Ezekiel 20:18-38

English Standard Version

¹⁸“And I said to ^(A)their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk ^(B)in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, ^(C)nor defile yourselves with their idols. ¹⁹^(D)I am the Lord your God; ^(E)walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, ²⁰and ^(F)keep my Sabbaths holy that ^(G)they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ ²¹^(H)But the children ^(I)rebelled against me. ^(J)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.

^(K)“Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. ²²^(L)But I withheld my hand ^(M)and acted for the sake of my name, ^(N)that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. ²³^(O)Moreover, ^(P)I swore to them in the wilderness ^(Q)that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them through the countries, ²⁴because they had not obeyed my rules, but had rejected my statutes and profaned my Sabbaths, ^(R)and their eyes were set on their fathers' idols. ²⁵^(S)Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life, ²⁶and I defiled them through ^(T)their very gifts ^(U)in their offering up all their firstborn, that I might devastate them. I did it ^(V)that they might know that I am the Lord.

²⁷“Therefore, ^(W)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 ^(X)dealing treacherously with me. ²⁸For when I had brought them into the land that ^(Y)I swore to give them, then wherever they saw ^(Z)any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices and there they presented ^(AA)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, ^(AB)‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah^[a] to this day.)

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

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

The Lord Will Restore Israel

³³^(AK)“As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(AL)surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and ^(AM)with wrath poured out I will be king over you. ³⁴^(AN)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^(AO)And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, ^(AP)and there I will enter into judgment with you ^(AQ)face to face. ³⁶^(AR)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. ³⁷I will make you ^(AS)pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. ³⁸^(AT)I will purge out the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against me. ^(AU)I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, ^(AV)but they shall not enter the land of Israel. ^(AW)Then you will know that I am the Lord.

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Footnotes

Ezekiel 20:29 Bamah means high place
Ezekiel 20:31 Hebrew and make your children pass through the fire

Psalm 130

English Standard Version

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.

130 Out of ^(B)the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
² O Lord, hear my voice!
^(C)Let your ears be attentive
to ^(D)the voice of my pleas for mercy!

³If you, O Lord, should ^(E)mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could ^(F)stand?
⁴But with you there is ^(G)forgiveness,
^(H)that you may be feared.

⁵I ^(I)wait for the Lord, ^(J)my soul waits,
    and ^(K)in his word I hope;
⁶my soul ^(L)waits for the Lord
    more than ^(M)watchmen for ^(N)the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷O Israel, ^(O)hope in the Lord!
    For ^(P)with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸And he will ^(Q)redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities.

James 3:13-18

English Standard Version

Wisdom from Above

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? ^(A)By his good conduct let him show his works ^(B)in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter ^(C)jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵This is not ^(D)the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, ^(E)demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷But ^(F)the wisdom from above is first pure, then ^(G)peaceable, gentle, open to reason, ^(H)full of mercy and good fruits, ^(I)impartial and ^(J)sincere. ¹⁸And ^(K)a harvest of righteousness ^(L)is sown in peace by those who make peace.