land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. ⁸ But ^(P)if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, ^(Q)and its end is to be burned.

⁹ Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. ¹⁰ For ^(R)God is not unjust so as to overlook ^(S)your work and the love that you have shown for his name in ^(T)serving the saints, as you still do. ¹¹ And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance ^(U)of hope until the end, ¹² so that you may not be sluggish, but ^(V)imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The Certainty of God's Promise

¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, ^(W)he swore by himself, ¹⁴ saying, ^(X)“Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” ¹⁵ And thus Abraham,^{[b] (Y)}having patiently waited, obtained the promise. ¹⁶ For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes ^(Z)an oath is final for confirmation. ¹⁷ So when God desired to show more convincingly to ^(AA)the heirs of the promise ^(AB)the unchangeable character of his purpose, ^(AC)he guaranteed it with an oath, ¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things, in which ^(AD)it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope ^(AE)set before us. ¹⁹ We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into ^(AF)the inner place behind the curtain, ²⁰ where Jesus has gone ^(AG)as a forerunner on our behalf, ^(AH)having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The Day of the Wrath of the Lord

7 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “And you, ^(A)O son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: ^(B)An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.^{[a] 3} Now ^(C)the end is upon you, and ^(D)I will send my anger upon you; ^(E)I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. ^4 (F)And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but ^(G)I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. ^(H)Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: Disaster ^(I)after disaster!^[b] Behold, it comes. ^6 (J)An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. ^7 (K)Your doom^[c] has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. ^(L)The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not ^(M)of joyful shouting on the mountains. ⁸ Now I will soon ^(N)pour out my wrath upon you, and ^(O)spend my anger against you, ^(P)and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. ^9 (Q)And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. ^(R)Then you will know that I am the Lord, who strikes.

^10 (S)“Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! ^(T)Your doom has come; ^(U)the rod has blossomed; pride has budded. ^11 (V)Violence has grown up into ^(W)a rod of wickedness. ^(X)None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them.^{[d] 12 (Y)}The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not ^(Z)the buyer rejoice, nor ^(AA)the seller mourn, ^(AB)for wrath is upon all their multitude.^{[e] 13} For ^(AC)the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. ^(AD)For the vision concerns all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life.^[f]

¹⁴ “They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, ^(AE)for my wrath is upon all their multitude. ^15 (AF)The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. ^(AG)He who is in the field dies by the sword, ^(AH)and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. ^16 (AI)And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like ^(AJ)doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. ^17 (AK)All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. ^18 (AL)They put on sackcloth, and ^(AM)horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and ^(AN)baldness on all their heads. ¹⁹ They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. ^(AO)Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. ^(AP)For it was ^(AQ)the stumbling block of their iniquity. ^20 (AR)His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and ^(AS)they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore ^(AT)I make it an unclean thing to them. ²¹ And I will give it into the hands of ^(AU)foreigners for prey, ^(AV)and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and ^(AW)they shall profane it. ²² I will turn my face from them, and ^(AX)they shall profane my treasured^[g] place. Robbers shall enter ^(AY)and profane it.

^23 (AZ)“Forge a chain!^{[h] (BA)}For the land is full of bloody crimes ^(BB)and the city is full of violence. ²⁴ I will bring ^(BC)the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. ^(BD)I will put an end to the pride of the strong, ^(BE)and their holy places^[i] shall be profaned. ^25 (BF)When anguish comes, ^(BG)they will seek peace, but there shall be none. ^26 (BH)Disaster comes upon disaster; ^(BI)rumor follows rumor. ^(BJ)They seek a vision from the prophet, while ^(BK)the law^[j] perishes from the priest and ^(BL)counsel from the elders. ²⁷ The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way ^(BM)I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, ^(BN)and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

Abominations in the Temple

8 ^(BO)In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(BP)as I sat in my house, with ^(BQ)the elders of Judah sitting before me, ^(BR)the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and behold, ^(BS)a form that had the appearance of a man.^{[k] (BT)}Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like ^(BU)gleaming metal.^{[l] 3} He ^(BV)put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up ^(BW)between earth and heaven and ^(BX)brought me in ^(BY)visions of God to Jerusalem, ^(BZ)to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, ^(CA)where was the seat of the ^(CB)image of jealousy, ^(CC)which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, ^(CD)the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw ^(CE)in the valley.

