Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 07

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 07

Ezekiel 31 – 32

Through My Bible – June 07

Ezekiel 31 – 32 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Like Assyria, Pharaoh Too Will Be Cut Down

Ezekiel 31

1 In the eleventh year, [1] in the third month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, say this to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his horde.

To whom can you be compared in your greatness?

3 Consider Assyria. It was a cedar in Lebanon. It had beautiful branches, which gave shade to the woodland. It was very tall, and its top reached to the clouds. [2] 4 The waters made it grow. The deep springs made it tall, sending out rivers which flowed around the spot where it was planted, and they sent smaller ditches out to all the other trees in the countryside. [3] 5 So the cedar was taller than all the other trees in the countryside. It produced many branches, and its boughs grew long, because of the plentiful water when it sent out shoots. [4] 6 All the birds in the sky nested in its boughs. All the wild animals in the countryside gave birth under its branches, and all the mighty nations lived in its shade. 7 It was beautiful in its grandeur and in the length of its branches, because its roots reached down to plentiful water. 8 Even the cedars in the garden of God did not overshadow it. The boughs of the fir trees were not equal to its boughs, and the chestnut tree could not rival its many branches. No tree in the garden of God could equal it in beauty. 9 I made it so beautiful by the abundance of its branches that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied it.

10 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you were so tall, because the cedar stretched its top up between the clouds, and its heart became haughty because of its height, 11 I will hand it over to a chief of nations, and he will deal harshly with it. I banished it as its wickedness deserved. 12 Foreigners, the most ruthless of nations, cut it down and discarded it. Its branches fell on the mountains and in all the valleys. Its boughs lay broken in all the streambeds of the land, and all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it. 13 All the birds in the sky lodged on its fallen trunk, and all the wild animals in the countryside came to its branches. 14 All this happened so that all the well-watered trees would never again reach such heights or stretch their tops up between the clouds. Nor will the tallest of them remain standing—even though they drink in water—because they have all been handed over to death, to be below the earth, along with all mankind, with those who have descended to the pit.

15 This is what the Lord God says. When Assyria went down to the grave, [5] I caused mourning everywhere. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained the rivers of the deep, and the plentiful waters were held back. I dressed Lebanon in black because of it, and all the trees in the countryside dried up because of it. 16 I made the nations quake at the sound of its fall, when I brought it down to the grave to be with those who have descended to the pit. Below the earth, all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all those that drink up water, consoled themselves, 17 even those who served as Assyria’s arm, those who lived in its shade among the nations, even those who went down to the grave with it, those run through by the sword.

18 To whom, then, can you be compared in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you shall be brought down below the earth, together with the trees of Eden. You shall lie among the uncircumcised, together with those run through by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his horde, declares the Lord God.

Pharaoh Too Will Descend to the Grave

Ezekiel 32

1 In the twelfth year, [6] in the twelfth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, raise a lament over Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and say this to him.

You consider yourself a young lion among the nations, but you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash around in your rivers. You churn up the water with your feet and make the rivers muddy.

3 This is what the Lord God says. I will cast my net over you by an array of mighty nations, and they will haul you up in my fishing net. 4 I will haul you up and leave you on dry land and throw you into an open field. I will let all the birds of the air settle on you. I will let all the wild animals of the earth feed on you till they are filled. 5 I will dump your flesh on the mountains and fill the ravines with your carcass. 6 I will drench the land with the overflow of your blood, up to the mountains, and the streambeds will be filled with your remains. [7]

7 When you are snuffed out, I will cover the sky and darken its stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. 8 I will black out all the bright lights in the sky because of you. I will bring darkness over your land, declares the Lord God. 9 I will disturb the hearts of mighty peoples when I bring word about your downfall [8] to the nations, to countries you do not know. 10 I will make many peoples appalled by you, and their kings’ hair will stand on end because of you, when I brandish my sword in front of them. They will tremble every minute, each for his own life, on the day when you fall.

11 For this is what the Lord God says. The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you. 12 I will cut down your horde by the swords of his warriors, all of them from the most ruthless of nations. They will devastate the pride of Egypt, and its whole horde will be exterminated. 13 I will kill all its livestock beside many waters. No human foot will ever muddy the waters again, nor will the hoofs of cattle ever muddy them. 14 Then I will let their waters settle and become clear and will make their channels flow like oil, declares the Lord God. 15 When I cause the land of Egypt to be deserted, when the land is emptied of everything that filled it, when I have struck down all its inhabitants, then they will know that I am the Lord.

16 This is a lament, which they will wail. The daughters of the nations will wail it. Over Egypt and all its horde they will wail it, declares the Lord God.

17 In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.

18 Son of man, mourn over the horde of Egypt and send her down below the earth with the daughters of majestic nations, to be with those who have descended to the pit. 19 Are you more favored than others? Go on down and lie down among the uncircumcised. 20 They will fall among those who were run through by the sword. A sword has been appointed. Egypt and all its hordes will be carried off. 21 The elite warriors will speak to him and to his allies from the midst of the grave. The uncircumcised, those run through by the sword, have come down and lie there.

22 Assyria is there with her whole crowd. Their graves are around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. 23 Her graves are set in the deepest part of the pit, and her crowd is all around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, all those who once spread terror in the land of the living.

24 Elam [9] is there, with her whole horde around her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, those who went down below the earth uncircumcised, those who once spread terror in the land of the living. They bear their shame along with those who have descended to the pit. 25 A bed is made for Elam among the slain, with its whole horde around its graves, all of them uncircumcised, run through by the sword. Because they once spread terror in the land of the living, they will bear their shame with those who have descended to the pit. They are placed among the slain.

26 Meshek Tubal [10] is there with its whole horde around its graves, all of them uncircumcised, run through by the sword because they had spread terror in the land of the living. 27 Do they not lie with other fallen, uncircumcised warriors, [11] who went down to the grave with their weapons of war, with their swords placed under their heads, with evidence of their guilt on their bones, because of the terror these warriors had once spread in the land of the living?

28 Pharaoh, you too will be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised and will lie with those run through by the sword.

29 Edom is there, with its kings and all its chiefs, who, despite their strength, are placed with those run through by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who have descended to the pit.

30 The princes of the north are there, all of them, and every Sidonian, who went down with the slain despite the terror they had caused. Their strength failed them. They lie uncircumcised with those run through by the sword, and they bear their shame along with those who have descended to the pit.

31 Pharaoh will see them all and will console himself concerning his whole horde. Pharaoh is run through by the sword with his whole army, declares the Lord God. 32 For I have set my terror in the land of the living, and he will be forced [12] to lie down among the uncircumcised, with those run through by the sword, that is, Pharaoh and his whole horde, declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 31:1 In 587 bc, during the siege of Jerusalem
  2. Ezekiel 31:3 Or was a canopy for the forest
  3. Ezekiel 31:4 Literally field
  4. Ezekiel 31:5 Or water that reached its roots or water in its channel
  5. Ezekiel 31:15 Hebrew sheol, here and also in verses 16 and 17
  6. Ezekiel 32:1 Some Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and the Syriac read the eleventh year in 32:1, and some Hebrew manuscripts and the Syriac read the eleventh year in 32:17. Events in the eleventh year would precede the fall of Jerusalem in 586 bc.
  7. Ezekiel 32:6 Literally with you
  8. Ezekiel 32:9 The Greek text reads captivity.
  9. Ezekiel 32:24 From far to the east, in present-day Iran
  10. Ezekiel 32:26 From far to the north, in present-day Turkey and Russia
  11. Ezekiel 32:27 Or, reading with the Greek, they do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times
  12. Ezekiel 32:32 The Greek reads though he spreads his terror in the land of the living, he will be forced.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 06

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 06

Ezekiel 29 – 30

Through My Bible – June 06

Ezekiel 29 – 30 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

An Oracle Against Egypt

Ezekiel 29

1 In the tenth year in the tenth month, [1] on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt. 3 Speak and tell them that this is what the Lord God says.

I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great monster who stretches out in the channels [2] of the Nile. You say, “It is my Nile. I made it for myself.” 4 But I, the Lord, will put hooks in your jaws and make the fish of your Nile stick to your scales. I will haul you up from the middle of your Nile with all the fish from the Nile clinging to your scales. 5 I will leave you in the wilderness—you and all the fish of your Nile. You will lie fallen on the surface of the ground. You will not be collected or gathered up. [3] I will give you as food to the wild animals of the earth and to the birds of the air. 6 Then all the inhabitants of Egypt will know that I am the Lord.

For the house of Israel, the Egyptians have been a staff made out of a reed. 7 When Israel grasped you with their hands, you would splinter and tear open all their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you would break and make them lose their balance. [4] 8 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am about to bring a sword against you and cut off man and beast from you. 9 The land of Egypt will become a desolate ruin, and they will know that I am the Lord.

Because he said, “It is my Nile. I made it for myself,” 10 therefore, I am against you and against the channels of your Nile. I will turn the land of Egypt into ruins, a parched desolation—from Migdol to Aswan, that is, up to the border with Cush. [5] 11 No one will set foot in it. No animal will set foot in it. It will remain uninhabited for forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt more desolate than any other land, and its cities will be the most desolate of ruined cities for forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the countries.

13 Furthermore, this is what the Lord God says. At the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from among the peoples where they were scattered. 14 I will bring about the restoration of Egypt and return them to Upper Egypt, [6] the land of their origin, and there they will be a lowly kingdom. 15 It will be the lowliest of kingdoms, and it will never again exalt itself above other nations. I will make it so weak that it will never again rule over the nations. 16 It will never again be a source of trust for the house of Israel. It will be a reminder of their guilt when they turned to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.

A Reward for Babylon

17 In the twenty-seventh year, [7] in the first month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.

18 Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw, yet neither he nor his army received any reward for the labor they had expended against Tyre.

19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am about to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off its wealth, plunder it, and pillage it. That will be the reward for his army. 20 As his pay for which he labored, I have given him the land of Egypt, because his army did it for me, declares the Lord God.

A Horn for Israel

21 On that day I will make a horn [8] sprout for the house of Israel, and I will open your mouth among them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Egypt Will Fall

Ezekiel 30

1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, prophesy and say, “This is what the Lord God says.”

All of you, wail! What a miserable day! 3 Yes, that day is near. The Day of the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time for the nations. 4 A sword will enter Egypt, and there will be anguish in Cush [9] when the slain fall in Egypt. Then they will take away its wealth, and its foundations will be demolished. 5 Cush, Put, [10] Lud, [11] and all the other mercenaries, [12] Libya [13] and the men from the land of the covenant [14] will fall by the sword along with them.

6 This is what the Lord says. Those who prop up Egypt will fall, and its proud power will sink down. From Migdol to Aswan, those in Egypt will fall by the sword, declares the Lord God. 7 It will be the most desolate among the desolate lands, and its cities will be the most ruined among the ruined cities. 8 They will know that I am the Lord when I set fire to Egypt, and all its helpers are crushed. 9 On that day, messengers will go out from me in ships to terrify confident Cush, and there will be panic among them on the day for Egypt, for it is surely coming.

10 This is what the Lord God says. I will put an end to the horde of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his army with him, the most ruthless of nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will unsheathe their swords against Egypt and fill the land with the fallen. 12 I will dry up the channels of the Nile and sell the land to evil men. I will devastate the land and everything in it by the hand of foreigners. I, the Lord, have spoken.

13 This is what the Lord God says. I will destroy the filthy idols [15] and eliminate from Memphis the gods that are not gods. There will no longer be a ruler in the land of Egypt, and I will put fear into the land of Egypt. 14 I will desolate Upper Egypt. [16] I will set fire to Zoan and inflict punishments on Thebes. [17] 15 I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and I will cut off the horde of Thebes. 16 I will set fire to Egypt. Pelusium will writhe in pain. The defenses of Thebes will be broken down, and Memphis will face enemies every day. 17 The young men of Heliopolis and Bubastis will fall by the sword, and the women [18] will go into captivity. 18 At Tahpanhes the day will grow dark when I break the yokes [19] of Egypt there, and there its proud power will cease. A cloud will cover it, and its daughters will go into captivity. 19 I will inflict judgment on Egypt. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Pharaoh’s Arm Will Be Broken

20 In the eleventh year, [20] in the first month, on the seventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me.

21 Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But it has not been wrapped up so that it can heal. It has not been wrapped tightly with a splint to help it heal, so that it can become strong enough to grasp a sword.

22 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one that was broken, and in this way I will cause the sword to fall from his hand. 23 I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the countries. 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword into his hand. But I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan in the presence of the king of Babylon with groans like someone who is mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh will hang limp. They will know that I am the Lord when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among the countries. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 29:1 During the winter of 587 bc, before the fall of Jerusalem
  2. Ezekiel 29:3 Or branches
  3. Ezekiel 29:5 Some Hebrew manuscripts and versions read collected and buried.
  4. Ezekiel 29:7 The ancient versions read make all their hips unsteady. The Hebrew reads made their hips stand.
  5. Ezekiel 29:10 Cush is the territory south of Egypt, below Aswan.
  6. Ezekiel 29:14 That is, southern Egypt. The Hebrew term is Pathros.
  7. Ezekiel 29:17 In 571 bc, about 15 years after the fall of Jerusalem
  8. Ezekiel 29:21 A horn is a symbol of power. It sometimes refers to a ruler.
  9. Ezekiel 30:4 Cush, later called Nubia, is the territory south of Egypt. Today it is called Sudan.
  10. Ezekiel 30:5 Perhaps a region in Libya
  11. Ezekiel 30:5 Or Lydia
  12. Ezekiel 30:5 Or all the Arabs
  13. Ezekiel 30:5 The Greek text reads Libyans, perhaps reflecting an underlying Hebrew reading Lub. The Hebrew text reads Kub, a completely unknown name.
  14. Ezekiel 30:5 Apparently Israelites living in Egypt
  15. Ezekiel 30:13 Or the manure gods. See the note at 6:4.
  16. Ezekiel 30:14 Southern Egypt is called Upper Egypt because it is upstream on the Nile.
  17. Ezekiel 30:14 Hebrew No. The English names of Egyptian cities are traditionally based on the Greek forms of the names, which are quite different from the Hebrew forms. The translation will not footnote all of these instances.
  18. Ezekiel 30:17 Or the cities
  19. Ezekiel 30:18 Or scepters
  20. Ezekiel 30:20 In 587 bc, during the siege of Jerusalem




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 05

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 05

Ezekiel 27 – 28

Through My Bible – June 05

Ezekiel 27 – 28 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

A Lament Over Tyre

Ezekiel 27

1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 You, son of man, take up a lament over Tyre. 3 Tell Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea as a merchant traveling to many coastlands, this is what the Lord God says.

    Tyre, you say, “I am a perfect beauty.”
4 Your borders were in the heart of the sea.
    Your builders perfected your beauty.
5 They built for you a double-decked ship, [1] made of fir [2] from Senir.
    They took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.
6 They made your oars of oak from Bashan.
    Your planks were made of pine, [3] inlaid with ivory,
        from the coasts of Cyprus. [4]
7 Your sail was brightly decorated linen from Egypt,
    which also served as your banner.
    Your awning was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.
8 Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad served as your rowers.
    Tyre, your own skilled men, who were with you,
        manned your sails.
9 Skilled veterans from Gebal [5] were on board with you,
        serving as your repairmen.
    All the ships of the sea and their sailors
        were in your harbor to engage in trade with you.
10 Warriors from Persia, Lud, [6] and Put were in your army.
    They hung up their shields and helmets among you.
    They enhanced your splendor.
11 Men of Arvad and Cilicia were on your walls all around,
    and men of Gammad were on your towers.
    They hung their quivers all around on your walls.
    They made your beauty perfect.

