The Way of Wisdom

The Way of Folly

A Lament for the Princes of Israel

19 And you, ^(A)take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, ² and say:

This is ^(U)a lamentation and has become a lamentation.

Israel's Continuing Rebellion

20 ^(V)In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of ^(W)the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, ^(X)and sat before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me: ^3 (Y)“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Is it to inquire of me that you come? ^(Z)As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(AA)I will not be inquired of by you. ^4 (AB)Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? ^(AC)Let them know the abominations of their fathers, ⁵ and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(AD)On the day when I chose Israel, ^(AE)I swore^[e] to the offspring of the house of Jacob, ^(AF)making myself known to them in the land of Egypt; ^(AG)I swore to them, saying, I am the Lord your God. ⁶ On that day I swore to them that ^(AH)I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land ^(AI)flowing with milk and honey, ^(AJ)the most glorious of all lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ^(AK)‘Cast away the detestable things ^(AL)your eyes feast on, every one of you, and do not defile yourselves with ^(AM)the idols of Egypt; ^(AN)I am the Lord your God.’ ^8 (AO)But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. ^(AP)None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.

“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them ^(AQ)and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ^9 (AR)But I acted ^(AS)for the sake of my name, ^(AT)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, ^(AU)in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ^10 (AV)So I led them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. ^11 (AW)I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, ^(AX)by which, if a person does them, he shall live. ¹² Moreover, I gave them ^(AY)my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, ^(AZ)that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ^13 (BA)But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. ^(BB)They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; ^(BC)and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned.

^(BD)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, ^(BE)in whose sight I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Moreover, ^(BF)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(BG)that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land ^(BH)flowing with milk and honey, ^(BI)the most glorious of all lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; ^(BJ)for their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷ Nevertheless, ^(BK)my eye spared them, and I did not destroy them or ^(BL)make a full end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “And I said to ^(BM)their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk ^(BN)in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, ^(BO)nor defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (BP)I am the Lord your God; ^(BQ)walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, ²⁰ and ^(BR)keep my Sabbaths holy that ^(BS)they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ ^21 (BT)But the children ^(BU)rebelled against me. ^(BV)They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths.

^(BW)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. ^22 (BX)But I withheld my hand ^(BY)and acted for the sake of my name, ^(BZ)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ^23 (CA)Moreover, ^(CB)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(CC)that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, ²⁴ because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, ^(CD)and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. ^25 (CE)Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, ²⁶ and I defiled them through ^(CF)their very gifts ^(CG)in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it ^(CH)that they might know that I am the Lord.

²⁷ “Therefore, ^(CI)son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: In this also your fathers blasphemed me, by ^(CJ)dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸ For when I had brought them into the land that ^(CK)I swore to give them, then wherever they saw ^(CL)any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented ^(CM)the provocation of their offering; there they sent up their pleasing aromas, and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ (I said to them, ^(CN)‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah^[f] to this day.)

³⁰ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(CO)Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and go ^(CP)whoring after their detestable things? ³¹ When you present your gifts and ^(CQ)offer up your children in fire,^[g] you defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. And ^(CR)shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? ^(CS)As I live, declares the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.

^32 (CT)“What is in your mind shall never happen—the thought, ^(CU)‘Let us be like the nations, like the tribes of the countries, ^(CV)and worship wood and stone.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

^33 (CW)“As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(CX)surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and ^(CY)with wrath poured out I will be king over you. ^34 (CZ)I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. ^35 (DA)And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, ^(DB)and there I will enter into judgment with you ^(DC)face to face. ^36 (DD)As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. ³⁷ I will make you ^(DE)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. ^38 (DF)I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. ^(DG)I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, ^(DH)but they shall not enter the land of Israel. ^(DI)Then you will know that I am the Lord.

³⁹ “As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: ^(DJ)Go serve every one of you his idols, now and hereafter, if you will not listen to me; ^(DK)but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts and your idols.

^40 (DL)“For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel, declares the Lord God, there ^(DM)all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve me in the land. ^(DN)There I will accept them, and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your sacred offerings. ⁴¹ As a pleasing aroma I will accept you, when ^(DO)I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And ^(DP)I will manifest my holiness among you in the sight of the nations. ^42 (DQ)And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the country that ^(DR)I swore to give to your fathers. ^43 (DS)And there you shall remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, ^(DT)and you shall loathe yourselves for all the evils that you have committed. ⁴⁴ And you shall know that I am the Lord, ^(DU)when I deal with you for my name's sake, ^(DV)not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.”

^45 [h] And the word of the Lord came to me: ^46 (DW)“Son of man, ^(DX)set your face toward the southland;^{[i] (DY)}preach against the south, and prophesy against the forest land in the Negeb. ⁴⁷ Say to the forest of the Negeb, Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, Behold, ^(DZ)I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every ^(EA)green tree in you and every ^(EB)dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched, and ^(EC)all faces from south to north shall be scorched by it. ^48 (ED)All flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” ⁴⁹ Then I said, ^(EE)“Ah, Lord God! They are saying of me, ^(EF)‘Is he not a maker of parables?’”

Prologue

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God ^(A)gave him ^(B)to show to his servants^[a] the things that must soon take place. ^(C)He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ^2 (D)who bore witness to the word of God and to ^(E)the testimony of Jesus Christ, even ^(F)to all that he saw. ^3 (G)Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, ^(H)for the time is near.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from ^(I)him ^(J)who is and ^(K)who was and who is to come, and from ^(L)the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ ^(M)the faithful witness, ^(N)the firstborn of the dead, and ^(O)the ruler of kings on earth.

To ^(P)him who loves us and ^(Q)has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us ^(R)a kingdom, ^(S)priests to ^(T)his God and Father, to him be ^(U)glory and ^(V)dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷ Behold, ^(W)he is coming with the clouds, and ^(X)every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail^[b] on account of him. Even so. Amen.

^8 (Y)“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, ^(Z)“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Vision of the Son of Man

⁹ I, John, your brother and ^(AA)partner in ^(AB)the tribulation and ^(AC)the kingdom and ^(AD)the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos ^(AE)on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ^10 (AF)I was in the Spirit ^(AG)on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice ^(AH)like a trumpet ¹¹ saying, ^(AI)“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw ^(AJ)seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and in the midst of the lampstands ^(AK)one like ^(AL)a son of man, ^(AM)clothed with a long robe and ^(AN)with a golden sash around his chest. ^14 (AO)The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. ^(AP)His eyes were like a flame of fire, ^15 (AQ)his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and ^(AR)his voice was like the roar of many waters. ^16 (AS)In his right hand he held seven stars, ^(AT)from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and ^(AU)his face was like the sun shining ^(AV)in full strength.

^17 (AW)When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But ^(AX)he laid his right hand on me, ^(AY)saying, “Fear not, ^(AZ)I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. ^(BA)I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and ^(BB)I have the keys of Death and Hades. ^19 (BC)Write therefore ^(BD)the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. ²⁰ As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and ^(BE)the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and ^(BF)the seven lampstands are the seven churches.