Song of Mourning for the Leaders of Israel

19 “As for you, take up a ^(A)song of mourning for the ^(B)leaders of Israel ² and say,

This is a song of mourning, and has become a song of mourning.

God’s Dealings with Israel Rehearsed

20 Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, men from the ^(A)elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat before me. ² Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[a]God says: “Do you yourselves come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “^(B)I certainly will not be inquired of by you.”’ ⁴ Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? ^(C)Make known to them the abominations of their fathers; ⁵ and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “On the day when I ^(D)chose Israel and ^[b]swore to the ^[c]descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I ^[d]swore to them, saying, ^(E)I am the Lord your God, ⁶ on that day I swore to them, ^(F)to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had ^[e]selected for them, ^(G)flowing with milk and honey, which is ^(H)the glory of all the lands. ⁷ And I said to them, ‘^(I)Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and ^(J)do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; ^(K)I am the Lord your God.’ ⁸ But they ^(L)rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away, each of them, the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they abandon the ^(M)idols of Egypt.

“Then I ^[f]resolved to ^(N)pour out My wrath on them, to ^[g]use up My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. ⁹ But I acted ^(O)for the sake of My name, that it would ^(P)not be defiled in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the ^(Q)wilderness. ¹¹ I gave them My ^(R)statutes and informed them of My ordinances, ^(S)which, if ^[h]a person ^[i]follows them, then he will live by them. ¹² Also I gave them My Sabbaths to be a ^(T)sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. ¹³ But the house of Israel ^(U)rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, ^(V)which, if ^[j]a person ^[k]follows them, then he will live by them; and they greatly profaned My ^(W)Sabbaths. Then I ^[l]resolved to ^(X)pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. ¹⁴ But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled before the eyes of the nations, before whose eyes I had brought them out. ¹⁵ Also ^(Y)I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all the lands, ¹⁶ because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they also profaned My Sabbaths, because their ^(Z)heart continually followed their idols. ¹⁷ Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not bring about their ^(AA)annihilation in the wilderness.

¹⁸ “Instead, I said to their ^[m](AB)children in the wilderness, ‘^(AC)Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. ^19 (AD)I am the Lord your God; ^(AE)walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and ^[n]follow them. ^20 (AF)Sanctify My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ ²¹ But the ^(AG)children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to ^[o]follow My ordinances which, if ^[p]a person ^[q]follows them, then he will live by them; they profaned My Sabbaths. So I ^[r]resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to ^[s]use up My anger against them in the wilderness. ²² But I ^(AH)withdrew My hand and acted ^(AI)for the sake of My name, so that it would not be defiled in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. ²³ Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would ^(AJ)scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, ²⁴ because they had not ^[t]complied with My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My Sabbaths, and ^(AK)their eyes were ^[u]on the idols of their fathers. ²⁵ I also gave them statutes that were ^(AL)not good, and ordinances by which they could not live; ²⁶ and I pronounced them ^(AM)unclean because of their gifts, in that they ^(AN)made all ^[v]their firstborn pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might ^(AO)know that I am the Lord.”’

²⁷ “Therefore ^(AP)speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Again, in this your fathers have ^(AQ)blasphemed Me by ^(AR)being disloyal to Me. ²⁸ When I had ^(AS)brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every ^(AT)high hill and every tree thick with branches, and there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings. ²⁹ Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called ^[w]Bamah to this day.”’ ³⁰ Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Will you defile yourselves in the way of your ^(AU)fathers and adulterously pursue their detestable things? ³¹ And ^[x]when you offer your gifts, when you ^(AV)make your sons pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Lord God, “I certainly will not be inquired of by you. ³² And whatever ^(AW)comes ^[y]into your mind certainly will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, ^(AX)serving wood and stone.’

God Will Restore Israel to Her Land

³³ “As I live,” declares the Lord God, “with a mighty hand and with an ^(AY)outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I assuredly shall be ^(AZ)king over you. ³⁴ I will ^(BA)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with ^(BB)wrath poured out; ³⁵ and I will bring you into the ^(BC)wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. ³⁶ Just as I ^(BD)entered into judgment with your fathers in the ^(BE)wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God. ³⁷ “I will make you ^(BF)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; ³⁸ and I will ^(BG)purge from you the rebels and those who revolt against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they reside, but they will ^(BH)not enter the ^[z]land of Israel. So you will know that I am the Lord.