Tyre’s Trade [7]

12 Tarshish traded with you because of your great wealth of every kind. They traded silver, iron, tin, and lead for your exports.

13 Ionia, Tubal, and Meshek also dealt with you. They traded human beings and articles of bronze for your wares.

14 From Beth Togarmah, horses, war horses, and mules were traded to you because of the abundance of your products.

15 The men of Rhodes [8] also dealt with you. Many coastlands were agents of your trade, bringing back ivory tusks and ebony in payment to you.

16 Edom [9] traded with you because of the abundance of your products. They sold turquoise, purple, and finely embroidered cloth, linen, coral, and rubies [10] to you as exports.

17 Judah and the land of Israel also dealt with you. With wheat of Minnith, flour, honey, oil, and balm they bought your wares.

18 Damascus traded with you because of the abundance of your products, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth. They sold wine of Helbon, wool from Sahar, 19 and wine casks from Izalla [11] as exports. Wrought iron, cassia, and calamus were traded for your goods.

20 Dedan traded to you saddle blankets used for riding. 21 Arabia and all the rulers of Kedar were your agents for trade in lambs, rams, and goats. They were your agents for those. 22 Merchants of Sheba and Ra’amah dealt with you in all kinds of expensive perfumes and in all kinds of precious stones and gold, which they sold you for your merchandise.

23 Haran, Kanneh, and Eden, and dealers from Sheba, Assyria, and Kilmad were your dealers. 24 They were your dealers in elegant clothing, in purple garments and finely embroidered cloth, in carpets with multicolored trim, tightly wound with ropes for your marketplaces.

25 Tarshish ships traveled for you with your merchandise.

Tyre’s Collapse

So you were full and very heavily loaded in the midst of the seas. 26 Your rowers brought you out into deep water. An east wind broke you up in the heart of the sea. 27 Your wealth, your exports and your imports, your sailors and your pilots, your repairmen, and those who bring you imports, all your warriors on board—in fact, all your company who were on board—will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your collapse.

28 At the sound of the cry of distress from your pilots, the fields on the mainland will quake. 29 All who handle the oars will abandon their ships. The sailors and all the pilots of the sea will stand on shore. 30 They will shout loudly because of you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dirt on their heads and roll in ashes. 31 They will make themselves bald on account of you and put on sackcloth. They will weep bitterly over you, with a bitter lament. 32 In their grief, they will raise a lament over you. They utter this lament over you, “Who is like Tyre, now silenced in the midst of the sea?” 33 When your exports were unloaded from the seas, you satisfied many peoples. By your abundant wealth and your imports, you enriched the kings of the earth. 34 Now you have been broken up by the seas and sunk into the watery depths. Your merchandise and the entire company on board have sunk. 35 All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled because of you. Their kings’ hair stands on end. Their faces show distress. 36 Traders among the peoples whistle and hiss at you. You have become horrifying, and you will never exist again, forever.

Tyre’s King Is Expelled From Eden

Ezekiel 28

1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre that this is what the Lord God says.

Because you became arrogant and said, “I am a god, and I occupy a throne of a god in the heart of the seas,” even though you are a mere man and not a god, and because you regard your wisdom as divine wisdom— 3 You really think you are wiser than Daniel, don’t you? No mystery baffles you. 4 By your wisdom and your shrewdness you have gained wealth for yourself and put gold and silver into your treasuries. 5 By your great skill in trading, you increased your wealth, but you became conceited because of your wealth.

6 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you regard your wisdom as divine wisdom, 7 therefore, I am about to bring foreigners against you, the most ruthless of nations. They will unsheathe their swords against your beautiful wisdom, and they will desecrate your radiant splendor. 8 They will cast you down to the pit, and you will die a violent death in the heart of the sea. 9 Will you still claim “I am a god” in the presence of the one who kills you? It will be clear that you are merely a man and not a god when you fall into the hands of those who run you through. 10 You will die a death like that of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.

11 The word of the Lord came to me.

12 Son of man, raise a lament over the king of Tyre. Say to him that this is what the Lord God says.

You were a seal of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone was covering you: carnelian, diamond, emerald, topaz, onyx, jasper, sapphire, agate, and beryl. [12] Your mountings and your settings were worked in gold. They were prepared on the day you were created.

14 You were a cherub, the anointed guardian. I appointed you. You were on the holy mountain of God, and you walked about in the midst of sparkling stones. 15 Your conduct was blameless from the day you were created until guilt was found in you. 16 In your widespread trade, you practiced much violence and you sinned. I defiled you by banishing you from the mountain of God. I expelled you, you guardian cherub, from among the sparkling stones.

17 You became arrogant because of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom together with your splendor. So I hurled you down to the earth and set you in front of kings who gloated over you. 18 By your many sins during your unscrupulous trade, you defiled your sanctuaries. So I made fire break out from your midst, and it devoured you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. 19 All those among the people who knew you are appalled at you. You have become horrifying, and you will never exist again, forever.

An Oracle Against Sidon

20 The word of the Lord came to me.

21 Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her. 22 Say that this is what the Lord God says.

I am against you, Sidon. I will display my glory in your midst, and they will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict punishments on you and display my holiness in you. 23 I will release the plague in her. There will be blood in her streets, and the slain will fall in her midst when the sword comes against her from all sides. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Hope for Israel

24 Never again will the house of Israel be subjected to those who deride them, who are all around them like prickly briers or painful thorns. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.

25 This is what the Lord God says. When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples where they have been scattered, I will display my holiness through them in the sight of the nations. Then they will live on their own land, which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 They will live on it in security. They will build houses and plant vineyards. They will live on it in security when I inflict judgments upon all those around them who despise them. Then they will know that I am the Lord, their God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 27:5 Or a ship with a double hull. The Hebrew word indicates that the planks were double. The meaning of many of the nautical terms in this section is uncertain.
  2. Ezekiel 27:5 The identification of some of the types of trees is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 27:6 The translation pine follows a different word division than that which occurs in the main Hebrew text, which has the reading daughter of Assyria.
  4. Ezekiel 27:6 The Hebrew reads Kittim. This term may include locations other than Cyprus.
  5. Ezekiel 27:9 Also called Byblos
  6. Ezekiel 27:10 Or Lydia
  7. Ezekiel 27:12 The meaning of many of the terms in verses 12-15 is uncertain.
  8. Ezekiel 27:15 The Greek text reads Rhodes, a Mediterranean island. The Hebrew reads Dedan, a desert oasis in Arabia, which is dealt with in verse 20.
  9. Ezekiel 27:16 The translation Edom follows some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. Most Hebrew manuscripts read Aram, but verse 18 deals with that country under the heading Damascus, and the commodities in this verse fit better with Edom.
  10. Ezekiel 27:16 The identification of some of the precious items is uncertain.
  11. Ezekiel 27:19 In the translation, words from the beginning of verse 19 complete the sentence of verse 18. The Hebrew text at the beginning of verse 19 seems to read Dan and Javan paid for your wares, traversing back and forth, a sentence which does not fit this context.
  12. Ezekiel 28:13 The identification of some of the gemstones is uncertain.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 04

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 04

Ezekiel 25 – 26

Through My Bible – June 04

Ezekiel 25 – 26 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Oracles Against the Nations
An Oracle Against the Ammonites

Ezekiel 25

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 You are to tell the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says. Because you said “Aha!” against my sanctuary when it was desecrated, and against the land of Israel when it was devastated, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore, I am about to give you to the people of the East as their possession. They will set up their camps in your midst and place their dwellings among you. They will eat your produce, and they will drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah into a camel pasture and Ammon into a sheepfold. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

6 So this is what the Lord God says. Because you clapped your hands and stomped your feet and celebrated against the land of Israel with all the contempt in your soul, 7 therefore, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I have given you as plunder [1] to the nations. I have cut you off from the peoples, and I have made you perish from among the countries. When I have exterminated you, you will know that I am the Lord. [2]

An Oracle Against Moab and Edom

8 This is what the Lord God says.

Because Moab and Seir said, “Look! The house of Judah is just like all the nations,” 9 I am about to open up the flank [3] of Moab from one end to the other: its cities, its border towns, and the glory of the land, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will deliver Moab, together with the Ammonites, into the possession of the people of the East. I will hand them over to the people of the East as their possession so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. 11 I will execute judgments upon Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.

12 This is what the Lord God says. Because Edom has inflicted bitter revenge on the house of Judah and has incurred great guilt by pursuing revenge against Judah, 13 therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I will stretch out my hand against Edom. I will cut off man and beast from it and turn it into a wasteland. From Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. 14 I will take my revenge on Edom by means of my people Israel, and they will carry out my anger and my wrath against Edom. So they will experience my revenge, declares the Lord God.

An Oracle Against the Philistines

15 This is what the Lord God says.

Because the Philistines pursued revenge and carried their revenge to an extreme, with bitter contempt in their soul, in order to destroy Judah with everlasting hatred, 16 therefore, this is what the Lord God says. I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will cut off the Kerethites and destroy those who remain by the seacoast. 17 I will carry out great acts of revenge and furious punishments among them, and they will know that I am the Lord when I lay my revenge upon them.

An Oracle Against Tyre

Ezekiel 26

1 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, [4] the word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, because Tyre said about Jerusalem, “Aha! The gateway to the peoples has been broken. It has been turned over to me. Because of her devastation, I will achieve my goal,” 3 this is what the Lord God says.

I am against you, Tyre, and I will send many nations against you, as the sea sends up its waves. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape away even the dust off her and make her a bare rock. 5 In the middle of the sea, she will become nothing but a place where fishing nets are spread out to dry, for I have spoken it, says the Lord God. She will become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland [5] will be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

7 So this is what the Lord God says. I am bringing against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon and king of kings, together with horses, chariots, horsemen, and a vast array of troops from many nations. 8 Your daughters on the mainland he will kill with the sword. He will set up a siege wall against you and heap up a ramp against you, and erect a roof of shields [6] against you. 9 He will direct the blows of his battering ram against your walls, and he will demolish your towers with his swords. 10 His horses will be so numerous that the dust they raise will cover you. Your walls will shake from the noise of the horses’ hoofs, the wheels, and the chariots when he enters your gates, as men enter a breached city. 11 With the hoofs of his horses, he will trample all your streets. He will kill all your people with the sword. Your mighty pillars will topple to the ground. 12 They will plunder your wealth and take your merchandise as loot. They will tear down your walls and demolish your magnificent houses. Your stones, your timbers, and your rubble they will throw into the water. 13 I will put an end to the noise of your songs, and the sound of your lyres will be heard no more. 14 I will turn you into a bare rock.

She [7] will become a place where fishing nets are spread out to dry. She will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the Lord God.

15 This is what the Lord God says to Tyre. How the coastlands will shudder at the sound of your downfall, when the victims groan, when the slain are slaughtered in your midst! 16 All the rulers of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and take off their fine embroidered garments. Instead, they will be clothed with trembling. They will sit on the ground and tremble every moment. They will be appalled by you. 17 They will raise a lament over you and say to you, “How you have perished, you city inhabited by men from the sea, you city that was celebrated, a city that was the strongest in the sea. She and her inhabitants, who spread their terror—she and all of her inhabitants have perished. [8] 18 Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your downfall. The coastlands that are on the sea are terrified by your collapse.”

19 So this is what the Lord God says. When I make you a ruined city like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the many waters cover you, 20 then I will bring you down to be with those who have descended to the pit, to the people from ancient times. I will make you live below the earth, like ancient ruins. You will be with those who have descended to the pit, so that you will be uninhabited, and I will not give you glory in the land of the living. 21 I will make you an object of horror, and you will no longer exist. You will be sought but never found again, declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 25:7 Plunder (baz) is the reading from the margin of the Hebrew text. The reading in the body of the Hebrew text is bag, a word that appears nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Those who attempt to translate it render it as food.
  2. Ezekiel 25:7 Though the events described in this verse are still in the future at the time of speaking, the verbs are all past tense verbs, since, in God’s decree, events he foretells are as good as done.
  3. Ezekiel 25:9 Literally the shoulder or the slope
  4. Ezekiel 26:1 The Hebrew date formula is incomplete since it lacks the name of a month. One Greek manuscript reads in the twelfth year. A date in the second half of the twelfth year would place this prophecy after the fall of Jerusalem, an event which occurred in the middle of the twelfth year according to Ezekiel’s system of dating.
  5. Ezekiel 26:6 Tyre’s daughters are her suburbs on the mainland. Tyre was an island.
  6. Ezekiel 26:8 Apparently this was a cover providing protection for the battering ram.
  7. Ezekiel 26:14 That is, the city personified as a woman
  8. Ezekiel 26:17 The construction of the last part of the sentence is unclear. For clarity, the verb have perished is repeated from the start of the verse.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 03

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 03

Ezekiel 24

Through My Bible – June 03

Ezekiel 24 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

A Parable About the Siege of Jerusalem

1 The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month. [1]

2 Son of man, record this date, this very day. The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on this very day. 3 Tell a parable to the rebellious house. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says.

Put the pot on. Put it on. Then pour water in it. 4 Put the pieces of meat into it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder. Fill it with the best cuts. [2] 5 Take the best of the flock. Pile up the wood [3] under it. Boil it thoroughly, so that the pieces [4] in it are well cooked.

6 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Woe to the bloody city, a pot whose residue [5] is inside it, whose residue has not gone out of it!

Take out its cuts of meat piece by piece, without choosing one piece in preference to another. [6] 7 Do this because the blood she shed remains within her. She spilled it on a bare rock. She did not pour it on the ground, where the soil would cover it. 8 To rouse wrath and to exact repayment, I have spilled her blood on a bare rock so that it would not be covered.

9 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Woe to the bloody city! I myself will keep piling up the wood. 10 Add more wood. Stoke the fire. Overcook the meat. Pour out the broth. [7] Let the bones be charred. 11 Leave the empty pot on the coals so that it becomes hot and its bronze glows, till the filth inside it is melted, and its residue is burned away. 12 The city has wearied me with its wickedness. Its filthy residue has not been removed from it. Into the fire with its filthy residue!

13 Your impurity is lewdness. I tried to cleanse you, but you did not become clean, and as a result you will not be clean again from your impurity until I have exhausted my wrath against you. 14 I, the Lord, have spoken. This is coming, and I will do it. I will not neglect it. I will not spare you, and I will not relent. According to your behavior and your misdeeds, you will be judged, declares the Lord God.

The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife

15 The word of the Lord came to me.

16 Son of man, be warned! With one blow I am taking away from you what your eyes desire. You must not mourn or cry. Your tears must not flow. 17 Groan silently. Perform no mourning rites for the dead. Bind your turban on your head. Put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your upper lip. Do not eat the food people bring to mourners.

18 So I spoke to the people that morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded. 19 Then the people asked me, “Won’t you tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?”

20 I answered them, “This is the word of the Lord that came to me.”

21 Say to the house of Israel that this is what the Lord God says.

I am about to desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of which you are so proud, the sight your eyes desire, the place your soul yearns for. Your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22 You will do as I have done. You will not cover your upper lip. You will not eat the food people bring to mourners. 23 Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or cry, but you will waste away in your guilt, and you will groan to one another. 24 In this way, Ezekiel will be a sign to you. You will do everything the same way as he has done it. When it happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.