⁵ Then he said to me, ^(CF)“Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of ^(CG)the altar gate, in the entrance, was this ^(CH)image of jealousy. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, ^(CI)do you see what they are doing, ^(CJ)the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, ^(CK)to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

⁷ And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then he said to me, “Son of man, ^(CL)dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. ⁹ And he said to me, “Go in, and see ^(CM)the vile abominations that they are committing here.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw. And there, ^(CN)engraved on the wall all around, was ^(CO)every form of ^(CP)creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. ¹¹ And before them stood ^(CQ)seventy men of ^(CR)the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of ^(CS)Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and ^(CT)the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing ^(CU)in the dark, each ^(CV)in his room of pictures? For they say, ^(CW)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ¹³ He said also to me, ^(CX)“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

¹⁴ Then he brought me to ^(CY)the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(CZ)son of man? ^(DA)You will see still greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ And he brought me into ^(DB)the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, ^(DC)between the ^(DD)porch and ^(DE)the altar, were about twenty-five men, ^(DF)with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping ^(DG)the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(DH)son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit ^(DI)the abominations that they commit here, that ^(DJ)they should fill the land with violence and ^(DK)provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their^[m] nose. ¹⁸ Therefore ^(DL)I will act in wrath. ^(DM)My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. ^(DN)And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Idolaters Killed

9 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, ^(DO)each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” ² And behold, six men came from the direction of ^(DP)the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was ^(DQ)a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside ^(DR)the bronze altar.

³ Now ^(DS)the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ^(DT)the threshold of the house. And he called to ^(DU)the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. ⁴ And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and ^(DV)put a mark on the foreheads of the men who ^(DW)sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” ⁵ And to ^(DX)the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. ^(DY)Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. ^6 (DZ)Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but ^(EA)touch no one on whom is the mark. And ^(EB)begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. ⁷ Then he said to them, ^(EC)“Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. ⁸ And while they were striking, and I was left alone, ^(ED)I fell upon my face, and cried, ^(EE)“Ah, Lord God! ^(EF)Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel ^(EG)in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

⁹ Then he said to me, ^(EH)“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. ^(EI)The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For ^(EJ)they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ ¹⁰ As for me, ^(EK)my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; ^(EL)I will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

¹¹ And behold, ^(EM)the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

5 For every high priest chosen from among men ^(A)is appointed to act on behalf of men ^(B)in relation to God, ^(C)to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ^2 (D)He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself ^(E)is beset with weakness. ³ Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins ^(F)just as he does for those of the people. ⁴ And ^(G)no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, ^(H)just as Aaron was.

⁵ So also Christ ^(I)did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

⁶ as he says also in another place,

⁷ In the days of his flesh, ^(L)Jesus^[a] offered up prayers and supplications, ^(M)with loud cries and tears, to him ^(N)who was able to save him from death, and ^(O)he was heard because of his reverence. ⁸ Although ^(P)he was a son, ^(Q)he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹ And ^(R)being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, ¹⁰ being designated by God a high priest ^(S)after the order of Melchizedek.

Warning Against Apostasy

¹¹ About this we have much to say, and it is ^(T)hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again ^(U)the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need ^(V)milk, not solid food, ¹³ for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is ^(W)a child. ¹⁴ But solid food is for ^(X)the mature, for those who have their powers ^(Y)of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Tell of All His Wondrous Works

A Watchman for Israel

^16 (A)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ^17 (B)“Son of man, ^(C)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall ^(D)give them warning from me. ^18 (E)If I say to the wicked, ^(F)‘You shall surely die,’ ^(G)and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person ^(H)shall die for^[a] his iniquity, ^(I)but his blood I will require at your hand. ^19 (J)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, ^(K)but you ^(L)will have delivered your soul. ^20 (M)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^(N)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^(O)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^(P)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ^(Q)but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

^22 (R)And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into ^(S)the valley,^[b] and ^(T)there I will speak with you.” ²³ So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ^(U)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen ^(V)by the Chebar canal, ^(W)and I fell on my face. ^24 (X)But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. ²⁵ And you, O son of man, behold, ^(Y)cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶ And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that ^(Z)you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, ^(AA)for they are a rebellious house. ^27 (AB)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^(AC)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^(AD)He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “And you, ^(AE)son of man, ^(AF)take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. ^2 (AG)And put siegeworks against it, ^(AH)and build a siege wall against it, ^(AI)and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, ^(AJ)and plant battering rams against it all around. ³ And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; ^(AK)and set your face toward it, ^(AL)and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is ^(AM)a sign for the house of Israel.

⁴ “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment^[c] of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, ^(AN)you shall bear their punishment. ⁵ For I assign to you a number of days, ^(AO)390 days, ^(AP)equal to the number of the years of their punishment. ^(AQ)So long shall you bear ^(AR)the punishment of the house of Israel. ⁶ And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and ^(AS)bear ^(AT)the punishment of the house of Judah. ^(AU)Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. ^7 (AV)And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, ^(AW)with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. ⁸ And behold, ^(AX)I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed ^(AY)the days of your siege.

