Ezekiel 11-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 11
Death for the Remnant in Jerusalem. 1 The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord facing east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men; among them I saw the public officials Jaazaniah, son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, son of Benaiah. 2 The Lord said to me: Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city. 3 They are saying, “No need to build houses! The city is the pot, and we are the meat.”[a](A) 4 Therefore prophesy against them, son of man, prophesy! 5 Then the spirit of the Lord fell upon me and told me to say: Thus says the Lord: This is how you talk, house of Israel. I know the things that come into your mind! 6 You have slain many in this city, filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: The slain whom you piled up in it, that is the meat, the pot is the city. But you I will bring out of it.(B) 8 You fear the sword—that sword I will bring upon you—oracle of the Lord God.(C) 9 I will bring you out of the city, hand you over to foreigners, and execute judgments against you. 10 By the sword you shall fall. At the borders of Israel I will judge you so that you will know that I am the Lord. 11 The city shall not be a pot for you, nor shall you be meat within it. At the borders of Israel I will judge you,(D) 12 so you shall know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you did not follow, whose ordinances you did not keep. Instead, you acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.
13 While I was prophesying, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, dropped dead. I fell down on my face and cried out in a loud voice: “Alas, Lord God! You are finishing off what remains of Israel!”[b](E)
Restoration for the Exiles. 14 The word of the Lord came to me: 15 [c]Son of man, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are saying about all your relatives, the other exiles, and all the house of Israel, “They are far away from the Lord. The land is given to us as a possession.”(F) 16 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I have indeed sent them far away among the nations, scattered them over the lands, and have been but little sanctuary for them in the lands to which they have gone. 17 Therefore, thus says the Lord God, I will gather you from the nations and collect you from the lands through which you were scattered, so I can give you the land of Israel.(G) 18 They will enter it and remove all its atrocities and abominations. 19 (H)And I will give them another heart and a new spirit I will put within them. From their bodies I will remove the hearts of stone, and give them hearts of flesh, 20 so that they walk according to my statutes, taking care to keep my ordinances. Thus they will be my people, and I will be their God.(I) 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their atrocities and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their heads—oracle of the Lord God.
22 Then the cherubim lifted their wings and the wheels alongside them, with the glory of the God of Israel above them.(J) 23 [d]The glory of the Lord rose up from the middle of the city and came to rest on the mountain east of the city.(K) 24 In a vision, the spirit lifted me up and brought me back to the exiles in Chaldea, by the spirit of God. The vision I had seen left me,(L) 25 and I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.(M)
Chapter 12
Acts Symbolic of the Exile. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear. They are such a rebellious house!(N) 3 Now, son of man, during the day while they watch, pack a bag for exile,[e] and again while they watch, go into exile from your place to another place; perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house. 4 During the day, while they watch, bring out your bag, an exile’s bag. In the evening, again while they watch, go out as if into exile.(O) 5 While they watch, dig a hole through the wall[f] and go out through it. 6 While they watch, shoulder your load and go out in darkness. Cover your face so you cannot see the land, for I am making you a sign for the house of Israel!(P)
7 I did just as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my bag, an exile’s bag. In the evening while they watched, I dug a hole through the wall with my hands and set out in darkness, shouldering my load.
8 In the morning, the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that house of rebels, say, “What are you doing?”(Q) 10 Tell them: Thus says the Lord God: This load is the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel within it. 11 Say, I am a sign for you: just as I have done, so it shall be done to them; into exile, as captives they shall go.(R) 12 The prince among them shall shoulder his load in darkness and go out through the hole they dug in the wall to bring him out. His face shall be covered so that he cannot even see the ground.(S) 13 (T)I will spread my net over him and he shall be caught in my snare. I will bring him into Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans, though he shall not see it,[g] and there he shall die. 14 All his retinue, his aides and all his troops, I will scatter to the winds and pursue them with the sword.(U) 15 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.(V) 16 But I will let a few of them escape the sword, starvation, and plague, so that they may recount all their abominations among the nations to which they go. Thus they may know that I am the Lord.[h]
17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 Son of man, eat your bread trembling and drink your water shaking with fear.(W) 19 And say to the people of the land:[i] Thus says the Lord God about the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: they shall eat their bread in fear and drink their water in horror, because the land will be emptied of what fills it—the lawlessness of all its inhabitants. 20 Inhabited cities shall be in ruins, the land a desolate place. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
Prophecy Ridiculed. 21 The word of the Lord came to me: 22 Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: “The days drag on, and every vision fails”?[j](X) 23 Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to that proverb; they shall never use it again in Israel. Say to them instead: “The days are at hand and every vision fulfilled.”(Y) 24 No longer shall there be any false visions or deceitful divinations within the house of Israel,(Z) 25 for whatever word I speak shall happen without delay. In your days, rebellious house, whatever I speak I will bring about—oracle of the Lord God.(AA)
26 The word of the Lord came to me: 27 Son of man, listen! The house of Israel is saying, “The vision he sees is a long time off; he prophesies for distant times!”(AB) 28 Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord God: None of my words shall be delayed any longer. Whatever I say is final; it shall be done—oracle of the Lord God.