25 But you, son of man, be aware that on that day when I take away from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, what their eyes desire, and that on which they set their hearts—their sons and their daughters as well— 26 on that day a survivor will come to you to let you hear it with your own ears. 27 On that day, your mouth will be opened when the survivor comes. Then you will speak and be speechless no longer. You will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 24:1 In the winter of 588 bc
  2. Ezekiel 24:4 Literally the best bones
  3. Ezekiel 24:5 The Hebrew reads bones. Removing one letter from this word leaves the reading wood, which is followed by nearly all English translations. See verse 10.
  4. Ezekiel 24:5 The Hebrew reads bones.
  5. Ezekiel 24:6 The meaning of this word is uncertain. It refers to some sort of uncleanness, perhaps the carbonized waste that remains in an overheated pot.
  6. Ezekiel 24:6 The Hebrew reads no lot has fallen on it for the words without choosing one piece in preference to another.
  7. Ezekiel 24:10 The translation follows the Greek text. The Hebrew seems to read mix in the spices. It is not clear how this reading would fit a context about the final stages of destroying the meat.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 02

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 02

Ezekiel 23

Through My Bible – June 02

Ezekiel 23 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Two Lewd Sisters Act Like Prostitutes

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother. 3 They acted like prostitutes in Egypt, where they were prostitutes during their youth. There they let their breasts be fondled. There they let men caress their virgin nipples. [1]

4 The older sister was named Oholah, and her sister was named Oholibah. [2] They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. (As for their names, Samaria is Oholah and Jerusalem is Oholibah.)

5 Oholah acted like a prostitute instead of being faithful to me. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians—bodyguards 6 clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, cavalrymen riding horses. [3] 7 She bestowed her favors upon all the elite of the Assyrians, and along with all those for whom she lusted, she defiled herself with all their filthy idols. 8 She did not give up the whoring she had practiced since Egypt, when men lay down with her during her youth. They caressed her virgin nipples and poured out their lust upon her. 9 Therefore, I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she had lusted. 10 They exposed her nakedness. They took away her sons and her daughters and killed her with the sword. She became notorious among women because of the punishments they inflicted upon her.

11 Although her sister Oholibah saw this, she behaved even more obscenely and lustfully than her sister, and her lustful whoring was even worse than her sister’s whoring. 12 She lusted after the Assyrians—governors, commanders, bodyguards in full uniform, and cavalrymen riding horses, all of them desirable young men. 13 Then I saw that she too had defiled herself. Both of them had gone the same way. 14 In fact, Oholibah intensified her whoring by looking at figures of men engraved on the wall, images of Chaldeans incised in bright red, 15 with belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads. All of them looked like elite officers, like Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. 16 At the mere sight of them she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 The Babylonians came to her bed to make love, and they defiled her by acting like whores themselves. But after she had been defiled by them, she tore herself away from them in disgust. 18 Because she had acted like a whore so openly and exposed her nakedness, I tore myself away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister in disgust. 19 Yet she increased her whoring. She remembered the days of her youth when she acted like a prostitute in the land of Egypt. 20 She lusted after her paramours, whose genitals [4] were like the genitals of donkeys and whose ejaculation was like the ejaculation of horses. 21 So you revisited the lewdness of your youth when your nipples were caressed in Egypt, and your young breasts were fondled. [5]

22 Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says. Hear this loud and clear! I am about to rouse your lovers against you, those you had turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from all sides: 23 the sons of the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, elite officers and men of high rank, all of them riding on horses. 24 They will come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a horde of people. With shields, armor, [6] and helmets they will take up positions against you on all sides.

I will give you up to them for judgment, and they will judge you according to their own standards. 25 I will turn my jealousy against you, and they will deal with you in wrath. They will cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and your daughters, and your survivors will be devoured by fire. 26 They will strip you of your clothing and take away your beautiful jewelry. 27 I will put an end to your depravity and to the whoring you began in the land of Egypt. You will not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore. 28 For this is what the Lord God says. Listen! I am about to deliver you into the hands of those you hate, into the hands of those you turned away from in disgust. 29 They will treat you hatefully. They will take away everything you have worked for and leave you completely naked. Your whorish nakedness will be exposed. Your depravity and your acts of prostitution 30 have brought those things upon you because of your whoring after the nations, because you defiled yourself with their filthy idols. 31 Because you walked in the way of your sister, I will put her cup into your hand.

32 This is what the Lord God says. You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will cause you derision and ridicule because it is so full. 33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief by the cup of horror and devastation, the cup of your sister Samaria. 34 You will drink it and drain it. You will gnaw its broken pieces and tear your breasts. For I have spoken, declares the Lord God. 35 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must also bear the penalty of your depravity and your whoring.

36 The Lord also said this to me:

Son of man, will you bring charges against Oholah and Oholibah? Make their abominations known to them.

37 They have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their filthy idols. They have even offered up their children, whom they bore for me, to the idols as food.

38 What is more, they have done this to me: They defiled my sanctuary on the same day they desecrated my Sabbaths. 39 When they slaughtered their children for their filthy idols, they entered my sanctuary on that same day to defile it. Just look! This is what they did in my own house.

40 They even sent for men to come from far away, men to whom they had sent a messenger, and those men did come.

For them you [7] bathed. You applied eye shadow and put on your jewelry. 41 You sat on an expensive couch. In front of it you set a table, on which you placed my incense and my perfumed oil.

42 The noise of a carefree crowd surrounded her. In addition to the large throng of all kinds of men, they even brought drunkards [8] from the desert. They put bracelets on their arms and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 Then I said about the woman worn out with adulteries, “Let them keep using her as a whore because that is what she is.” [9] 44 So they used her the way one uses a whore. So they used Oholah and Oholibah, those depraved women. 45 But righteous men will punish them with the punishment due to adulteresses, and the punishment due to murderers, for they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.

46 So this is what the Lord God says. I will bring an army against them and hand them over to terror and plunder. 47 The army will stone them and cut them down with their swords. They will slaughter their sons and daughters and burn down their houses with fire.

48 In this way I will remove depravity from the land, so that all women may take warning not to act in such a depraved way as you do. 49 They will impose upon you the penalty for your depravity, and you will bear the punishment for your sinful worship of your filthy idols. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 23:3 As he does elsewhere in the book, Ezekiel uses blunt language to condemn Israel’s sins of physical and spiritual adultery.
  2. Ezekiel 23:4 Oholah means her tent. Samaria had its own sanctuary, not the Lord’s. Oholibah means my tent is in her. Jerusalem had the true sanctuary of the Lord, but they did not honor it.
  3. Ezekiel 23:6 Or charioteers
  4. Ezekiel 23:20 Literally flesh. Once again Ezekiel uses blunt, direct language.
  5. Ezekiel 23:21 The translation your young breasts were fondled is based on the parallel actions in verses 3 and 8. The Hebrew in verse 21 reads for the sake of your young breasts. The two readings fondle and for the sake of look almost identical in Hebrew script.
  6. Ezekiel 23:24 Or small and large shields
  7. Ezekiel 23:40 As is often the case in prophecy, there are a number of rapid switches between words addressed to the prophet and to the people, and between words addressed to the people and words about the people.
  8. Ezekiel 23:42 Or Sabeans
  9. Ezekiel 23:43 The verse is obscure. Literally the Hebrew reads now her whoredom itself will go whoring, and she.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 01

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – June 01

Ezekiel 22

Through My Bible – June 01

Ezekiel 22 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Judgment on the Bloody City for Her Abominations

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 You, son of man, will you put them on trial, [1] will you put the bloody city on trial? Then list for her all her abominations. 3 Say that this is what the Lord God says.

O city, you shed blood in your midst, and you bring on your time of judgment. You manufacture idols throughout the city, and so you defile yourself. 4 Because of the blood you have shed, you have become guilty, and because of the filthy idols you have made, you have become defiled. You have brought near your final days. You have arrived at the end of your years. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and subjected you to ridicule among all the countries. 5 Those nearby and those far away from you will ridicule you, who are notorious for impurity and full of turmoil.

6 Look at the rulers of Israel. Each one among you uses his power to shed blood. 7 In your midst, people have dishonored their fathers and mothers. They have exploited the alien in your midst. They have mistreated the fatherless children and the widows among you. 8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. 9 Slanderers are present among you to shed blood. In you there are people who eat on the mountains and commit obscene acts in your midst. 10 In your midst, a man uncovers the nakedness of his mother, who is reserved for his father, and men force themselves on a woman who is unclean during her period. 11 In your midst, a man commits an abomination with a neighbor’s wife. Another man obscenely defiles a daughter-in-law. Another forces himself on his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 In your midst, they take bribes to shed blood. You deduct a fee from the money you lend to people, and you demand that they repay more than you lent them. In this way you exploit your neighbor by extortion. And you have forgotten me, declares the Lord God.

13 Therefore, I clap my hands [2] against the dishonest profit you have made and over the bloodshed in your midst. 14 Will your courage endure? Will your hands remain strong in the days when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will accomplish it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations. I will disperse you throughout the countries and remove your uncleanness from you. 16 After you have been defiled in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.

17 The word of the Lord came to me.

18 Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside a furnace. They have become the slag from silver. 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have all become slag, I am about to gather you inside Jerusalem. 20 As silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are placed inside a furnace to blast them with fire and to melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and my wrath. I will throw you into the furnace and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blast you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted inside a furnace, in the same way you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my wrath upon you.

23 The word of the Lord came to me.

24 Son of man, say to her, “You are a land not cleansed, a land that receives no rain in the day of rage.”

25 Jerusalem’s princes [3] within her are like a roaring lion, tearing its prey. They devour people’s lives. They seize treasures and valuables. They make many women widows within her.

26 Her priests do violence to my law by profaning what is holy to me, by not distinguishing between the holy and the common, and by not teaching the difference between the unclean and the clean. They disregard my Sabbaths, with the result that I am profaned among them.

27 Her officials inside her are like wolves, tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make dishonest profits.

28 Her prophets daub whitewash for them, seeing empty visions and forecasting false omens for them. They say, “This is what the Lord God says,” when the Lord has not spoken at all.

29 The ordinary citizens practice extortion and commit robbery. They oppress the poor and the needy. They unjustly deprive the alien of his due. 30 I looked for someone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy her, but I found no one. 31 Therefore, I will pour out my rage upon them. In the fire of my fury, I will make an end of them. I will bring down their conduct on their own heads, declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 22:2 Or pronounce judgment on them
  2. Ezekiel 22:13 Apparently a gesture of disapproval
  3. Ezekiel 22:25 Princes is the reading of the Greek. The Hebrew reads prophets. See verse 28.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 31

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 31

Ezekiel 20:45 – 21:32

Through My Bible – May 31

Ezekiel 20:45 – 21:32 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Ezekiel 20

Prophecy Against the Southland

45 The word of the Lord came to me. [1]

46 Son of man, set your face toward Teman. Preach against the Southland, and prophesy against the scrubby forest in the Negev. 47 Say this to the scrub forest in the Negev. Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says. I am about to ignite a fire among you, and among you it will devour every green tree and every dry tree. The blazing flame will not be extinguished. Every face will be scorched by it, from south to north. 48 All flesh will see that I, the Lord, have ignited it. It will not be extinguished.

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

The Lord’s Punishing Sword Is Drawn

Ezekiel 21

1 The word of the Lord came to me. [2]

2 Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem. Preach against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. 3 Say this to the land of Israel.

This is what the Lord says. Hear this! I am against you, and I will draw my sword out of its scabbard, and I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I have resolved to cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword will come out of its scabbard against everyone from south to north. 5 Then all flesh will know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its scabbard. It will not return to its sheath again. 6 Now you, son of man, groan as though you were doubled up in pain. Groan in front of them as though in bitter anguish. 7 When they ask you, “Why are you groaning?” say, “Because of the news that is coming.” Then every heart will melt, all hands will hang limp, and all knees will run with water. [3] It is coming, and it will take place, declares the Lord God.

8 The word of the Lord came to me.

9 Son of man, prophesy and say that this is what the Lord says.
    A sword, a sword has been sharpened.
    It has also been polished.
10 It has been made very sharp for slaughter.
    It has been polished to flash like lightning.

So shall we rejoice in the scepter of my son?

The sword despises every such stick of wood. [4]

11 The sword has been set aside to be polished,

to be grasped by the hand.

It has been sharpened, and it has been polished,

to be put into the hand of a killer.

12 Cry out and wail, son of man,

because the sword is against my people.

It is against all the princes of Israel.

They have been thrown to the sword together with my people.

Therefore, slap your thigh. [5]

13 Yes, testing is sure to come.
    What if the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? [6]
    This is the declaration of the Lord God.
14 Now you, son of man, prophesy.
    Clap your hands together. [7]
    Let the sword strike two times or even three.
    It is a sword for those who are to be slain,
    a sword for great slaughter, [8]
    a sword that pursues even to the inner room, [9]
15 so that hearts melt,
    and those who stumble will be many.
    At all their gates I have placed the point [10] of the sword.
    Yes, it is made to flash like lightning,
        unsheathed for slaughter.
16 Slash to the right. Thrust to the left—
    wherever your blade is directed.
17 Then I myself will clap my hands. [11]
    I will bring my wrath to an end.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.

Two Roads for the Sword

18 The word of the Lord came to me.

19 Now you, son of man, draw a map with two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to follow. Both of them should start from the same country. Make a signpost. Place it at the fork of the road to the city. 20 Draw a road for the sword to come either to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah, to fortified Jerusalem, 21 because the king of Babylon will stand at the fork of the road, where the two roads branch off, in order to read the omens. He will shake the arrows, consult his family gods, [12] and examine animal livers for omens. 22 In his right hand he will receive the omen for Jerusalem—to set up battering rams, to shout the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to throw up a ramp, to build a siege wall. 23 But to the people of Jerusalem it will seem like a false omen. They swore solemn oaths to him, so he will remind them of their guilt, and they will be captured. 24 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you brought your guilt into the open by displaying your rebellious acts, so that your sins are revealed by all your deeds—because you have brought your guilt out into the open, you will be taken in hand.

25 You corpse, you wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come for the time of final punishment, 26 this is what the Lord God says. Remove the turban. Take off the crown. Everything will be changed. Raise what is low. Bring down the high. 27 Ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This ruin will not end [13] until the one comes to whom judgment belongs, the one to whom I will give it.

28 Now you, son of man, prophesy and say that this is what the Lord God says concerning the Ammonites and their taunts. Say this:

Sword, O sword, unsheathed for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning! 29 Though empty visions were seen about you, [14] though omens made deceptive forecasts about you, you will be applied to the necks of the corpses of wicked men, whose day has come for the time of final punishment.