³⁹ “As for you, house of Israel,” this is what the Lord God says: “^(BI)Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; ^[aa]but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer ^(BJ)defile with your gifts and your idols. ⁴⁰ For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “there the entire house of Israel, ^(BK)all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will ^(BL)accept them and there I will demand your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. ^41 [ab]As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I ^(BM)bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will show Myself to be ^(BN)holy among you in the sight of the nations. ⁴² And ^(BO)you will know that I am the Lord, ^(BP)when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the ^(BQ)land which I swore to give to your forefathers. ⁴³ And there you will ^(BR)remember your ways and all your deeds by which you have defiled yourselves; and you will ^(BS)loathe yourselves in your own ^[ac]sight for all the evil things that you have done. ⁴⁴ Then ^(BT)you will know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you ^(BU)in behalf of My name, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, house of Israel,” declares the Lord God.’”

^45 [ad]Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁴⁶ “Son of man, set your face toward the south, and speak prophetically against the ^(BV)south and ^(BW)prophesy against the ^(BX)forest ^[ae]land of the Negev, ⁴⁷ and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: this is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to ^(BY)kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every ^[af]green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not go out and ^[ag](BZ)the entire surface from south to north will be scorched by it. ⁴⁸ And all ^[ah]mankind will see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it will ^(CA)not go out.”’” ⁴⁹ Then I said, “Oh, Lord God! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking in ^(CB)riddles?’”

Parable of the Sword of the Lord

21 ^[a]And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, ^(A)set your face against Jerusalem, and ^[b](B)speak prophetically against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; ³ and say to the land of Israel, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, ^(C)I am against you; and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you the ^(D)righteous and the wicked. ⁴ Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go out from its sheath against ^[c](E)humanity from south to north. ⁵ So ^[d]humanity will know that I, the Lord, have drawn My sword from its sheath. It will ^(F)not return to its sheath again.”’ ⁶ As for you, son of man, groan with ^[e]a breaking heart and bitter grief; you shall groan in their sight. ⁷ And when they say to you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the ^(G)news, for it is coming; and ^(H)every heart will melt, all hands will go limp, every spirit will be disheartened, and all ^[f]knees will drip with water. Behold, it is coming and it will happen,’ declares the Lord ^[g]God.”

⁸ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Say,

Or shall we rejoice, the ^[i]rod of My son ^(K)despising every tree? ¹¹ And it is given to be polished, so that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to hand it over to the slaughterer. ^12 (L)Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the ^(M)officials of Israel. They are turned over to the sword with My people, therefore ^[j]slap your thigh. ¹³ For there is a testing; and what if even the ^[k]rod which despises will cease to be?” declares the Lord God.

¹⁴ “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands; and let the sword be ^(N)doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, ¹⁵ so that their ^(O)hearts will waver, and many ^(P)fall at all their ^(Q)gates. I have granted the slaughter of the sword. Oh! It is made for striking like lightning, it is sharpened in readiness for slaughter. ¹⁶ Prove yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your ^[l]edge is ordered. ¹⁷ I will also clap My hands, and I will ^(R)satisfy My wrath; I, the Lord, have spoken.”

The Instrument of God’s Judgment

¹⁸ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁹ “Now as for you, son of man, ^[m](S)make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And ^[n]make a signpost; ^[o]make it at the head of the way to the city. ²⁰ You shall ^[p]mark a way for the sword to come to ^(T)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into ^(U)fortified Jerusalem. ²¹ For the king of Babylon stands at the ^[q]parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use ^(V)divination; he ^(W)shakes the arrows, he consults the ^[r](X)household idols, he looks at the liver. ²² Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to ^(Y)set up battering rams, to open the mouth ^[s]for ^[t]slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall. ²³ And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; ^(Z)they have sworn solemn oaths. But he ^(AA)makes guilt known, so that they may be seized.

²⁴ “Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand. ²⁵ And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose ^(AB)day has come, in the time of the ^[u]punishment of the end,’ ²⁶ this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the ^[v]turban and take off the ^(AC)crown; this will ^[w]no longer be the same. ^(AD)Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. ^27 (AE)Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until ^(AF)He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’

²⁸ “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord God says concerning the sons of Ammon and their ^(AG)taunting,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, sharpened for the slaughter, to make it ^[x](AH)consume, so that it may be like lightning— ²⁹ while they see ^(AI)false visions for you, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the wicked who are killed, whose day has come, in the ^(AJ)time of the ^[y]punishment of the end. ^30 (AK)Return it to its sheath. In the ^(AL)place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. ³¹ I will ^(AM)pour out My indignation on you; I will ^(AN)blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will hand you over to brutal men, ^(AO)craftsmen of destruction. ³² You will be ^[z](AP)fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will ^(AQ)not be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.’”

