Test the Spirits

4 Beloved, ^(A)do not believe every spirit, but ^(B)test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^(C)many ^(D)false prophets ^(E)have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(F)every spirit that confesses that ^(G)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit ^(H)that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^(I)now is in the world already. ⁴ Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^(J)he who is in you is greater than ^(K)he who is in the world. ^5 (L)They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^(M)the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God. ^(N)Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^(O)the Spirit of truth and ^(P)the spirit of error.

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, ^(Q)let us love one another, for love is from God, and ^(R)whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ^8 (S)Anyone who does not love does not know God, because ^(T)God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that ^(U)God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, ^(V)not that we have loved God ^(W)but that he loved us and sent his Son to be ^(X)the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ^12 (Y)No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and ^(Z)his love is perfected in us.

^13 (AA)By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And ^(AB)we have seen and testify that ^(AC)the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of ^(AD)the world. ^15 (AE)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. ¹⁶ So ^(AF)we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. ^(AG)God is love, and ^(AH)whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this ^(AI)is love perfected with us, so that ^(AJ)we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because ^(AK)as he is so also are we in this world. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but ^(AL)perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ^(AM)been perfected in love. ^19 (AN)We love because he first loved us. ^20 (AO)If anyone says, “I love God,” and ^(AP)hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot^[a] love God ^(AQ)whom he has not seen. ²¹ And ^(AR)this commandment we have from him: ^(AS)whoever loves God must also love his brother.

3 And he said to me, ^(A)“Son of man, eat whatever you find here. ^(B)Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” ^(C)Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth ^(D)as sweet as honey.

⁴ And he said to me, ^(E)“Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. ⁵ For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. ^(F)Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. ^7 (G)But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel ^(H)have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ^8 (I)Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like ^(J)emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. ^(K)Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, ^(L)all my words that I shall speak to you receive ^(M)in your heart, and hear with your ears. ¹¹ And go to the exiles, ^(N)to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ^(O)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ ^(P)whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

^12 (Q)Then the Spirit^[a] lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice^[b] of ^(R)a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from its place!” ¹³ It was the sound of the wings of ^(S)the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of ^(T)a great earthquake. ^14 (U)The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the ^(V)hand of the Lord being strong upon me. ^15 (W)And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling ^(X)by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling.^[c] And ^(Y)I sat there ^(Z)overwhelmed among them ^(AA)seven days.

A Watchman for Israel

^16 (AB)And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: ^17 (AC)“Son of man, ^(AD)I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall ^(AE)give them warning from me. ^18 (AF)If I say to the wicked, ^(AG)‘You shall surely die,’ ^(AH)and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person ^(AI)shall die for^[d] his iniquity, ^(AJ)but his blood I will require at your hand. ^19 (AK)But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, ^(AL)but you ^(AM)will have delivered your soul. ^20 (AN)Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, ^(AO)and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. ^(AP)Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, ^(AQ)and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, ^(AR)but his blood I will require at your hand. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

^22 (AS)And the hand of the Lord was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise, go out into ^(AT)the valley,^[e] and ^(AU)there I will speak with you.” ²³ So I arose and went out into the valley, and behold, ^(AV)the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory that I had seen ^(AW)by the Chebar canal, ^(AX)and I fell on my face. ^24 (AY)But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within your house. ²⁵ And you, O son of man, behold, ^(AZ)cords will be placed upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶ And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that ^(BA)you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, ^(BB)for they are a rebellious house. ^27 (BC)But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ^(BD)‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^(BE)He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “And you, ^(BF)son of man, ^(BG)take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. ^2 (BH)And put siegeworks against it, ^(BI)and build a siege wall against it, ^(BJ)and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, ^(BK)and plant battering rams against it all around. ³ And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; ^(BL)and set your face toward it, ^(BM)and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is ^(BN)a sign for the house of Israel.

⁴ “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment^[f] of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, ^(BO)you shall bear their punishment. ⁵ For I assign to you a number of days, ^(BP)390 days, ^(BQ)equal to the number of the years of their punishment. ^(BR)So long shall you bear ^(BS)the punishment of the house of Israel. ⁶ And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and ^(BT)bear ^(BU)the punishment of the house of Judah. ^(BV)Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. ^7 (BW)And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, ^(BX)with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. ⁸ And behold, ^(BY)I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed ^(BZ)the days of your siege.

⁹ “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,^[g] and put them into a single vessel and make your ^(CA)bread from them. ^(CB)During the number of days that you lie on your side, ^(CC)390 days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰ And your food that you eat shall be ^(CD)by weight, ^(CE)twenty shekels^[h] a day; from day to day^[i] you shall eat it. ¹¹ And water you shall drink ^(CF)by measure, the sixth part of a hin;^[j] from day to day you shall drink. ¹² And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it ^(CG)in their sight on human dung.” ¹³ And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat ^(CH)their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” ¹⁴ Then I said, ^(CI)“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.^{[k] (CJ)}From my youth up till now I have never eaten ^(CK)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has ^(CL)tainted meat come into my mouth.” ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” ¹⁶ Moreover, he said to me, ^(CM)“Son of man, behold, ^(CN)I will break the supply^[l] of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread ^(CO)by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water ^(CP)by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷ I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and ^(CQ)look at one another in dismay, and ^(CR)rot away because of their punishment.

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

5 “And you, ^(CS)O son of man, take a ^(CT)sharp sword. Use it as ^(CU)a barber's razor and ^(CV)pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. ^2 (CW)A third part you shall burn in the fire ^(CX)in the midst of the city, ^(CY)when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. ^(CZ)And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and ^(DA)I will unsheathe the sword after them. ^3 (DB)And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. ^4 (DC)And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: ^(DD)This is Jerusalem. I have set her ^(DE)in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. ⁶ And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness ^(DF)more than the nations, and against my statutes more than ^(DG)the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. ⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are ^(DH)more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, ^(DI)and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, ^(DJ)and have not^[m] even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, ⁸ therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, ^(DK)am against you. ^(DL)And I will execute judgments^[n] in your midst ^(DM)in the sight of the nations. ⁹ And because of all your abominations I will do with you ^(DN)what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. ¹⁰ Therefore ^(DO)fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. ^(DP)And I will execute judgments on you, ^(DQ)and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. ¹¹ Therefore, ^(DR)as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, ^(DS)because you have defiled my sanctuary ^(DT)with all your detestable things and with all your ^(DU)abominations, ^(DV)therefore I will withdraw.^{[o] (DW)}My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. ^12 (DX)A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; ^(DY)a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; ^(DZ)and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.

^13 (EA)“Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that ^(EB)I am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—^(EC)when I spend my fury upon them. ¹⁴ Moreover, I will make you ^(ED)a desolation and ^(EE)an object of reproach among ^(EF)the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by. ¹⁵ You shall be^[p] a reproach and a taunt, a warning ^(EG)and a horror, to ^(EH)the nations all around you, ^(EI)when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and ^(EJ)with furious rebukes—I am the Lord; I have spoken— ¹⁶ when I send against you^{[q] (EK)}the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon ^(EL)you and break your supply^[r] of bread. ¹⁷ I will send famine and ^(EM)wild beasts against you, ^(EN)and they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and ^(EO)blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”