30 Return, sword, to your scabbard. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 I will pour out my wrath on you. I will blow the fire of my fury upon you. I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, expert destroyers. 32 You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will flow all over the land, and you will no longer be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:45 English verses 20:45-49 are 21:1-5 in Hebrew.
  2. Ezekiel 21:1 English verses 21:1-32 are 21:6-37 in Hebrew.
  3. Ezekiel 21:7 Terror will cause them to wet themselves.
  4. Ezekiel 21:10 This line seems to interrupt the Lord’s poem, which resumes in the next verse. The verse is difficult, and the meaning is uncertain. It seems to mean that no king of Judah can stand before the sword of Babylon. See verse 13.
  5. Ezekiel 21:12 Apparently an expression of grief
  6. Ezekiel 21:13 The verse is difficult, and the meaning is uncertain. It seems to be asking, “When the kings of Judah have been destroyed, how can the promise to David come true?” See verse 10 and verse 27.
  7. Ezekiel 21:14 Apparently a signal to begin the slaughter. Compare 21:17.
  8. Ezekiel 21:14 Or to slaughter the great
  9. Ezekiel 21:14 The meaning of this line is uncertain.
  10. Ezekiel 21:15 The meaning of this word is uncertain.
  11. Ezekiel 21:17 To signal the end of the slaughter
  12. Ezekiel 21:21 Hebrew teraphim
  13. Ezekiel 21:27 Or will not be completed. The expression is quite difficult, but this verse points to the Messiah who was foretold in Genesis 49:10 as the one to whom it belongs. This verse answers the question posed in verse 13. When the kings of Judah are gone, the Messiah will come and fulfill the promise to David. It is uncertain whether the point is that the depressed status of Israel will end only when the Messiah comes, or that even after the Messiah comes, in 70 ad Jerusalem will fall again.
  14. Ezekiel 21:29 The Hebrew construction is difficult. The word you, which is the subject of the whole statement, must refer to the sword. The same applies to the word you in the next paragraph.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 30

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 30

Ezekiel 20:1-44

Through My Bible – May 30

Ezekiel 20:1-44 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Ezekiel 20

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

1 In the seventh year, [1] 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:

Are you really coming to consult me? As I live, I will not let myself be consulted by you, declares the Lord God.

4 Will you put them on trial? [2] Will you put them on trial, son of man? Remind them of the abominable practices of their fathers. 5 You are to tell them the following.

This is what the Lord God says. On the day when I chose Israel, when I swore with an uplifted hand to the descendants [3] of the house of Jacob, when I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, then I lifted up my hand to them in an oath. I said, “I am the Lord, your God.” 6 On that day I swore to them with an uplifted hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey. It was the most glorious of all the lands. 7 I said to them, “Each man must throw away the loathsome things he sets his eyes on. You must not defile yourselves with the filthy idols [4] of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.”

8 But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. Not one of them threw away the loathsome things which they set their eyes on. They did not forsake the filthy idols of Egypt, so I resolved to pour out my wrath on them and to exhaust my anger against them in the middle of the land of Egypt. 9 I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations that were around them, the nations in whose sight I had made myself known by bringing the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

10 So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes, and I made my ordinances known to them, ordinances by which a man will live if he observes them. 12 I also gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, so that they could know that I, the Lord, am the one who sanctifies them.

13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances (ordinances by which a man will live if he observes them), and they profaned my Sabbaths completely. So I threatened to pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness in order to annihilate them. 14 I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out from Egypt. 15 I also swore to them with an uplifted hand in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given to them, a land flowing with milk and honey—it is the most glorious of all the lands— 16 because they rejected my ordinances and did not walk in my statutes. Instead, they profaned my Sabbaths. This happened because their hearts chase after their filthy idols. 17 Nevertheless, my eye had pity on them so that I did not destroy them, and I did not completely destroy them in the wilderness.

18 Then I said to their children in the wilderness: “Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers. Do not observe their ordinances, and do not defile yourselves with their filthy idols. 19 I, the Lord, am your God. Walk in my statutes, and observe my ordinances and practice them. 20 Keep my Sabbaths holy so that they may be a sign between me and you, so that you may know that I, the Lord, am your God.”

21 But the children too rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes. They did not observe my ordinances by practicing them, statutes by which a person will live if he observes them. They profaned my Sabbaths, so I resolved to pour out my wrath on them and to exhaust my anger on them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless, I held back my hand and acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out from Egypt. 23 However, I raised my hand in an oath to them in the wilderness and swore that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the countries 24 because they had not observed my ordinances. They despised my statutes. They profaned my Sabbaths, and they fixed their eyes on the filthy idols of their fathers. 25 So I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. [5] 26 I defiled them through their sacrificial gifts—when they made all their firstborn pass through the fire—in order to devastate them, so that they would know that I am the Lord.

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

This is what the Lord God says. In this too your fathers blasphemed me by committing infidelity after infidelity against me. 28 When I brought them to the land which I had sworn with an uplifted hand to give to them, whenever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there. There they placed their offerings that provoke me. There they offered their fragrant sacrifices. There they poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, “What is the high place to which you are going?” So it is called Bamah [6] to this day.

30 Therefore, say this to the house of Israel.

This is what the Lord God says. Are you continuing to defile yourselves in the way your fathers did? Are you still whoring after their loathsome idolatries? 31 When you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you continue to defile yourselves by all your filthy idols to this day. So should I let myself be consulted by you, house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not let myself be consulted by you.

32 What you have in mind will definitely never take place. You are saying, “Let us become like the nations, like the clans in other countries, by worshipping wood and stone.” 33 As I live, says the Lord God, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath outpoured, I will rule over you! 34 I will bring you out from the nations, and I will gather you from the countries among which you have been scattered. With a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath outpoured, 35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples. There I will enter into judgment with you face-to-face. 36 As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. 37 I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you under the binding terms of the covenant. 38 I will purge out from among you those who revolt and rebel against me. From the land where they are staying I will bring them out, but they shall not come into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

39 But to you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says. Let each man go and worship his filthy idols, but after that, even if you will not listen to me, you will no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and with your filthy idols. 40 For on my holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord God, the whole house of Israel will worship me there—the whole nation in its homeland. There I will accept them. There I will request your offerings and your special gifts together with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you as a fragrant sacrifice when I bring you out from the nations and when I gather you from the lands among which you were scattered. Then through you, I will show that I am holy in the sight of the nations. 42 You will know that I am the Lord when I bring you back to the soil of Israel, to the land that I swore with an upraised hand to give to your fathers. 43 There you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves, and you will despise yourselves for all your evil deeds which you have done. 44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for the sake of my name and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 20:1 591 bc
  2. Ezekiel 20:4 Or judge them
  3. Ezekiel 20:5 Literally seed
  4. Ezekiel 20:7 More literally manure gods. See the note at 6:4.
  5. Ezekiel 20:25 There was nothing wrong with the statutes themselves, but Israel twisted them or misused them as a way of earning salvation rather than as a way of showing gratitude.
  6. Ezekiel 20:29 Bamah means High Place.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 29

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 29

Ezekiel 18 – 19

Through My Bible – May 29

Ezekiel 18 – 19 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Wicked Will Die; The Righteous Will Live

Ezekiel 18

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 What do you mean, you who keep repeating this proverb concerning the soil of Israel, “Fathers eat sour grapes, and their sons’ teeth are set on edge”? 3 As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, you will never again use this proverb in Israel. 4 Indeed, all souls are mine. The soul of the father is mine just like the soul of the son. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

5 If a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, 6 if he does not eat on the mountains and does not lift up his eyes to the filthy idols [1] of the house of Israel, if he does not defile his neighbor’s wife and does not approach a woman during her period, 7 if he does not exploit anyone but returns the collateral given to him for a loan, if he does not seize another person’s property by force but gives his own food to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, 8 if he does not deduct a fee from the money he lends to someone and he does not demand that people repay more than he lent them, if he holds back his hand from unrighteousness and administers impartial justice between two parties, 9 that is, if he walks in my statutes and keeps my ordinances by acting faithfully, that man is righteous and he will surely live, declares the Lord God.

10 Now if he fathers a violent son, who sheds blood or who does any one of these evil things to a brother [2] 11 (although the father did not do all these things), but the son goes so far as to eat on the mountains and even defiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 exploits the poor and the needy, seizes other people’s property by force, does not return the collateral on a loan, lifts up his eyes to the filthy idols, commits abominations, 13 and deducts a fee from the money he lends to someone and demands that people repay more than he lent them—will he live? He will not live! He committed all these abominations, so he will surely be put to death. His blood will be upon him.

14 But if that son himself fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has committed, and though he sees, he does not do likewise— 15 he does not eat on the mountains, he does not lift up his eyes to the filthy idols of the house of Israel, he does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 he does not exploit anyone, he does not require collateral for a loan, he does not seize another person’s property by force, he gives his own food to the hungry and he covers the naked with clothing, 17 he takes care not to harm the poor, [3] he does not deduct a fee from the money he lends someone or demand that people repay more than he lent them, but he keeps my ordinances and walks according to my statutes—that man will not die because of his father’s guilt. He will surely live. 18 But his father, if he practices extortion, seizes his brother’s goods by force, and does what was not good among his own people, he will surely die because of his own guilt.

19 But you ask, “Why doesn’t the son share in the guilt of the father?” Because the son did what was just and right. He kept all my statutes and carried them out, so he will surely live. 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share in the guilt of the father, and the father will not share in the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous person will be credited to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be charged against him alone.

21 A wicked man, if he turns away from [4] all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and carries out justice and righteousness, he will surely live. He will not die. 22 All of the rebellious acts that he had committed will not be remembered against him. Because of his righteousness that he has practiced, he will live. 23 Do I really find any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Don’t I want him to turn from his ways and live?

24 But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does what is unrighteous—namely, all the abominations that the wicked man practices—will he live? All the righteous deeds that he did will not be remembered. Because he added one infidelity to another and because of the sins that he has committed, because of them, he will die.

25 But you say, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Listen now, house of Israel. Is it my way that is not fair? Is it not your ways that are not fair? 26 If a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices unrighteousness, he will die because of it. Because of the unrighteousness that he has practiced, he will die.

27 But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness that he has done and practices justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life. 28 Because he has seen and turned away from [5] all the rebellious acts that he had committed, he will surely live, and he will not die. 29 But the house of Israel says, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Is it really my ways that are not fair, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not fair?

30 Therefore, I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn away from all your rebellious acts, so that you will not set out a stumbling block that makes you guilty. 31 Throw off from yourselves all your rebellious actions by which you have rebelled, and obtain a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves. Why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God. So repent and live!

A Parable About Israel’s Princes

Ezekiel 19

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

    What a lioness your mother was!
    She crouched among the lions.
    Among the young lions she reared her cubs.
3 She raised up one of her cubs. [6]
    When he became a young lion,
        he learned to tear his prey.
    He even ate humans.
4 When the nations heard about him,
        he was trapped in their pit.
    With hooks they led him to the land of Egypt.

5 When she saw that she was waiting in vain,
    that her hope was lost,
        she took another of her cubs
        and made him a young lion.
6 He prowled around among the lions,
    because he too had become a young lion.
    He learned to tear prey.
    He even ate humans.
7 He knew how many widows he made [7]
        as he ravaged their cities.
    The land and everyone in it were stunned
        by the noise of his roaring.
8 Nations set upon him from the surrounding provinces.
    They spread their net over him,
    and he was trapped in their pit.
9 With hooks they put him in a wooden cage, [8]
    and they brought him [9] to the king of Babylon.
    They brought him into prison
        so that his roar would no longer be heard
        on the mountains of Israel.
10 Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, [10]
    planted by water, fruitful and full of branches
    because of plentiful waters.
11 Its strong branches [11] became scepters for rulers.
    It towered high, among the clouds.
    It was outstanding because of its height,
    and because of the abundance of its branches.
12 But the vine was uprooted in wrath,
    and it was hurled to the ground.
    The east wind dried up its fruit.
    Its strong branch was torn off so that it dried up,
    and fire devoured it.
13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
    in a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire has come out from its main branch
    and consumed its fruit,
    so that it no longer has a strong branch,
    no scepter fit for ruling.

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

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 18:6 More literally manure gods. See the note at 6:4.
  2. Ezekiel 18:10 Some manuscripts omit the phrase to a brother.
  3. Ezekiel 18:17 Or, following the Greek text, he withholds his hand from unrighteousness. See verse 8.
  4. Ezekiel 18:21 Or repents of
  5. Ezekiel 18:28 Or repented of
  6. Ezekiel 19:3 King Jehoahaz of Judah
  7. Ezekiel 19:7 The translation follows the Hebrew. Other ancient versions read he devastated their strongholds, which seems to fit the parallelism with ravaging cities.
  8. Ezekiel 19:9 Or a collar
  9. Ezekiel 19:9 King Jehoiachin of Judah
  10. Ezekiel 19:10 A few Hebrew manuscripts read vineyard. Most Hebrew manuscripts read blood, but the context supports vineyard.
  11. Ezekiel 19:11 The word translated strong branches also means rulers’ staffs. Also in verses 12 and 14.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 28

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 28

Ezekiel 17

Through My Bible – May 28

Ezekiel 17 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

The Parable About the Cedar Sprig

1 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.

A great eagle with powerful wings, with long feathers, and covered with multicolored plumes, came to Lebanon. He took the tip of a cedar. 4 He plucked off the newest shoot at the very top of the tree, and he carried it to a land of merchants. In a city of traders he planted it.

5 Then he took seed from the land and planted it in a fertile field, like a new plant beside plentiful water. He set it out like a willow twig, 6 so that it would sprout and become a spreading vine, low to the ground, so that its branches would turn toward the one who planted it [1] and its roots would remain under him. So it became a vine and produced shoots and leaves and branches.

7 But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and many plumes. Look at how this vine bent its roots toward him! From the bed where it had been planted, it stretched out its branches toward him, so that he could water it. 8 It had been planted in good soil beside plentiful water to grow branches, to bear fruit, and to become a magnificent vine.

9 Tell them this is what the Lord God says. Will it thrive? Won’t he pull up its roots and strip off its fruit so that it dries up? Won’t all its new growth dry up? No strong arm or mighty army will be needed to pluck it by its roots. 10 Although it has been planted, will it thrive? When the east wind touches it, won’t it shrivel up completely? On the very bed where it had sprouted, it will wither away.

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

Don’t you know what these things mean? Tell them this. You saw how the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem. He took its king and its officials and brought them back to Babylon with him.

13 Then he took a member from the seed of the royal family, made a covenant [2] with him, and put him under an oath. He took away the leading men of the land 14 so that it would be a lowly kingdom, so that it would not rebel but would keep the covenant with him, so that it could survive. 15 But the prince [3] rebelled against that king by sending his envoys to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can someone who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still escape? 16 As I live, says the Lord God, in the land of the king who made him king, [4] whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in his presence in Babylon, he shall die. 17 He will not be joined by a mighty army or a great force during the war, because Pharaoh will not come when the enemy heaps up ramps and builds siege walls in order to cut off many lives. 18 The king despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Even though he had given his hand to seal the covenant, he did all these things. He shall not escape!

19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. As I live, because it was an oath taken in my name that the prince despised, I will bring down on his own head my covenant which he broke. 20 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against me. 21 All his fugitives together with all his troops will fall by the sword, and the rest will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.

22 This is what the Lord God says. I myself will take part of the tip of the cedar and plant it. From the topmost of its shoots I will pluck off a tender sprig, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it. It will produce branches, bear fruit, and become a magnificent cedar. Flying birds of every kind will live under it. In the shelter of its branches they will nest. 24 Then all the trees in the countryside will know that I, the Lord, bring down the high tree and raise up the low tree, that I make the green tree dry up, and I make the dried-up tree blossom. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will carry it out.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 17:6 Hebrew toward him. An antecedent is supplied for clarity, as also is done in some following verses.
  2. Ezekiel 17:13 Or treaty
  3. Ezekiel 17:15 The prince is Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. By calling Zedekiah a prince, Ezekiel seems to be suggesting that the exiled king Jehoiachin, through whom the Messianic line would be traced, was still the real king.
  4. Ezekiel 17:16 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whose treaty Zedekiah violated by allying with Egypt




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 27

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 27

Ezekiel 16

Through My Bible – May 27

Ezekiel 16 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Jerusalem, the Prostitute [1]

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations. 3 Tell them this is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem.

Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 This is the way it was at your birth. On the day you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not washed with water to clean you up. [2] You were not rubbed down with salt, nor were you tightly wrapped with cloths. 5 No eye looked at you with pity to do any of these things for you or to show compassion to you. On the day you were born, you were thrown out in the open field without regard for your life.

6 I passed by, and I saw you squirming in your blood. I said to you, “You there, lying there in your blood, live!” and I said to you, “You there, lying there in your blood, live!” [3] 7 I made you grow like a sprout in the field. You grew up, you developed, and you became very beautiful. [4] Your breasts were formed and your hair had appeared, but you were completely naked. 8 I passed by and saw you, and I noticed that you were old enough for love. [5] So I spread the skirt of my robe over you and covered your nakedness. I swore an oath to you to enter into a covenant of marriage with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. 9 I washed you with water. I washed your blood off you. I anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you with the finest embroidered material and gave you sandals of luxurious leather. [6] I wrapped your head in the best linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears, and a glorious crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of the best linen, with silk and the finest embroidered material. You ate fine flour, honey, and olive oil. You were extraordinarily beautiful, and you attained the status of a queen. 14 Your fame spread throughout the nations because of your beauty. In fact, it was perfect because of my splendor, which I had bestowed upon you, declares the Lord God.

15 But you trusted in your beauty, and, relying on your fame, you acted like a prostitute. You lavished your lust on every man passing by—you became his. 16 You took some of your clothing and made colorful high places for yourself and acted like a prostitute on them. Such things should not happen. They should not be! 17 You took your glorious articles made from my gold and my silver, which I had given to you, and you made male idols for yourself, and you acted like a prostitute with them. 18 You took your clothing made of the finest embroidered material and covered the idols, and you set my oil and my incense in front of them. 19 Also my food which I gave you—the fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set in front of them as a fragrant sacrifice. This is what happened, declares the Lord God.

20 You even took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore for me, and sacrificed them as food for the idols. Was your continual prostitution not enough? 21 Did you have to slaughter my children and offer them to the idols by making them pass through the fire? 22 With all your abominations and your prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were completely naked, when you were squirming about in your blood. 23 So after all your wickedness—woe, woe to you, says the Lord God!— 24 you built for yourself a platform, [7] and you made a pavilion [8] for yourself in every public square. 25 At the corner of every street you set up your pavilion and made your beauty into a disgusting thing. You spread your legs for every man passing by, and you multiplied your acts of prostitution. 26 You acted like a whore with the sons of Egypt, your neighbors with their enlarged flesh, [9] and you multiplied your acts of prostitution to enrage me!

27 Look at how I stretched out my hand against you. I reduced your territory. I gave you up to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were embarrassed by your lewd ways. 28 You acted like a whore with the sons of the Assyrians because you were insatiable. Even after your acts of prostitution with them, you were not satisfied. 29 So you extended your whoring ways to the land of merchants, to Chaldea, but even with this you were not satisfied. 30 How sick your heart is, says the Lord God, that you did all these things, the behavior of a woman who is a domineering whore! 31 When you built your platform at the corner of every street and you made your pavilion in every public square, you were not like an ordinary prostitute, because you refused payment. 32 You adulterous wife, who procures strange men instead of her husband, 33 to all prostitutes men pay a fee, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around to join your whoring ways. 34 You were the opposite of the other women in your whoring ways. You were not solicited for prostitution, but you gave payment to your lovers. Instead of payment being given to you, you were the very opposite.

35 Therefore, you whore, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Lord God says. Because your moisture [10] was poured out, and your nakedness was exposed during your whoring ways with your lovers, because of all your disgusting, filthy idols, and because of the blood of your children, whom you gave to them, 37 for all this, I am about to gather all your lovers to whom you were giving pleasure—all those you loved, as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around. I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see your nakedness. 38 I will judge you with the judgments deserved by women who commit adultery and who shed blood. I will make you bloody in my wrath and jealousy. [11] 39 I will deliver you into their hands, and they will tear down your platform, demolish your pavilion, strip you of your clothing, take away your glorious jewelry, and leave you completely naked. 40 They will bring up a mob against you, and they will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses with fire and carry out judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop being a whore, and you will never again give a payment. 42 Then I will lay to rest my wrath against you, and my jealousy will turn away from you. I will be calm and no longer be angry.

43 Because you [12] did not remember the days of your youth, and you made me angry during all these actions, I myself will certainly bring your conduct down upon your head. That is the declaration of the Lord God! Haven’t you added lewdness to all your abominations? 44 Hear this! Everyone will speak this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despises her husband and her children, and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despise their husbands and their children. The mother of all of you was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite. 46 Your older sister is Samaria, who along with her daughters [13] lives north of you, and your younger sister, who lives south of you along with her daughters, is Sodom. 47 You did not merely walk in their ways or act according to their abominations, since in a very short time you became more depraved in all your ways than they were. 48 As I live, says the Lord God, your sister Sodom along with her daughters has not done what you have done along with your daughters. 49 Look, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: Pride, overindulgence in food, and complacent ease were the way for her and her daughters, and she failed to strengthen the hands [14] of the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty, and they committed abominations in my presence, and so I removed them when I saw it. 51 Samaria did not sin half as much as you did. You multiplied your abominations more than they did. You made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations which you committed. 52 So you must bear your disgrace, because by your sins you appeared to plead your sisters’ case for them. Because of your sins—you acted more repulsively than they did—they appear more righteous than you. So you must be ashamed and bear your disgrace, because you made your sisters appear righteous. 53 I will bring about their restoration—the restoration of Sodom and her daughters, and the restoration of Samaria and her daughters, as well as your complete restoration in their midst, 54 so that you will bear your disgrace, and you will be ashamed of everything you did when you appeared to give them comfort. 55 Your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their former state, and your sister Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 Wasn’t your sister Sodom a subject for gossip in your mouth during the days when you were so proud, 57 in the days before your own wickedness was exposed? So now in the same way you are subjected to scorn by the daughters of Edom [15] and by all those around her and by the daughters of the Philistines, who scorn you from all sides. 58 Your lewdness and your abominations, you must now bear, declares the Lord.

59 So this is what the Lord God says. Shall I do with you just as you have done, you who despised your oath, thereby breaking the covenant? 60 No, just the opposite, I myself will remember my covenant I made with you during the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant for you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters who are older than you, in addition to those who are younger than you, and I will give them to you as daughters, and not outside your covenant. [16] 62 I myself will establish my covenant with you. Then you will know that I am the Lord, 63 so that you may remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, when I make atonement for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:1 Ezekiel 16 and 23 are shockingly graphic. Ezekiel uses ugly language to describe Israel’s ugly actions. These chapters dramatically proclaim how ugly sin is in the eyes of a holy God, a message we dare not soften in our crass and immoral age.
  2. Ezekiel 16:4 The meaning of this term is uncertain.
  3. Ezekiel 16:6 Greek and Syriac manuscripts omit the repetition of and I said to you, “You there, lying there in your blood, live!”
  4. Ezekiel 16:7 Or like the most beautiful jewelry
  5. Ezekiel 16:8 Or your time was the time for love
  6. Ezekiel 16:10 Literally the hides of sea cows. This type of leather was used in the Dwelling, which was constructed in the wilderness.
  7. Ezekiel 16:24 The meaning of the word is uncertain. The ancient versions interpret it as a brothel.
  8. Ezekiel 16:24 The meaning of the word is uncertain. The ancient versions interpret it as a brothel.
  9. Ezekiel 16:26 Literally large flesh. Flesh here refers to genitals.
  10. Ezekiel 16:36 Or secretion. This is a Hebrew word of uncertain meaning, which occurs only here in the Bible. Perhaps it refers to vaginal fluid.
  11. Ezekiel 16:38 In God, jealousy is a demand for exclusive loyalty. He can tolerate no other gods.
  12. Ezekiel 16:43 You follows a reading in the margin of the Hebrew text. The reading in the main text is I.
  13. Ezekiel 16:46 A city’s daughters are its suburbs and surrounding villages with their citizens.
  14. Ezekiel 16:49 Or come to the aid
  15. Ezekiel 16:57 A variant reading which occurs in Hebrew and in other versions is Aram.
  16. Ezekiel 16:61 Or not on account of your covenant




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 26

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 26

Ezekiel 14 – 15

Through My Bible – May 26

Ezekiel 14 – 15 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Rulings About Prophecy

Ezekiel 14

1 Some men from the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me.

3 Son of man, these men have set up their filthy idols [1] in their hearts, and they have placed a stumbling block that makes them guilty in front of their faces. So should I really let them consult me? 4 Therefore, speak with them and tell them this is what the Lord God says.

Whenever anyone from the house of Israel sets up his filthy idols in his heart or sets the stumbling block that makes him guilty in front of his face and he then comes to a prophet, I, the Lord, will give him an answer appropriate to the multitude of his filthy idols, 5 so that I may capture the hearts of the house of Israel, for all of them have alienated themselves from me with their filthy idols. 6 Therefore, tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord God says. Repent and turn away from your filthy idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

7 Certainly, anyone from the house of Israel or an alien who is residing in Israel, if he alienates himself from me and sets up his filthy idols in his heart and puts the stumbling block that makes him guilty in front of his face, and he then comes to a prophet to seek my guidance for himself, I myself, the Lord, will give him an answer. 8 I will set my face against that man, and I will make him into a sign and a notorious example, and I will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

9 If a prophet acts like a fool [2] and speaks a message, I, the Lord, have made a fool of that prophet. [3] I will stretch out my hand against him, and I will destroy him from among my people Israel. 10 They will bear their guilt. The guilt of the one who seeks guidance will be the same as the guilt of the prophet, 11 so that the house of Israel will no longer stray from following me, and they will never again defile themselves by all their rebellious acts. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Lord God.

Four Judgments

12 The word of the Lord came to me.

13 Son of man, when a land sins against me by adding one act of infidelity to another, so that I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its bread supply, [4] to send famine against it, and to cut off man and beast from it, 14 even if these three men were in its midst—Noah, Daniel, and Job—by their righteousness they would save only their own lives, declares the Lord God.

15 If I cause wild animals to pass through the land and they rob it of its children, so that it becomes desolate, and no one can pass through because of the wild animals, 16 and if these three men were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they would not save either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be devastated.

17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, “A sword shall pass through the land,” and I cut off from it man and beast, 18 and these three men were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they would not be able to save either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be saved.

19 Or if I send a plague on that land, and with bloodshed I pour out my wrath on it to cut off man and beast from it, 20 and if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they would not be able to save either their sons or their daughters. By their righteousness they would save only their own lives.

21 For this is what the Lord God says. How much worse it will be when I send my four terrible judgments—sword, famine, wild animals, and plague—upon Jerusalem to cut off man and beast from it!

22 But wait! A group of survivors will be left in it, those sons and daughters who will be brought out. Look! They are coming out to you, and you shall see their ways and their actions. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem, everything that I brought upon it. 23 And they will comfort you, because you will see their ways and their actions. Then you will know that it was not without cause that I did everything that I did against the city, declares the Lord God.

Jerusalem Is a Useless Vine

Ezekiel 15

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, what can be done with the wood of a grapevine compared to the wood from the branches of all the other trees in the forest? 3 Can its wood be used to make something useful? Can people make a peg from it to hang things on? 4 No, it is fed into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned up. Is it useful for any purpose then? 5 Since it could not be used for any purpose when it was undamaged, how much less can it be used to make anything useful after the fire has devoured it and it has been burned! 6 Therefore, this is what the Lord says. Like the wood of the grapevine from among the trees of the forest, which I have fed into the fire for fuel, in the same way I will feed the inhabitants of Jerusalem into the fire. 7 I will set my face against them. They have come out from the fire, but the fire will still devour them. Then you will know that I am the Lord when I set my face against them. 8 I will make the land desolate because they added one infidelity to another, declares the Lord God.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 14:3 Gillulim, one of Ezekiel’s favorite names for Israel’s idols, is a harsh word. Gillulim means idols made from round things. The round things are dung balls; hence the term could be rendered dung-ball deities or horse-apple gods, but even these terms may be too gentle. One of the four-letter words for excrement may be closer to the mark.
  2. Ezekiel 14:9 Or is persuaded or lets himself be persuaded
  3. Ezekiel 14:9 Or have persuaded that prophet. The line is difficult. God is not the source of sin, but God does allow a false prophet to go his own way in order to use him as an instrument of judgment. Examples include the false prophets who led Ahab to his death and the witch of Endor, who drove Saul to his death.
  4. Ezekiel 14:13 Literally break its staff of bread




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 25

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 25

Ezekiel 12 – 13

Through My Bible – May 25

Ezekiel 12 – 13 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

An Action Prophecy About the Prince’s Exile

Ezekiel 12

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, you are living in the middle of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see, but they do not see, and they have ears to hear, but they do not hear, because they are a rebellious house. 3 Therefore, you, son of man, pack your baggage for exile, and depart into exile during the daytime, while they are watching. You are to depart into exile from your place to another place, while they are watching. Perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house. 4 You are to bring out your baggage, packed for exile, during the daytime, while they are watching. Then in the evening, while they are watching, you are to go out like someone going into exile. 5 While they are watching, dig through the wall, and bring out your baggage through it. 6 While they are watching, lift it up on your shoulder, and carry it out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the ground, for I have made you a warning sign to the house of Israel.

7 I did that, exactly as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage, packed for exile, during the daytime, and then in the evening I dug through the wall by hand. When it was getting dark, I brought my baggage out. I carried it on my shoulder while they were watching.

8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me. 9 “Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, that rebellious house, asked you, ‘What are you doing?’ 10 You are to tell them that this is what the Lord God says.”

This burdensome prophecy is about the burdensome prince in Jerusalem, [1] together with the whole house of Israel who are in its midst.

11 Say to them, “I am a warning sign for you.”

Exactly what I have done will be done to them. Into exile, into captivity, they will go. 12 The prince who is in their midst will carry his baggage on his shoulder at dusk and go out. They will dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He will cover his face, so he will not see the ground with his own eyes. 13 I will spread out my net for him, and he will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. 14 All those who are around him, his aides and all his troops, I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe my sword against them. 15 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them across many countries. 16 But from among them I will let a small number survive the sword, famine, and plague, in order that they may tell about all their abominations among the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

17 The word of the Lord came to me.

18 Son of man, you are to eat your food with trembling, and you are to drink your water with shuddering and anxiety. 19 You are to say to the people of the land: This is what the Lord God says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem on the soil of Israel. They will eat their food with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because everything that filled the land will be devastated because of the violence of all its inhabitants. 20 The inhabited cities will be laid waste, and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Two Sayings About Prophecy

21 The word of the Lord came to me.

22 Son of man, what is this saying that you have about the homeland of Israel: “The days keep going by, and every vision fails”?

23 Therefore say this to them. This is what the Lord God says. I will put an end to this saying, and they will no longer use it as a saying in Israel. On the contrary, say to them, “The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.” 24 For no longer will there be any empty, unreliable visions or slippery, misleading omens within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord. Whatever word I speak will be fulfilled. It will be delayed no longer. For in your own days, you rebellious house, I will speak a word and fulfill it, declares the Lord God.