Chapter 13
Against the Prophets of Peace. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, prophesy! Say to those who prophesy their own thoughts: Hear the word of the Lord!(AC) 3 Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those prophets, the fools who follow their own spirit and see nothing.(AD) 4 Like foxes among ruins are your prophets, Israel! 5 You did not step into the breach, nor repair the wall around the house of Israel so it would stand firm against attack on the day of the Lord. 6 False visions! Lying divinations! They say, “The oracle of the Lord,” even though the Lord did not send them. Then they expect their word to be confirmed!(AE) 7 Was not the vision you saw false? Did you not report a lying divination when you said, “Oracle of the Lord,” even though I never spoke? 8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore, for certain I am coming at you—oracle of the Lord God. 9 My hand is against the prophets who see false visions and who make lying divinations. They shall not belong to the community of my people. They shall not be written in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.(AF)
10 Because they led my people astray, saying, “Peace!” when there is no peace, and when a wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,[k] 11 say then to the whitewashers: I will bring down a flooding rain; hailstones shall fall, and a stormwind shall break forth.(AG) 12 When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked: “Where is the whitewash you spread on it?”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: In my fury I will let loose stormwinds; because of my anger there will be flooding rain, and hailstones will fall with destructive wrath.(AH) 14 I will tear down the wall you whitewashed and level it to the ground, laying bare its foundations. When it falls, you shall be crushed beneath it. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord. 15 When I have poured out my fury on the wall and its whitewashers, it will fall. Then I will say to you: No wall! No whitewashers— 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem and see visions of peace for it when there is no peace—oracle of the Lord God.(AI)
Against Witches. 17 As for you, son of man, now set your face against the daughters of your people who play the prophet from their own thoughts, and prophesy against them.(AJ) 18 You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those who sew amulets for the wrists of every arm and make veils[l] for every head size to snare lives! You ensnare the lives of my people, even as you preserve your own lives! 19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread,[m] slaying those who should not be slain, and keeping alive those who should not live, lying to my people, who listen to lies. 20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: See! I am coming after your amulets by which you ensnare lives like prey. I will tear them from your arms and set free the lives of those you have ensnared like prey.(AK) 21 I will tear off your veils and deliver my people from your power, so that they shall never again be ensnared by your hands. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord. 22 Because you discourage the righteous with lies when I did not want them to be distressed, and encourage the wicked so they do not turn from their evil ways and save their lives,(AL) 23 therefore you shall no longer see false visions or practice divination again. I will deliver my people from your hand. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.
Notas al pie
- 11:3 No need to build houses…meat: this advice is based on the conviction that invincible Jerusalem will protect its citizens from further danger just as a pot shields the meat inside from the fire. The poorer citizens of Jerusalem and the refugees from nearby villages can now appropriate the property abandoned by the city’s wealthier upper class when they were deported (v. 15). The metaphor of the pot and its contents reappears in chap. 24.
- 11:13 In Ezekiel’s vision Pelatiah represents the people left in Jerusalem, “the remnant of Israel.” His sudden death in the vision, but not in reality, is a figure for the judgment described in vv. 8–10 and prompts Ezekiel’s anguished question about the survival of the people left in the land after the deportations in 597.
- 11:15–21 Ezekiel insists that those who remained in Judah are doomed; the exiles, under a new covenant, will constitute a new Israel. Cf. chap. 36; Jer 24:7; 29.
- 11:23 The glory of the Lord departs toward the east, to the exiles in Babylon; it will return once the Temple is rebuilt (43:1–3).