⁹ “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,^[d] and put them into a single vessel and make your ^(AZ)bread from them. ^(BA)During the number of days that you lie on your side, ^(BB)390 days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰ And your food that you eat shall be ^(BC)by weight, ^(BD)twenty shekels^[e] a day; from day to day^[f] you shall eat it. ¹¹ And water you shall drink ^(BE)by measure, the sixth part of a hin;^[g] from day to day you shall drink. ¹² And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it ^(BF)in their sight on human dung.” ¹³ And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat ^(BG)their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” ¹⁴ Then I said, ^(BH)“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.^{[h] (BI)}From my youth up till now I have never eaten ^(BJ)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has ^(BK)tainted meat come into my mouth.” ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” ¹⁶ Moreover, he said to me, ^(BL)“Son of man, behold, ^(BM)I will break the supply^[i] of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread ^(BN)by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water ^(BO)by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷ I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and ^(BP)look at one another in dismay, and ^(BQ)rot away because of their punishment.

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

5 “And you, ^(BR)O son of man, take a ^(BS)sharp sword. Use it as ^(BT)a barber's razor and ^(BU)pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. ^2 (BV)A third part you shall burn in the fire ^(BW)in the midst of the city, ^(BX)when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. ^(BY)And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and ^(BZ)I will unsheathe the sword after them. ^3 (CA)And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. ^4 (CB)And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: ^(CC)This is Jerusalem. I have set her ^(CD)in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. ⁶ And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness ^(CE)more than the nations, and against my statutes more than ^(CF)the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are ^(CG)more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, ^(CH)and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, ^(CI)and have not^[j] even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, ⁸ therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, ^(CJ)am against you. ^(CK)And I will execute judgments^[k] in your midst ^(CL)in the sight of the nations. ⁹ And because of all your abominations I will do with you ^(CM)what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. ¹⁰ Therefore ^(CN)fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. ^(CO)And I will execute judgments on you, ^(CP)and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. ¹¹ Therefore, ^(CQ)as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, ^(CR)because you have defiled my sanctuary ^(CS)with all your detestable things and with all your ^(CT)abominations, ^(CU)therefore I will withdraw.^{[l] (CV)}My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. ^12 (CW)A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; ^(CX)a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; ^(CY)and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.

^13 (CZ)“Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that ^(DA)I am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—^(DB)when I spend my fury upon them. ¹⁴ Moreover, I will make you ^(DC)a desolation and ^(DD)an object of reproach among ^(DE)the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by. ¹⁵ You shall be^[m] a reproach and a taunt, a warning ^(DF)and a horror, to ^(DG)the nations all around you, ^(DH)when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and ^(DI)with furious rebukes—I am the Lord; I have spoken— ¹⁶ when I send against you^{[n] (DJ)}the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon ^(DK)you and break your supply^[o] of bread. ¹⁷ I will send famine and ^(DL)wild beasts against you, ^(DM)and they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and ^(DN)blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”

Judgment Against Idolatry

6 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (DO)“Son of man, ^(DP)set your face toward ^(DQ)the mountains of Israel, and ^(DR)prophesy against them, ³ and say, ^(DS)You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to ^(DT)the mountains and ^(DU)the hills, to ^(DV)the ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, ^(DW)and I will destroy your high places. ^4 (DX)Your altars shall become desolate, and your ^(DY)incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. ^5 (DZ)And I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, ^(EA)and I will scatter your bones around your altars. ⁶ Wherever you dwell, ^(EB)the cities shall be waste and ^(EC)the high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined,^[p] your idols broken and destroyed, your ^(ED)incense altars cut down, and your works wiped out. ⁷ And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

^8 (EE)“Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations ^(EF)some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, ⁹ then those of you who escape ^(EG)will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how ^(EH)I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes ^(EI)that go whoring after their idols. ^(EJ)And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. ¹⁰ And they shall know that I am the Lord. ^(EK)I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.”

¹¹ Thus says the Lord God: ^(EL)“Clap your hands ^(EM)and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, ^(EN)for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. ^12 (EO)He who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. ^(EP)Thus I will spend my fury upon them. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(EQ)when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, ^(ER)on every high hill, ^(ES)on all the mountaintops, ^(ET)under every green tree, and under ^(EU)every leafy oak, wherever ^(EV)they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols. ¹⁴ And ^(EW)I will stretch out my hand against them and ^(EX)make the land desolate and waste, ^(EY)in all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to ^(EZ)Riblah.^[q] Then ^(FA)they will know that I am the Lord.”