26 The word of the Lord came to me.

27 Son of man, listen to what the house of Israel is saying: “The vision that he is seeing is for many days in the future, and he is prophesying for distant times.” 28 Therefore, tell the Israelites this is what the Lord God says. None of my words will be delayed any longer, because I will speak a word and it will be fulfilled, declares the Lord God.

False Prophets and Prophetesses

Ezekiel 13

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying. You are to say to the prophets who prophesy from their own heart: Hear the word of the Lord.

3 This is what the Lord God says. Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and prophesy things which they have not seen. 4 Israel, your prophets are like jackals among the ruins. 5 You have not stepped up into the breaks in the wall, nor have you repaired the wall for the house of Israel, so that it could stand up in battle on the Day of the Lord. 6 They see empty visions and their omens predict lies—those who say, “The declaration of the Lord,” when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. 7 Have you not, in fact, seen an empty vision and predicted lies when you say, “The declaration of the Lord,” when, in fact, I have not spoken? 8 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have spoken empty words and have seen a lying vision, therefore, I am surely against you, declares the Lord God. 9 My hand will come upon the prophets who see empty visions and predict a lie. They will not remain in the council of my people. They will not be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, and they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.

10 This will happen precisely because they have misled my people by saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace. When someone builds a flimsy wall, look how the false prophets daub it with a coat of mud plaster. [2] 11 Tell those who are daubing with plaster that the wall will fall. There will be driving rain, large hailstones will fall, [3] and a violent wind will break out, 12 and suddenly the wall will fall. Won’t they say to you, “Where is the mud plaster you daubed on now?”

13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. In my wrath I will make a violent wind break out, and there will be driving rain because of my anger. In my wrath I will send large hailstones that bring destruction. 14 I will demolish the wall that you have daubed with mud plaster. I will level it to the ground, so that its foundation will be exposed. It will fall, and you will perish within the city. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 15 In this way I will exhaust my wrath against the wall and against those who daubed it with mud plaster, and I will say to you, “Gone is the wall, and gone are those who daubed on it— 16 those prophets of Israel who are prophesying about Jerusalem and who proclaim a vision of peace about her when there is no peace, declares the Lord God.”

17 You, son of man, are to set your face against the daughters of your people, who are prophesying ecstatically from their own hearts. You are to prophesy against them. 18 You are to say that this is what the Lord God says.

Woe to those women who sew magic bands for all their [4] wrists and who make veils of every size for people’s heads in order to trap souls. [5] Will you women trap the souls of my people, but preserve your own souls? 19 You women profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread, killing people [6] who should not die and keeping people alive who should not live. You do this by your lying to my people—those who listen to lies. 20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says.

Listen. I am against your magic bands, with which you women trap souls like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and I will set free the souls that you trap like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and rescue my people from your hand. They will no longer be in your hand like prey. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

22 Because you have disheartened the righteous man with delusions, even though I have not intended to grieve him, and you have strengthened the hands of [7] the wicked man, so that he does not repent of his evil way, and so he does not save his life, 23 therefore, you women will no longer proclaim empty words, and you will no longer deceive with false omens. I will rescue my people from your hand. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 12:10 The Hebrew reads the prince [is] this burden in Jerusalem. The word for burden can sometimes refer to a warning prophecy, so there is a play on words in this prophecy—the prince carries a burden and he is a burden.
  2. Ezekiel 13:10 Or whitewash
  3. Ezekiel 13:11 The Hebrew text reads O you (feminine plural) large hailstones will fall. Alternate versions read I will give large hailstones that will fall.
  4. Ezekiel 13:18 The translation follows an alternate Hebrew reading. The main reading is my wrists.
  5. Ezekiel 13:18 Or lives
  6. Ezekiel 13:19 Literally souls
  7. Ezekiel 13:22 Or have encouraged




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 24

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 24

Ezekiel 11

Through My Bible – May 24

Ezekiel 11 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Warning of Judgment

1 Then the Spirit [1] lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the temple of the Lord, which faces east. There, at the entrance to the gateway, were twenty-five men, and among them I saw Ja’azaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. 2 He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city, 3 who are saying, ‘We will not have to build houses anytime soon. [2] The city is the pot, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore, prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.”

5 Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he told me to say this.

This is what the Lord says. This is what you are saying, house of Israel. I know what you have in mind. 6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Your slain, which you have placed within the city, are the meat, and the city is the pot. But I will drive you out of it. 8 The sword is what you have feared, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 9 I [3] will drive you out from it, hand you over to foreigners, and execute judgments on you. 10 By the sword you will fall, and at the border of Israel I will judge you. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be a pot for you, and you will not be the meat inside it. At the border of Israel I will judge you. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, in whose statutes you have not walked and whose ordinances you have not obeyed, but instead you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.

13 While I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice. I said, “Oh no, Lord God, you are making a complete destruction of the remaining survivors of Israel!”

Promise of One Heart and a New Spirit

14 Then the word of the Lord came to me.

15 Son of man, your brothers, your brothers who have the right to redeem your property, [4] and the whole house of Israel—all of it—to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem are saying, “Stay far away from the Lord! This land has been given to us as a possession.” 16 Tell them that this is what the Lord God says.

Although I have removed them far away among the nations, and I have indeed scattered them among the lands, I will be a sanctuary for them for a little while in the lands to which they have gone.

17 Therefore say, “This is what the Lord God says.” I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 When they arrive back there, they will remove from it all its loathsome things and all its abominations. 19 I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from their body and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so that they will walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and carry them out. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their disgusting things and their abominations, I will bring down their conduct on their own heads, declares the Lord God.

The Glory Departs

22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings. The wheels were beside them, and the Glory of the God of Israel was positioned above them. 23 The Glory of the Lord went up from the middle of the city and stood on the mountain east of the city. 24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Chaldea, in the vision from the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen departed from me, and I told the exiles all the things from the Lord that he had shown to me.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 11:1 Or wind
  2. Ezekiel 11:3 The Hebrew sentence reads to build houses is not near. The context requires a confident assertion, but it is not clear what type of action this comment refers to. Some suggest that the rulers feel no need to build houses because they have expropriated the property of the people in exile and of other defenseless residents of the city. Others suggest that they were mocking Jeremiah’s letter and talking about building houses in Babylon.
  3. Ezekiel 11:9 A variant supported by some Hebrew manuscripts is he.
  4. Ezekiel 11:15 See Leviticus 25:24-52 for a description of this practice. A variant is your fellow exiles.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 23

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 23

Ezekial 9 – 10

Through My Bible – May 23

Ezekial 9 – 10 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Those Without the Mark Are Put to Death

Ezekial 9

1 Then he called out with a loud voice in my hearing, “Bring the supervisors of the city here, each one of them with his weapon of destruction in his hand.” 2 Then I noticed six men coming from the direction of the upper gate that faces north, each with his weapon, a war club, in his hand. There was also one man in the middle, dressed in linen, with a scribe’s kit at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 Now the Glory of the God of Israel ascended from above the cherub, over whom it had been standing, and moved to the threshold of the temple building. He called out to the man who was dressed in linen, who had the scribe’s kit at his waist. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a cross mark [1] on the foreheads of those who moan and lament over the abominations being committed in her.” 5 To the others he said in my hearing, “Follow him through the city and strike the people down. Do not let your eye show pity, and do not have compassion. 6 Old men and young men, virgins, little children, and women—you are to keep killing until you wipe them out completely. But do not go near anyone who has been marked with the cross. You are to begin at my sanctuary.”

So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple. 7 Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went and struck them down throughout the city.

8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone and I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord God! Are you going to destroy everyone who is left in Israel, as you pour out your wrath upon Jerusalem?” 9 He said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great. The land is filled with bloodshed, and the city is full of injustice, because they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land’ and ‘The Lord does not see.’ 10 But I am determined that my eye will show no pity, and I will have no compassion. I will bring down their conduct on their own heads.” 11 Just then, I saw the man dressed in linen, who had the scribe’s kit at his waist. He was reporting, “I have done just as you commanded me.”

The Glory Is Seen Again

Ezekial 10

1 Then I looked, and there, above the vaulted ceiling [2] that was over the heads of the cherubim, there was something that looked like a sapphire, shaped like a throne. It could be seen above the cherubim. 2 The Lord [3] said to the man dressed in linen, “Reach into the structure for the wheels that is beneath the cherubim, fill your cupped hands with fiery coals from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” So he went in while I watched.

3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple while he, the man, approached, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 Then the Glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was full of the radiance of the Glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far away as the outer courtyard, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 When he commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim,” the man went and stood beside the wheel. 7 Then a cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim and reached into the fire that was between the cherubim. He lifted up some coals, and he put them into the cupped hands of the man dressed in linen, and the man took them and went out.

8 The cherubim had something that seemed like the form of a human hand under their wings.

9 Then I looked, and right there beside the cherubim were four wheels, one wheel beside each cherub, and the wheels looked like topaz. 10 The four of them all looked alike—there was a wheel inside each wheel. [4] 11 The cherubim could move in any of the four directions toward which one of them faced, without turning as they moved. They went straight ahead in the direction they faced, never turning from side to side. [5]

12 Their entire body, their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around. (I mean the wheels that belonged to the four of them.) 13 As for the wheels, they were called “wheelwork” [6] in my hearing.

14 Each one of the cherubim had four faces. One face was the face of a cherub. [7] The second face was the face of a man. The third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.

15 Then the cherubim rose. These were the living creatures that I had seen by the Kebar Canal. 16 Whenever the cherubim moved, the wheels moved alongside them, and whenever the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not turn away from their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels would stand still, and when the cherubim rose, the wheels would rise with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

18 Then the Glory of the Lord moved out from the threshold of the temple and took a position above the cherubim. 19 As I watched, the cherubim lifted up their wings and rose from the ground. As they went out, the wheels remained beside them. They [8] stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the House of the Lord, and the Glory of the God of Israel was above the cherubim. 20 These were the living creatures that I had seen beneath the God of Israel at the Kebar Canal, and I now knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces, and each had four wings, with something like the hands of a man underneath their wings. 22 The faces looked like the faces that I had seen by the Kebar Canal—exactly the same. Each one went straight ahead.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 9:4 The cross mark placed on the people was the Hebrew letter tav, which is the source of the English letter t lowercase (†). The significance of the similarity between the tav and the cross was not apparent, however, at this point, five hundred years before Calvary.
  2. Ezekiel 10:1 Or platform
  3. Ezekiel 10:2 The Hebrew reads he. The subject is provided for clarity.
  4. Ezekiel 10:10 The inner wheel was apparently at right angles to the outer wheel, allowing the platform to move in any direction without the wheels turning from side to side.
  5. Ezekiel 10:11 The expression is difficult. It apparently means that each one of the cherubim faced in one of the four directions of the compass. When the platform moved in any direction, the cherub facing that direction served as the driver. The other cherubim did not turn but remained facing their assigned direction.
  6. Ezekiel 10:13 Or the whirling wheels or the spinning wheels
  7. Ezekiel 10:14 In chapter 1 the corresponding face was called the face of an ox.
  8. Ezekiel 10:19 The translation they is the reading of the Greek text. The Hebrew text reads the singular.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 22

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 22

Ezekiel 8

Through My Bible – May 22

Ezekiel 8 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Abominations in the Temple

1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, [1] I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me. The hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. 2 I looked, and there I saw a figure that looked like a man. [2] From what appeared to be his waist down, he looked like fire, and from his waist up, he had the appearance of a dazzling light, something like glowing metal. [3] 3 He reached out with what looked like a hand and seized me by a lock of hair. Then the Spirit [4] lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me to Jerusalem, while I was experiencing visions from God. He brought me to the entrance of the north gate into the inner courtyard of the Temple, where the idolatrous image of jealousy, which provokes jealousy, was located. 4 Then I looked, and there was the Glory of the God of Israel, as it was in the vision that I had seen in the middle of the river valley.

5 He said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and what did I see! There, north of the altar gate, was this idolatrous image of jealousy beside the entrance. 6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—what great abominations the house of Israel is practicing here, to distance themselves [5] from my sanctuary! But you will see even greater abominations.”

7 Next, he brought me to the entrance to the courtyard, and I looked and saw that there was a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and there I saw a doorway. 9 He said to me, “Go in and observe the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 When I entered, I looked around, and what did I see! Every form of creeping creature and every kind of detestable animal and all the filthy idols of the house of Israel were engraved on the wall, all around. 11 Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel—with Ja’azaniah [6] son of Shaphan standing in the middle—were standing in front of the images, each with his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of incense was ascending. 12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each in his chamber for carved images? Listen! They are saying, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land.’”

13 Then he said to me, “You will see even greater abominations which they are practicing.”

14 Next, he brought me to the entrance of the gateway of the House of the Lord that is on the north side, and right there I saw women sitting and wailing for Tammuz. [7] 15 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these.”

16 Finally, he brought me to the inner courtyard of the House of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the vestibule and the altar, were twenty-five men, showing their backsides to the temple of the Lord with their faces toward the east, and they were bowing down to the sun in the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it too trivial for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are committing here? Do they also have to fill the land with violence, so that they provoke me more and more? They are even sticking the branch up my nose! [8] 18 But I also will act in wrath. My eye will not show pity, and I will have no compassion. They will call out to my ears with a loud cry, but I will not hear them.”

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 8:1 During the autumn of 592 bc
  2. Ezekiel 8:2 The translation like a man follows the Greek text. The Hebrew reads like fire. The two words look very similar in Hebrew.
  3. Ezekiel 8:2 Or electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, or amber
  4. Ezekiel 8:3 Or the wind. This may be an experience like Elijah’s experience with the whirlwind.
  5. Ezekiel 8:6 Or me. The Hebrew has no object pronoun.
  6. Ezekiel 8:11 The stop mark ′ shows that Ja-az should be pronounced as two syllables.
  7. Ezekiel 8:14 Tammuz was a Babylonian god, who was believed to die at the beginning of the dry season, who then had to be brought back to life by mourning rituals, in order to bring back the rains.
  8. Ezekiel 8:17 It is not clear what this offensive practice is. The translation follows the alternate Hebrew reading, known as a correction of the scribes. The standard Hebrew text reads putting the branch to their nose, a reference to smelling flowers to cover the stench of what they were doing. But the context requires that this be the ultimate insult to the Lord, so the more offensive reading is likely correct.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 21

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 21

Ezekiel 6 – 7

Through My Bible – May 21

Ezekiel 6 – 7 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Judgment on the Mountains for Idolatry

Ezekiel 6

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. 3 You shall say, “Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God.” This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and to the hills, to the streambeds and to the valleys. Without fail, I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 Your altars will be demolished, and your incense altars [1] will be smashed, and I will throw down your fallen bodies in front of your filthy idols. [2] 5 I will lay out the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their filthy idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 In all the places where you live, the towns will be laid waste, and the high places will be demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and demolished, your filthy idols will be crushed and cease to exist, your incense altars will be broken in pieces, and the things you have made will be wiped out. 7 The slain will fall in your midst, and then you will know that I am the Lord.