- 12:3–10 An exile’s bag contains bare necessities, probably no more than a bowl, a mat, and a waterskin. The prophet’s action foreshadows the fate of ruler and people (vv. 11–14).
- 12:5 Through the wall: mud-brick outer wall of a private home. In this symbolic action, Ezekiel represents the enemy forces, and the house wall, the city wall of Jerusalem breached by the Babylonian army.
- 12:13 Though he shall not see it: according to a Targum, an allusion to Nebuchadnezzar having Zedekiah blinded before deporting him to Babylonia (cf. 2 Kgs 25:7); according to the Septuagint, the king is ashamed of his flight from the city and disguises himself so others will not recognize him.
- 12:16 Both exiles and nations shall know that the exile is divine punishment for Israel’s betrayal of the Lord and the covenant, not evidence that the Lord is too weak to fight off the Babylonian deity.
- 12:19 The people of the land: the exiles in Babylon who, ironically, are now outside the land.
- 12:22–28 This proverb conveys the skepticism the people of Jerusalem have; cf. Jer 20:7–9.
- 13:10 The false prophets contributed to popular illusions of security by predictions of peace, like those who whitewash a wall to conceal its defects.
- 13:18 Sew amulets…make veils: used by sorcerers to mark individuals for life or for death. For a small price (v. 19), these women promised protection for the wicked, who, in the Lord’s estimation, “should not live” (v. 19), and death for the righteous, “who should not be slain” (v. 19). Both decisions belong to the Lord.
- 13:19 Handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread: payment for the amulets and scarves.
Ben Sira 29:1-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 29
Loans, Alms and Surety[a]
1 The merciful lend to their neighbor,
by holding out a helping hand, they keep the commandments.(A)
2 Lend to your neighbor in his time of need,
and pay back your neighbor in time.(B)
3 Keep your promise and be honest with him,
and at all times you will find what you need.
4 Many borrowers ask for a loan
and cause trouble for those who help them.
5 Till he gets a loan, he kisses the lender’s hand
and speaks softly of his creditor’s money,
But at time of payment, delays,
makes excuses, and finds fault with the timing.
6 If he can pay, the lender will recover barely half,
and will consider that a windfall.
If he cannot pay, the lender is cheated of his money
and acquires an enemy at no extra charge;
With curses and insults the borrower will repay,
and instead of honor will repay with abuse.
7 Many refuse to lend, not out of meanness,
but from fear of being cheated needlessly.
8 But with those in humble circumstances be patient;
do not keep them waiting for your alms.
9 Because of the commandment, help the poor,
and in their need, do not send them away empty-handed.(C)
10 Lose your money for relative or friend;
do not hide it under a stone to rot.
11 Dispose of your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High,
and that will profit you more than the gold.(D)
12 [b]Store up almsgiving in your treasury,
and it will save you from every evil.
13 Better than a mighty shield and a sturdy spear
it will fight for you against the enemy.
Notas al pie
- 29:1–20 Some practical maxims concerning the use of wealth. Give to the poor (vv. 8–9), lend to a needy neighbor, but repay when a loan falls due lest the lender’s burden be increased (vv. 1–5) and his kindness abused (vv. 6–7); through charity build up defense against evil (vv. 10–13). Help your neighbor according to your means, but take care not to fall (v. 20), for the shameless play false and bring their protectors and themselves to misfortune and ruin (vv. 14–19).
- 29:12–13 In Ben Sira’s day, almsgiving and righteousness were practically identified.
John 20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 20[a]
The Empty Tomb.[b] 1 On the first day of the week,(A) Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark,[c] and saw the stone removed from the tomb. (B) 2 So she ran[d] and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” 3 [e]So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 (C)When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths[f] there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.(D) 8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. 9 [g](E)For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned home.
The Appearance to Mary of Magdala.[h] 11 But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.(F) And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.(G) 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”(H) She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”[i] which means Teacher. 17 Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,[j] for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”(I) 18 Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.
Appearance to the Disciples.[k] 19 On the evening of that first day of the week,(J) when the doors were locked, where the disciples[l] were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.[m] The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.(K) 21 [n][Jesus] said to them again,(L) “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 [o]And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,(M) “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 [p](N)Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas. 24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”(O) 26 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”(P) 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” 28 [q](Q)Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 [r]Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?(R) Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Conclusion.[s] 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book.(S) 31 But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.(T)
Notas al pie
- 20:1–31 The risen Jesus reveals his glory and confers the Spirit. This story fulfills the basic need for testimony to the resurrection. What we have here is not a record but a series of single stories.
