Living to Please God

4 As for other matters, brothers and sisters,^(A) we instructed you how to live^(B) in order to please God,^(C) as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

³ It is God’s will^(D) that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;^{(E) 4} that each of you should learn to control your own body^[a](F) in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust^(G) like the pagans,^(H) who do not know God;^{(I) 6} and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.^[b](J) The Lord will punish^(K) all those who commit such sins,^(L) as we told you and warned you before. ⁷ For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.^{(M) 8} Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.^(N)

⁹ Now about your love for one another^(O) we do not need to write to you,^(P) for you yourselves have been taught by God^(Q) to love each other.^{(R) 10} And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia.^(S) Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,^{(T) 11} and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands,^(U) just as we told you, ¹² so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders^(V) and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Believers Who Have Died

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed^(W) about those who sleep in death,^(X) so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.^{(Y) 14} For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,^(Z) and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.^{(AA) 15} According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,^(AB) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.^{(AC) 16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,^(AD) with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel^(AE) and with the trumpet call of God,^(AF) and the dead in Christ will rise first.^{(AG) 17} After that, we who are still alive and are left^(AH) will be caught up together with them in the clouds^(AI) to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord^(AJ) forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another^(AK) with these words.

Ezekiel’s Call to Be a Prophet

2 He said to me, “Son of man,^[a](A) stand^(B) up on your feet and I will speak to you.^(C)” ² As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me^(D) to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

³ He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.^{(E) 4} The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn.^(F) Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’^{(G) 5} And whether they listen or fail to listen^(H)—for they are a rebellious people^(I)—they will know that a prophet has been among them.^{(J) 6} And you, son of man, do not be afraid^(K) of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns^(L) are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.^{(M) 7} You must speak^(N) my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.^{(O) 8} But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel^(P) like that rebellious people;^(Q) open your mouth and eat^(R) what I give you.”

⁹ Then I looked, and I saw a hand^(S) stretched out to me. In it was a scroll,^{(T) 10} which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.^(U)

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

³ Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate^(V) it, and it tasted as sweet as honey^(W) in my mouth.

⁴ He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.^{(X) 5} You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language,^(Y) but to the people of Israel— ⁶ not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.^{(Z) 7} But the people of Israel are not willing to listen^(AA) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.^{(AB) 8} But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.^{(AC) 9} I will make your forehead^(AD) like the hardest stone, harder than flint.^(AE) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.^(AF)”

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart^(AG) all the words I speak to you. ¹¹ Go^(AH) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’^(AI) whether they listen or fail to listen.^(AJ)”

¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up,^(AK) and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.^{[b] 13} It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures^(AL) brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.^{(AM) 14} The Spirit^(AN) then lifted me up^(AO) and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord^(AP) on me. ¹⁵ I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River.^(AQ) And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days^(AR)—deeply distressed.

Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman

¹⁶ At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:^{(AS) 17} “Son of man, I have made you a watchman^(AT) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.^{(AU) 18} When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,^(AV)’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for^[c] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.^{(AW) 19} But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn^(AX) from their wickedness^(AY) or from their evil ways, they will die^(AZ) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.^(BA)

²⁰ “Again, when a righteous person turns^(BB) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block^(BC) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.^{(BD) 21} But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.^(BE)”

²² The hand of the Lord^(BF) was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go^(BG) out to the plain,^(BH) and there I will speak to you.” ²³ So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River,^(BI) and I fell facedown.^(BJ)

²⁴ Then the Spirit came into me and raised me^(BK) to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.^{(BL) 25} And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.^{(BM) 26} I will make your tongue stick to the roof^(BN) of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.^{(BO) 27} But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’^(BP) Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.^(BQ)

Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. ² Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp^(BR) up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it.^{(BS) 3} Then take an iron pan,^(BT) place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward^(BU) it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign^(BV) to the people of Israel.^(BW)

⁴ “Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself.^[d] You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. ⁵ I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.

⁶ “After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin^(BX) of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.^{(BY) 7} Turn your face^(BZ) toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. ⁸ I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.^(CA)

⁹ “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt;^(CB) put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. ¹⁰ Weigh out twenty shekels^[e](CC) of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. ¹¹ Also measure out a sixth of a hin^[f] of water and drink it at set times.^{(CD) 12} Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement^(CE) for fuel.” ¹³ The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”^(CF)

¹⁴ Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord!^(CG) I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead^(CH) or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.^(CI)”

¹⁵ “Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”

¹⁶ He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off^(CJ) the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,^{(CK) 17} for food and water will be scarce.^(CL) They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of^[g] their sin.^(CM)

God’s Razor of Judgment

5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor^(CN) to shave^(CO) your head and your beard.^(CP) Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. ² When the days of your siege come to an end, burn^(CQ) a third^(CR) of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind.^(CS) For I will pursue them with drawn sword.^{(CT) 3} But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.^{(CU) 4} Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire^(CV) and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.

⁵ “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.^{(CW) 6} Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.^(CX)

⁷ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even^[h] conformed to the standards of the nations around you.^(CY)

⁸ “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.^{(CZ) 9} Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.^{(DA) 10} Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents.^(DB) I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.^{(DC) 11} Therefore as surely as I live,^(DD) declares the Sovereign^(DE) Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary^(DF) with all your vile images^(DG) and detestable practices,^(DH) I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.^{(DI) 12} A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds^(DJ) and pursue with drawn sword.^(DK)

¹³ “Then my anger will cease and my wrath^(DL) against them will subside, and I will be avenged.^(DM) And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.^(DN)

¹⁴ “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.^{(DO) 15} You will be a reproach^(DP) and a taunt, a warning^(DQ) and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke.^(DR) I the Lord have spoken.^{(DS) 16} When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.^{(DT) 17} I will send famine and wild beasts^(DU) against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed^(DV) will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.^(DW)”