8 Nevertheless, when you are scattered in various countries, I will preserve for you some survivors who escape the sword among the nations. 9 Then, those of you who escape will remember me in the nations where they have been carried as captives. They will remember how I was heartbroken by their lustful hearts, which turned away from me, and by their eyes, which lusted for their filthy idols. They will loathe themselves because of all the evils they have done, for all their abominations. 10 Then they will know that I, the Lord, did not speak about bringing this disaster on them without it having a result. [3]

11 This is what the Lord God says. Clap your hands, [4] stomp your feet, and say, “We are doomed,” on account of all the vile abominations of the house of Israel, for by the sword, famine, and plague they will fall. 12 Anyone who is far away will die of the plague, and anyone who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who remains under siege will die of famine. In this way I will exhaust my wrath upon them. 13 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when their fallen bodies lie among their filthy idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every green tree and under every leafy oak, in every place where they offered fragrant sacrifice to appease all their filthy idols. 14 I will stretch out my hand against them, and I will make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Riblah, [5] in all the places they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

The End Has Come

Ezekiel 7

1 The word of the Lord came to me.

2 And to you, son of man, this is what the Lord God says about the soil of Israel. An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now that the end is upon you, I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways, and I will place on you the penalty for all your abominations. [6] 4 My eye will not have pity on you, and I will have no compassion, for I will place on you the penalty for your ways, and the punishment for your abominations will be in your midst. Then you will know that I am the Lord!

5 This is what the Lord God says. Disaster! An unparalleled disaster! [7] Watch, it is coming! 6 An end has come! The end has come! It has begun against you. Look, it is coming! 7 Doom [8] has come upon you, you inhabitants of the land. The time has come, the day is near. A day of panic, not joy, is on the mountains. 8 Now very soon I will pour out my wrath upon you, and I will exhaust my anger against you. I will judge you according to your ways, and I will place on you the penalty for all your abominations. 9 My eye will not show pity, and I will have no compassion. According to your ways I will place the penalty on you, and the punishment for your abominations will be in your midst. Then you will know that I, the Lord, am the one who strikes you!

10 Look, the day is coming. It is here. Doom has broken out. The rod has budded. Insolence has blossomed. 11 Violence has grown into a rod against wickedness. None of them will remain—none of their noisy crowd, [9] none of their wealth, not a thing of value among them. 12 The time has come; the day has arrived.

The buyer should not rejoice. The seller should not grieve, because wrath is coming upon the whole noisy crowd. 13 So sellers will not return to what they have sold, even if they survive. Yes, the vision concerning the whole noisy crowd will not be reversed, and each man, because of the guilt in his life, will have no strength. 14 They will blow a blast on the ram’s horn and make everything ready, but no one will go to battle, because my wrath is upon the whole noisy crowd. 15 The sword is outside, and plague and famine are inside. Anyone in the countryside will die by the sword, and anyone in the city—plague and famine will devour him. 16 Any who escape will flee to the mountains, mourning like doves from the valley, each of them in his guilt. 17 All hands will hang limp, and water will run down every knee. [10] 18 They will put on sackcloth, and horror will cover them. Every face will be ashamed, and all their heads will be shaved bald.

19 They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be polluted by blood. [11] Their silver and their gold will not be able to rescue them on the day of the Lord’s fury. The silver and gold will not satisfy their appetites [12] or fill their stomachs, because it was the cause of their guilt and their downfall. 20 From the silver and gold of the Lord’s beautiful ornaments, which were their pride, they made their abominations and their disgusting images.

Therefore, for them I will make it a place polluted by blood. 21 I will hand it over to foreigners as loot. I will give it to the most wicked people on earth as plunder, and they will desecrate it. 22 I will turn my face away from my people so that the enemy may desecrate my treasured place, and so that robbers may enter it and desecrate it. 23 Prepare the chain, because the earth is full of judicial murder, [13] and the city is full of violence. 24 I will bring the most wicked of the nations, and they will take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the mighty, and their so-called sanctuaries [14] will be desecrated.

25 Terror is coming. They will seek peace, but there will be none. 26 Disaster after disaster will come, and one report will follow another. They will seek a vision from the prophet, but sound instruction will vanish from the priest and the ability to give advice from the elders. 27 The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. On the basis of their own conduct I will deal with them, and by the standard they used to judge others I will judge them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 6:4 Or shrines or images of the sun god
  2. Ezekiel 6:4 Gillulim, one of Ezekiel’s favorite names for Israel’s idols, is a harsh word. Gillulim means idols made from round things. The round things are dung balls, hence the term could be rendered dung-ball deities or horse-apple gods, or one of the more graphic words for excrement.
  3. Ezekiel 6:10 Or for no reason
  4. Ezekiel 6:11 Several kinds of clapping, with different meanings, are referred to in Ezekiel. Here the meaning seems to be fear or despair.
  5. Ezekiel 6:14 A few Hebrew manuscripts read Riblah. Most Hebrew manuscripts read Diblah, but all other passages support Riblah as the name of the city in question. In Hebrew script r and d look alike.
  6. Ezekiel 7:3 Literally I will place on you all your abominations. In Hebrew it is common to omit mention of the penalty when stating that the Lord will make a person’s guilt cling to him. This idiom occurs throughout this chapter.
  7. Ezekiel 7:5 Variant disaster after disaster
  8. Ezekiel 7:7 Or a flood. The meaning of this word is uncertain, here and also in verse 10.
  9. Ezekiel 7:11 Or their whole horde
  10. Ezekiel 7:17 Terror will cause them to wet themselves.
  11. Ezekiel 7:19 The Hebrew word refers to menstrual uncleanness. Blood made a person ceremonially unclean.
  12. Ezekiel 7:19 Or souls
  13. Ezekiel 7:23 Like the case in which Jezebel framed Naboth and had him executed
  14. Ezekiel 7:24 The Hebrew uses a derogatory form of the word sanctuaries, with the connotation their so-called sanctuaries.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 20

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 20

Ezekiel 3:22 – 5:17

Through My Bible – May 20

Ezekiel 3:22 – 5:17 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Ezekiel 3

22 Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the center of the river valley, and there I will speak with you.” 23 So I got up and went out to the center of the valley, and suddenly there it was! The Glory of the Lord was standing there, just like the Glory that I had seen by the Kebar Canal, and I fell on my face. 24 But the Spirit entered into me and brought me to my feet.

Then he spoke to me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up inside your house. 25 And this is what will happen to you, son of man. They will certainly place ropes upon you and tie you up with them, so that you will not be able to go out among them. 26 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, so that you will be speechless, and you will not be able to rebuke [1] them, for they are a rebellious house. 27 But whenever I speak to you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen. Whoever refuses to listen, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.”

Action Prophecies About the Siege and the Exile

Ezekiel 4

1 Now you, son of man, take a brick for yourself, place it in front of you, and sketch on it a city, which is Jerusalem. 2 Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, heap up a ramp against it, set up camps against it, and station battering rams against it, all the way around it.

3 And you, take an iron griddle and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Direct your face toward [2] it, so that it will be under siege as you besiege it. This will be a sign for the house of Israel.

4 And you, lie down on your left side, and place the guilt of the house of Israel on it. For as many days as you lie on your side, you shall bear their guilt. 5 I will assign to you the number of days you are to lie on your side on the basis of the number of years of their guilt: three hundred ninety days. So you shall bear the guilt of the house of Israel. 6 When you have finished these days, you shall lie down a second time on your right side, and you shall bear the guilt of the house of Judah for forty days. I have assigned to you one day for each year. 7 You shall direct your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against it. 8 See, I have placed ropes upon you, so that you will not turn from your one side to your other side until you finish the days of your siege.

9 And you, take some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and emmer wheat for yourself. You shall put them in a single dish and make bread for yourself with them. During the whole number of days that you are lying on your side—three hundred ninety days—you shall eat it. 10 You shall weigh out the food you eat—half a pound [3] a day. You are to eat it at set times each day. 11 You shall measure the water you drink—a pint and a half [4] a day. You are to drink it at set times each day. 12 You are to eat it as you would eat flat bread made of barley, and you are to bake it over balls of human excrement in their sight.

13 Then the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their food: They will be ceremonially unclean among the nations where I will banish them.”

14 Then I said, “Oh no, Lord God, I have never made myself unclean. I have never eaten a carcass or something torn by wild animals, from my youth until now. Neither has any meat which is ceremonially unclean ever entered my mouth.”

15 Then he answered me, “Very well, I will let you use droppings of cattle instead of balls of human excrement, and you shall bake your bread over them.”

16 He also said this to me: “Son of man, watch for this! I am about to take away the bread supply from [5] Jerusalem, and they will measure out their bread by weight and eat it with anxiety, and they will measure out their water and drink it with horror. 17 So they will lack food and water, and they will be horrified, each man and his brother, and they will waste away because of their guilt.”

The First Judgment Oracle

Ezekiel 5

1 You, son of man, get a sharp sword for yourself. You shall use it on yourself like a barber’s razor. Use it on your head and on your beard. Then get scales for yourself so that you can weigh and divide the hair. 2 One third of it you shall burn with fire inside the city when the days of siege are completed. Then you shall take another third and strike it with the sword all around the city. Another third you shall scatter to the wind, but I will unsheathe the sword to pursue them. 3 But take a few hairs and wrap them in the folds of your robe. 4 Then take some of those and throw them into the middle of the fire and burn them up in the fire. From there a fire will spread to the whole house of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord God says. This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the midst of the nations, and all around her there are other countries. 6 But she rebelled against my ordinances, [6] becoming more wicked than the nations, and she rebelled against my statutes more than the countries around her did, because the Israelites rejected my ordinances, and they did not walk in my statutes. [7] 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have outdone the nations around you, and you have not walked in my statutes, and you have not performed what I judged to be right, and you have not [8] even acted according to the standards of justice followed by the nations around you, 8 therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Watch out! I am against you. I myself will perform judgments among you in the sight of the nations. 9 I will do among you something that I have never done before and the likes of which I shall never do again, because of all your abominations. 10 That is why fathers among you [9] will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you, and I will scatter any of you who are left to every wind.

11 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Lord God, because you have defiled my sanctuary by all your detestable practices and all your abominations, I, yes I myself, will withdraw. My eye will not show pity, and I myself will have no compassion. 12 A third of you will die in the plague or perish during the famine in your midst. All around you, a third will fall by the sword, and a third I will scatter to every wind. Then I will unsheathe the sword in pursuit of them. 13 Finally, my anger will be finished. I will let my wrath against them rest, and I will be satisfied. Then they will know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my jealousy [10]—when I exhaust my wrath against them. 14 I will make you into a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by. 15 You, Jerusalem, [11] will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and something horrifying to the nations around you, when I execute judgments upon you in anger, in wrath, and in furious punishments. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 I will also send deadly arrows of famine against them, arrows that shall become a destroyer, arrows that I will send to destroy you. I will also increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. [12] 17 I will send famine and dangerous wild animals against you, and they will take away your children from you. Plague and bloodshed will pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 3:26 Or admonish
  2. Ezekiel 4:3 Or fix your gaze on
  3. Ezekiel 4:10 Twenty shekels
  4. Ezekiel 4:11 One sixth of a hin
  5. Ezekiel 4:16 Literally break the staff of bread for
  6. Ezekiel 5:6 Or what I judged to be right
  7. Ezekiel 5:6 The ordinances probably refer to moral law and the statutes to religious laws and practices.
  8. Ezekiel 5:7 Some Hebrew manuscripts and the Syriac text do not have the word not.
  9. Ezekiel 5:10 The pronoun you is feminine, referring to Jerusalem.
  10. Ezekiel 5:13 In God, jealousy is a demand for exclusive loyalty. He can tolerate no other gods.
  11. Ezekiel 5:15 The Hebrew reads she, a reference to Jerusalem.
  12. Ezekiel 5:16 Literally break the staff of bread




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 19

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 19

Ezekiel 2:1 – 3:21

Through My Bible – May 19

Ezekiel 2:1 – 3:21 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Ezekiel’s Call

Ezekiel 2

1 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 The Spirit entered into me as he spoke to me and brought me up to my feet. Then I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel, [1] to disloyal nations, who have been disloyal to me. They and their fathers have rebelled against me to this very day. 4 These children of mine are brazen-faced and hard-hearted. I am sending you to them, and you are to tell them that this is what the Lord God says. 5 Then, whether they listen or do not listen—for they are a rebellious house—then they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words. Even though briers and thorns surround you and you are living with scorpions, do not be afraid of their words, and do not be intimidated by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. 7 You are to speak my words to them whether they listen or they do not, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I am telling you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”

9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out toward me, and in it there was a rolled-up scroll. 10 He unrolled it in front of me, and there was writing on both sides. Written on it was: Laments, Groaning, and Woe.

Ezekiel 3

1 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat what you have received. Eat this scroll, and then go, speak to the house of Israel.” 2 I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll.

3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll that I am giving you.” I ate, and in my mouth it was sweet like honey.

4 He then said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 For you are not being sent to a people who have incomprehensible speech or a difficult language, but you are being sent to the house of Israel. 6 Nor are you being sent to many peoples who have incomprehensible speech and difficult languages, whose words you cannot understand. Certainly, if I were to send you to such people, they would listen to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, because the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. 8 Look, I have made your face just as hard as their faces and your forehead just as hard as their foreheads. 9 I have made your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not fear them, and do not be intimidated by their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”

10 Then he said to me, “Son of man, receive into your heart all my words that I will speak to you, and hear them with your ears. 11 Go now to the exiles, to your own people. [2] You shall speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ whether they listen or they do not.”

12 Then the Spirit [3] lifted me up, and I heard a loud rushing sound behind me—Blessed be the Glory of the Lord in its dwelling place!— 13 It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures beating against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. 14 The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and so I went, bitter and heated in my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was upon me with power. 15 I came to the exiles at Tel Aviv, who were living by the Kebar Canal—there where they were living. [4] I sat among them for seven days—stunned.

16 At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me and said:

17 Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you must give them a warning from me. 18 When I announce to a wicked man, “You shall surely die,” if you do not warn him, and you do not speak up to warn the wicked man against his wicked way so that he can live, then that wicked man will die because of his guilt, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. 19 But you, if you warn the wicked man, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die because of his guilt, but you will have saved your own life. 20 Or when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and becomes unrighteous, and I place a stumbling block in front of him, he shall die. If you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he had done will not be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. 21 But you, if you do warn that righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall certainly live because he heeded the warning, and you will have saved your own life.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 2:3 The Greek text reads house of Israel, a common expression in Ezekiel.
  2. Ezekiel 3:11 Literally the sons of your people
  3. Ezekiel 3:12 Or the wind. This may be an experience like Elijah’s experience with the whirlwind. See also verse 14.
  4. Ezekiel 3:15 Again the text is repetitious. It is not likely that this is the result of accidental duplication in the text.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 18

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 18

Ezekiel 1

Through My Bible – May 18

Ezekiel 1 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Ezekiel’s First Vision

1 In the thirtieth year, [1] in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was among the exiles by the Kebar Canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth of that month, in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, 3 the word of the Lord came in a dramatic way [2] upon Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans, [3] by the Kebar Canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

The Glory of the Lord Appears

4 As I watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north. There was a large cloud, with fire flashing through it, and there was a bright light all around it. In the middle of it, there was something that looked like glowing metal [4] in the middle of the fire.

5 In the middle of it I saw what looked like four living creatures. This was what they looked like. Each of them had a human appearance, 6 but each one had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Each of their legs was straight, [5] and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like polished bronze. 8 They had human hands under their wings on all four of their sides. All four of them had faces and wings.

9 Their wings were touching one another. The creatures did not turn from side to side as they moved, but each one faced straight ahead. [6]

10 This is what their faces looked like. Each one had a face like a man’s face. On the right side of their heads, all four of them had a face like a lion. On the left side, all four of them had a face like an ox. All four of them also had a face like an eagle. 11 Those were their faces.