- 20:1–10 The story of the empty tomb is found in both the Matthean and the Lucan traditions; John’s version seems to be a fusion of the two.
- 20:1 Still dark: according to Mark the sun had risen, Matthew describes it as “dawning,” and Luke refers to early dawn. Mary sees the stone removed, not the empty tomb.
- 20:2 Mary runs away, not directed by an angel/young man as in the synoptic accounts. The plural “we” in the second part of her statement might reflect a tradition of more women going to the tomb.
- 20:3–10 The basic narrative is told of Peter alone in Lk 24:12, a verse missing in important manuscripts and which may be borrowed from tradition similar to John. Cf. also Lk 24:24.
- 20:6–8 Some special feature about the state of the burial cloths caused the beloved disciple to believe. Perhaps the details emphasized that the grave had not been robbed.
- 20:9 Probably a general reference to the scriptures is intended, as in Lk 24:26 and 1 Cor 15:4. Some individual Old Testament passages suggested are Ps 16:10; Hos 6:2; Jon 2:1, 2, 10.
- 20:11–18 This appearance to Mary is found only in John, but cf. Mt 28:8–10 and Mk 16:9–11.
- 20:16 Rabbouni: Hebrew or Aramaic for “my master.”
- 20:17 Stop holding on to me: see Mt 28:9, where the women take hold of his feet. I have not yet ascended: for John and many of the New Testament writers, the ascension in the theological sense of going to the Father to be glorified took place with the resurrection as one action. This scene in John dramatizes such an understanding, for by Easter night Jesus is glorified and can give the Spirit. Therefore his ascension takes place immediately after he has talked to Mary. In such a view, the ascension after forty days described in Acts 1:1–11 would be simply a termination of earthly appearances or, perhaps better, an introduction to the conferral of the Spirit upon the early church, modeled on Elisha’s being able to have a (double) share in the spirit of Elijah if he saw him being taken up (same verb as ascending) into heaven (2 Kgs 2:9–12). To my Father and your Father, to my God and your God: this echoes Ru 1:16: “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” The Father of Jesus will now become the Father of the disciples because, once ascended, Jesus can give them the Spirit that comes from the Father and they can be reborn as God’s children (Jn 3:5). That is why he calls them my brothers.
- 20:19–29 The appearances to the disciples, without or with Thomas (cf. Jn 11:16; 14:5), have rough parallels in the other gospels only for Jn 20:19–23; cf. Lk 24:36–39; Mk 16:14–18.
- 20:19 The disciples: by implication from Jn 20:24 this means ten of the Twelve, presumably in Jerusalem. Peace be with you: although this could be an ordinary greeting, John intends here to echo Jn 14:27. The theme of rejoicing in Jn 20:20 echoes Jn 16:22.
- 20:20 Hands and…side: Lk 24:39–40 mentions “hands and feet,” based on Ps 22:17.
- 20:21 By means of this sending, the Eleven were made apostles, that is, “those sent” (cf. Jn 17:18), though John does not use the noun in reference to them (see note on Jn 13:16). A solemn mission or “sending” is also the subject of the post-resurrection appearances to the Eleven in Mt 28:19; Lk 24:47; Mk 16:15.
- 20:22 This action recalls Gn 2:7, where God breathed on the first man and gave him life; just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus. Cf. also the revivification of the dry bones in Ez 37. This is the author’s version of Pentecost. Cf. also the note on Jn 19:30.
- 20:23 The Council of Trent defined that this power to forgive sins is exercised in the sacrament of penance. See Mt 16:19; 18:18.
- 20:28 My Lord and my God: this forms a literary inclusion with the first verse of the gospel: “and the Word was God.”
- 20:29 This verse is a beatitude on future generations; faith, not sight, matters.
- 20:30–31 These verses are clearly a conclusion to the gospel and express its purpose. While many manuscripts read come to believe, possibly implying a missionary purpose for John’s gospel, a small number of quite early ones read “continue to believe,” suggesting that the audience consists of Christians whose faith is to be deepened by the book; cf. Jn 19:35.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.