Jesus Teaches at the Feast

7 After these things Jesus ^(A)was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because ^(B)the Jews ^(C)were seeking to kill Him. ² Now the feast of the Jews, ^(D)the Feast of Booths, was near. ³ So His ^(E)brothers said to Him, “Move on from here and go into Judea, so that Your ^(F)disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. ⁴ For no one does anything in secret ^[a]when he himself is striving to be known publicly. If You are doing these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even His ^(G)brothers believed in Him. ⁶ So Jesus *said to them, “^(H)My time is not yet here, but your time is always ready. ^7 (I)The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify about it, that ^(J)its deeds are evil. ⁸ Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, because ^(K)My time has not yet fully arrived.” ⁹ Now having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ But when His ^(L)brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as though in secret. ^11 (M)So the Jews ^(N)were looking for Him at the feast and saying, “Where is He?” ¹² And there was a great deal of talk about Him in secret among the crowds: ^(O)some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He is misleading the people.” ¹³ However, no one was speaking openly about Him, for ^(P)fear of ^[b]the Jews.

¹⁴ But when it was now the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple area, and began to ^(Q)teach. ^15 (R)The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man ^(S)become learned, not having been educated?” ¹⁶ So Jesus answered them and said, “^(T)My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me. ^17 (U)If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God, or I am speaking from Myself. ¹⁸ The one who speaks from himself ^(V)seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

¹⁹ “^(W)Did Moses not give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why are you ^(X)seeking to kill Me?” ²⁰ The crowd answered, “^(Y)You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill You?” ²¹ Jesus answered them, “I did ^(Z)one ^[c]deed, and you all are astonished. ²² For this reason ^(AA)Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from ^(AB)the fathers), and even on a Sabbath you circumcise a man. ^23 (AC)If a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry at Me because I made an entire man well on a Sabbath? ²⁴ Do not ^(AD)judge by the outward appearance, but judge ^[d]with righteous judgment.”

²⁵ So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this man not the one whom they are seeking to kill? ²⁶ And yet look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. ^(AE)The rulers do not really know that this is the ^[e]Christ, do they? ²⁷ However, ^(AF)we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” ²⁸ Then Jesus cried out in the temple, ^(AG)teaching and saying, “^(AH)You both know Me and you know where I am from; and ^(AI)I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. ^29 (AJ)I do know Him, because ^(AK)I am from Him, and ^(AL)He sent Me.” ³⁰ So they ^(AM)were seeking to arrest Him; and yet no one laid a hand on Him, because His ^(AN)hour had not yet come. ³¹ But ^(AO)many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “^(AP)When the ^[f]Christ comes, He will not perform more ^[g](AQ)signs than those which this man has done, will He?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent ^(AR)officers to ^(AS)arrest Him. ³³ Therefore Jesus said, “^(AT)For a little while longer I am going to be with you, and then ^(AU)I am going to Him who sent Me. ^34 (AV)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” ^35 (AW)The Jews then said to one another, “^(AX)Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He does not intend to go to ^(AY)the Dispersion among ^(AZ)the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, does He? ³⁶ What is this statement that He said, ‘^(BA)You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

³⁷ Now on ^(BB)the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “^(BC)If anyone is thirsty, ^[h]let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ The one who believes in Me, ^(BD)as the Scripture said, ‘^[i]From his innermost being will flow rivers of ^(BE)living water.’” ³⁹ But this He said ^(BF)in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for ^(BG)the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet ^(BH)glorified.

People’s Division over Jesus

⁴⁰ Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is ^(BI)the Prophet.” ⁴¹ Others were saying, “This is the ^[j]Christ.” But others were saying, “^(BJ)Surely the ^[k]Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? ⁴² Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from ^(BK)the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” ⁴³ So ^(BL)a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. ⁴⁴ And ^(BM)some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

⁴⁵ The ^(BN)officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” ⁴⁶ The ^(BO)officers answered, “^(BP)Never has a man spoken in this way!” ⁴⁷ The Pharisees then replied to them, “^(BQ)You have not been led astray too, have you? ^48 (BR)Not one of ^(BS)the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? ⁴⁹ But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!” ^50 (BT)Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, ⁵¹ “^(BU)Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” ⁵² They answered and said to him, “^(BV)You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” ⁵³ [[^[l]And everyone went to his home.

Longing for the Temple Worship.

For the music director; ^[a]on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.