Their wings were stretched upward. Each of them had one pair of wings which touched the wings of each of the cherubs next to it and another pair of wings which covered their bodies.

12 Each one faced straight ahead as it moved. They went in whatever direction the spirit [7] wanted to go. They did not turn as they moved ahead.

13 The appearance of the living creatures was like red-hot coals, like the appearance of blazing torches. Fire was moving back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and lightning was coming out of the fire. 14 The creatures darted back and forth. They looked like jagged bolts of lightning.

15 As I looked at the living creatures, I noticed one wheel on the ground beside each one of the living creatures that had four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their design were like the sparkle of topaz, [8] and the four of them looked alike. Their appearance and their design were like a wheel within a wheel. [9] 17 They could go in any of the four directions when they moved, but the wheels did not turn from side to side when they moved. [10] 18 As for their rims, they were high and intimidating, and their rims were full of eyes all the way around—all four of them. 19 Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and whenever the living creatures would rise from the ground, the wheels rose too.

20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they would go. Wherever the spirit wanted to go, [11] the wheels would rise together with them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels would move. Whenever the living creatures stood still, the wheels would stand still. Whenever the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels would rise together with them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

22 There was something above the heads of the living creatures like the dome of a vaulted ceiling. [12] It looked like ice. It was spectacular. It stretched out above their heads. 23 Under the dome, two of their wings were stretched out to touch the wing of another one of the creatures. Each of the creatures also had two wings covering themselves, each had two wings covering themselves—covering their bodies. [13] 24 I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of rushing water. It was like the voice of the Almighty when they moved—a sound of commotion, like the noise in an army camp. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25 A voice came from above the dome that was over their heads. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

26 Above the dome that was over their heads, there was something that appeared to be a sapphire that was shaped like a throne. Seated on that throne-like form there was a figure that looked like a man. 27 I saw something like the gleam of glowing metal [14] with fire in it and all around it. It extended upward from what appeared to be the man’s waist. Below what appeared to be his waist, I saw what appeared to be fire, and a bright light surrounded him. 28 The bright light that surrounded him looked like the rainbow that is in the clouds on a rainy day.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord. When I saw this, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 1:1 Apparently the thirtieth year of Ezekiel’s life, when he would have become eligible to serve as a priest in the Temple, if he had not been in exile in Babylon
  2. Ezekiel 1:3 Or in a powerful way. The Hebrew uses an intensive verb form.
  3. Ezekiel 1:3 The Chaldeans were the ethnic group ruling Babylon.
  4. Ezekiel 1:4 Perhaps electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver, or perhaps amber
  5. Ezekiel 1:7 Or stretched out straight. It is not clear what this phrase means. Perhaps it means they did not bend at the knee. It is also uncertain whether each creature had two legs like a man or four legs like an ox, as many cherubim pictured in Near Eastern art have.
  6. Ezekiel 1:9 This apparently means that each one of the living creatures that Ezekiel was seeing always remained facing in one of the four directions of the compass. When the platform moved in any direction, the living creature facing that direction served as the driver. The other living creatures did not turn when the platform serving as a chariot headed in a different direction, but they remained facing in their assigned direction.
  7. Ezekiel 1:12 Or Spirit
  8. Ezekiel 1:16 Hebrew tarshish, a gemstone of uncertain identity
  9. Ezekiel 1:16 This seems to mean one wheel was at a right angle inside the other.
  10. Ezekiel 1:17 The wheels revolved when the platform was moving in the direction they faced, but the wheels did not turn to the right or left as automobile wheels do.
  11. Ezekiel 1:20 Repetitious speech is common in Ezekiel. Such repetition often marks excited, emotional speech.
  12. Ezekiel 1:22 This is the same word that describes the dome or expanse of the heavens in Genesis 1. Here this structure serves as a platform for God’s throne.
  13. Ezekiel 1:23 The repetition may be due to excited speech, due to seeing such an amazing vision.
  14. Ezekiel 1:27 Or electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, or amber




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 17

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 17

Philippians 4

Through My Bible – May 17

Philippians 4 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

1 So then, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way keep standing firm in the Lord, my dear friends.

2 I appeal to Euodia and I appeal to Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, true coworker, [1] bring these women together, who contended alongside me in the gospel, as did also Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. 9 The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

Paul Acknowledges Their Gift

10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord now that you have revived your concern for me once again. Actually, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I lack anything; in fact, I have learned to be content in any circumstances in which I find myself. 12 I know what it is to live in humble circumstances, and I know what it is to have more than enough. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, while being full or hungry, while having plenty or not enough. 13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. 14 Nevertheless, you did well by becoming partners with me in my affliction.

15 You Philippians know that in the beginning of your experience with the gospel, when I left Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. 16 Even while I was in Thessalonica, you sent help more than once for my needs. 17 Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am seeking the fruit that adds to your account. 18 I have been paid in full, and I have more than enough. I am fully supplied since I’ve received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. 19 And my God will fully supply your every need, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever! Amen.

Final Greetings

21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, especially those who are from Caesar’s household. 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Philippians 4:3 Or loyal yokefellow, or loyal Syzygus




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 16

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 16

Philippians 3:12-21

Through My Bible – May 16

Philippians 3:12-21 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Philippians 3

Press On

12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus also took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it yet, but there is one thing I do: Forgetting the things that are behind and straining toward the things that are ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, let all of us who are mature continue to think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this to you too. 16 Only let us think the same thing and [1] walk in line with what we already have attained.

17 Brothers, join together in imitating me and in paying attention to those who are walking according to the pattern we gave you. 18 To be sure, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. I told you about them often, and now I am saying it while weeping. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their appetite, [2] and their glory is in their shame. They are thinking only about earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. We are eagerly waiting for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 By the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, he will transform our humble bodies to be like his glorious body.

Footnotes

  1. Philippians 3:16 A few witnesses to the text omit think the same thing and.
  2. Philippians 3:19 Literally stomach




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 15

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 15

Philippians 3:1-11

Through My Bible – May 15

Philippians 3:1-11 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Philippians 3

True Righteousness

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things again to you, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Beware of the dogs. Beware of the evildoers. Beware of the mutilation. [1] [2] 3 For we are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, [3] who are confident in Christ Jesus, and who place no confidence in the flesh, 4 even though I have grounds for confidence also in the flesh. If anyone else thinks that he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 in regard to zeal, persecuting the church; in regard to the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.

7 But, whatever things were a profit for me, these things I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. 8 But even more than that, I consider everything to be a loss because of what is worth far more: knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have lost all things and consider them rubbish, so that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God by faith. 10 I do this so that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, 11 in the hope that in some way I may arrive at the resurrection from the dead.

Footnotes

  1. Philippians 3:2 A reference to the Judaizers’ circumcision. The Greek terms for circumcision (Greek peritome) and mutilation (Greek katatome) were very similar, so this was a play on words.
  2. Philippians 3:2 Or mutilators; with reference to the Judaizers
  3. Philippians 3:3 Some witnesses to the text read worship God in spirit.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 14

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 14

Philippians 2:19-30

Through My Bible – May 14

Philippians 2:19-30 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Philippians 2

Two Faithful Workers

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 To be sure, I have no one else like him, [1] who will be genuinely concerned about your welfare. 21 For, the others all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s proven character, that as a child for his father, he served with me in the gospel. 23 So he is the one I hope to send just as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 But I have confidence in the Lord that I myself will be coming soon too.

25 I also considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as the one you sent to serve me in my need. 26 I sent him because he was longing for [2] all of you and was distressed, because you had heard that he was sick. 27 As a matter of fact, he was sick, nearly to death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Now I am especially eager to send him, so that you may rejoice when you see him again, and I may be relieved. 29 Therefore, receive him in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard, 30 because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life in order to fill in what was lacking in your service to me.

Footnotes

  1. Philippians 2:20 Or like-minded
  2. Philippians 2:26 Some witnesses to the text read longing to see.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 13

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 13

Philippians 1:27 – 2:18

Through My Bible – May 13

Philippians 1:27 – 2:18 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Philippians 1

Stand Firm

27 Just conduct yourselves in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to see you or am absent, I may hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, contending together with one soul for the faith of the gospel, 28 not frightened in any way by the adversaries. This is a sign for them of their destruction and of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been graciously granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 having the same kind of struggle that you saw I was in, and that you now hear I am still experiencing.

Live in Harmony

Philippians 2

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility consider one another better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look carefully not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Jesus Humbled Himself

5 Indeed, [1] let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 6 Though he was by nature God, [2] he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, [3] 7 but he emptied himself by taking the nature [4] of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, [5] 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

12 So then, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you, but also now much more in my absence, continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 In fact, it is God who is working in you, both to will and to work, for the sake of his good pleasure. 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish among a crooked and perverted generation. You shine among them like lights in the world, 16 as you hold on to [6] the word of life. Then I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I continue to be glad and rejoice with you all. 18 In the same way, also be glad and rejoice with me.

Footnotes

  1. Philippians 2:5 A few witnesses to the text omit Indeed.
  2. Philippians 2:6 Or in the form of God
  3. Philippians 2:6 Or something to be used for his own advantage, or something to cling to
  4. Philippians 2:7 Or form
  5. Philippians 2:7 Literally was found in appearance as a man
  6. Philippians 2:16 Or hold out




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 12

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 12

Philippians 1:12-26

Through My Bible – May 12

Philippians 1:12-26 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Philippians 1

Christ Is Proclaimed

12 I want you to know, brothers, [1] that the things which happened to me actually took place to advance the gospel. 13 And so it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to all the rest, that I am in chains because of Christ. [2] 14 And, through my chains, the majority of the brothers in the Lord have become much more confident about daring to speak the word of God [3] fearlessly. 15 Some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, and others out of good will. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking they can cause trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 What does it matter? Only this, that in every way, whether for outward appearance or for the truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 because I know that this will turn out for my deliverance, through your prayer and the support of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 This matches my earnest expectation and hope that I will in no way be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, so even now, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 Yes, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to go on living in the flesh, that will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet which should I prefer? I do not know. 23 I am pulled in two directions, because I have the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. 24 But, it is more necessary for your sake that I remain in the flesh. 25 And since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you, for your progress and joy in the faith. 26 And so by my coming to you again, my goal is to give you even more reason to boast in Christ Jesus.

Footnotes

  1. Philippians 1:12 When context indicates it, the Greek word for brothers may refer to all fellow believers, male and female.
  2. Philippians 1:13 Or my chains are in Christ
  3. Philippians 1:14 Some witnesses to the text omit of God. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 11

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 11

Philippians 1:1-11

Through My Bible – May 11

Philippians 1:1-11 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Philippians 1

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 Every time I pray for all of you, I always pray with joy, 5 because of your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am convinced of this very thing: that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 I am equally convinced that it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, for both in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all share in this grace with me. 8 Yes, God is my witness of how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9 And I pray that your love may still increase more and more in knowledge and every insight. 10 This will result in your approval of the things that really matter, so that you will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 10

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 10

Lamentations 5

Through My Bible – May 10

Lamentations 5 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Remember, Lord [1]

1 Remember, Lord, what happened to us. Look and see our disgrace.

2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans without a father. Our mothers are widows.
4 We pay money to drink our own water. We must buy firewood for a price.
5 Our pursuers are at our throat. We are exhausted. We are given no rest.
6 We have made a deal with Egypt and Assyria to have enough bread.
7 Our fathers sinned. They are no more, and we have borne their guilt.
8 Slaves rule over us. No one rescues us from their hand.
9 We get bread at the risk of our life because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is as hot as an oven because of fever from hunger.
11 Women in Zion have been violated, virgins in the cities of Judah.
12 Officials have been hung up by their hands. The dignity of elders has not been respected.
13 The best young men must grind grain, and boys stumble under loads of wood. [2]
14 Elders are no longer seated in the city gate. The best young men no longer play music.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased. Our dancing has turned into mourning.
16 The crown has fallen off our head. Woe to us, because we have sinned!
17 Our heart is sick over this. Over these things our eyes have grown dim—
18 over Mount Zion, which is devastated, so that jackals prowl on it.
19 You, Lord, remain forever. Your throne remains for generation after generation.
20 Why do you forget us completely? Why do you abandon us for so long?
21 Lord, turn us back to you, and we will return. Renew our days like long ago,
22 unless you have completely rejected us and you will be angry at us without limit. [3]

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 5:1 This is the only chapter in the book that is not an alphabetic acrostic, but its 22 verses echo the length of the alphabetic acrostic. The literary touches that were added by the acrostic form fade away as the poet is exhausted by grief.
  2. Lamentations 5:13 The meaning of this verse is uncertain.
  3. Lamentations 5:22 Or forever




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 09

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Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 09

Lamentations 4

Through My Bible – May 09

Lamentations 4 (EHV)

See series: Through My Bible

Gloom Settles on the City [1]

1 How dull the gold has become! How the fine gold has lost its shimmer!

Sacred stones are poured out at the corner of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion, who were worth their weight in gold,
    now are treated like clay jars, the work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even jackals offer a breast and nurse their young,
    but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness.
4 The baby’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth because of thirst.
    Children ask for bread, but no one shares with them.
5 Those who ate delicacies have become desolate in the streets.
    Those who were dressed in scarlet have embraced piles of trash.
6 The guilt of the daughter of my people was greater than the sin of Sodom,
    which was overthrown in a moment, though no hands turned against her.
7 Her consecrated ones [2] were brighter than snow. They were whiter than milk.
    Their bones were redder than rubies; their facets shined like sapphires.
8 Now their faces have become the darkest black. They cannot be recognized in the streets.
    Their skin has shriveled on their bones. It is as dry as a stick of wood.
9 Those cut down by the sword are better off than those cut down by hunger,
    those who waste away, pierced with pain, with no crops to eat from the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women boiled their children.
    Their children became their food when the daughter of my people was broken.
11 The Lord carried out his wrath. He poured out his burning anger.
    He kindled a fire in Zion, and it consumed her foundations.
12 The kings of the earth and the world’s inhabitants never believed
    that foe and enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 The reason this happened was the sin of her prophets and the guilt of her priests,
    who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
14 Those blind men staggered in the streets. They were defiled with blood,
    so people could not touch their garments.
15 “Go away! Unclean!” people shouted to them. “Go away! Go away! Do not touch us!”
    When they fled, when they staggered, people among the nations said,
    “They may not stay here anymore.”
16 The face of the Lord scattered them. He has no regard for them anymore.
    Priests were shown no consideration. Elders were shown no favor.
17 Our eyes are still worn out, looking in vain for our help.
    In our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not save us.
18 They hunted our steps, preventing us from going into the public squares of our city.
    Our end has drawn near. Our days are finished, for our end has come.
19 Our pursuers were faster than eagles in the sky.
    On the mountains they were in hot pursuit of us. In the wilderness they waited to ambush us.
20 The life breath for our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, [3] was caught in their pits.
    We had said of him, “In his shadow we will live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, daughter of Edom, who dwells in the land of Uz.
    A cup will also come to you. You will become drunk and naked.
22 The punishment for your guilt is finished, daughter of Zion. He will not send you into exile again.
    Daughter of Edom, he punishes your guilt. He reveals your sins.

Footnotes

  1. Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an alphabetic acrostic. There are 22 verses in the chapter, and there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
  2. Lamentations 4:7 Or Nazirites
  3. Lamentations 4:20 That is, the king




The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.