Judah's Captivity Symbolized

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, ^(A)my child, ^(B)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and ^(C)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^(D)entrust to faithful men,^{[a] (E)}who will be able to teach others also. ^3 (F)Share in suffering as ^(G)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No soldier ^(H)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ^5 (I)An athlete is not ^(J)crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ It is ^(K)the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷ Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸ Remember Jesus Christ, ^(L)risen from the dead, the ^(M)offspring of David, ^(N)as preached in my gospel, ^9 (O)for which I am suffering, ^(P)bound with chains as a criminal. But ^(Q)the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰ Therefore ^(R)I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^(S)the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^(T)eternal glory. ¹¹ The saying is ^(U)trustworthy, for:

for ^(AB)he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

¹⁴ Remind them of these things, and ^(AC)charge them before God^{[b] (AD)}not to quarrel about words, ^(AE)which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,^[c] a worker ^(AF)who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶ But ^(AG)avoid ^(AH)irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷ and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are ^(AI)Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ who have swerved from the truth, ^(AJ)saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹ But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ^(AK)“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone ^(AL)who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

²⁰ Now in ^(AM)a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, ^(AN)some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹ Therefore, ^(AO)if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,^[d] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ^(AP)ready for every good work.

²² So ^(AQ)flee ^(AR)youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with ^(AS)those who call on the Lord ^(AT)from a pure heart. ²³ Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant ^(AU)controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴ And ^(AV)the Lord's servant^[e] must not be quarrelsome but ^(AW)kind to everyone, ^(AX)able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵ correcting his opponents ^(AY)with gentleness. God ^(AZ)may perhaps grant them repentance ^(BA)leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and they may come to their senses and escape from ^(BB)the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.