Ezekiel 6-9

New International Version

Doom for the Mountains of Israel

6 The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, set your face^(A) against the mountains^(B) of Israel; prophesy against them^(C) ³and say: ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys:^(D) I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.^(E) ⁴Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars^(F) will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.^(G) ⁵I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones^(H) around your altars.^(I) ⁶Wherever you live,^(J) the towns will be laid waste and the high places^(K) demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols^(L) smashed and ruined, your incense altars^(M) broken down, and what you have made wiped out.^(N) ⁷Your people will fall slain^(O) among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.^(P)

⁸“‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape^(Q) the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.^(R) ⁹Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember^(S) me—how I have been grieved^(T) by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols.^(U) They will loathe themselves for the evil^(V) they have done and for all their detestable practices.^(W) ¹⁰And they will know that I am the Lord;^(X) I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.^(Y)

¹¹“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.^(Z) ¹²One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath^(AA) on them.^(AB) ¹³And they will know that I am the Lord, when their people lie slain among their idols^(AC) around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak^(AD)—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.^(AE) ¹⁴And I will stretch out my hand^(AF) against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah^[a]—wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.^(AG)’”

The End Has Come

7 The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:

“‘The end!^(AH) The end has come
    upon the four corners^(AI) of the land!
³The end is now upon you,
    and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct^(AJ)
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.^(AK)
⁴I will not look on you with pity;^(AL)
    I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.

“‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’^(AM)

⁵“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Disaster!^(AN) Unheard-of^[b] disaster!
    See, it comes!
⁶The end^(AO) has come!
    The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
    See, it comes!
⁷Doom has come upon you,
    upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day^(AP) is near!^(AQ)
    There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
⁸I am about to pour out my wrath^(AR) on you
    and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.^(AS)
⁹I will not look on you with pity;
    I will not spare you.^(AT)
I will repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.^(AU)

“‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.^(AV)

¹⁰“‘See, the day!
    See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
    the rod^(AW) has budded,
    arrogance has blossomed!
¹¹Violence^(AX) has arisen,^[c]
    a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
    none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
    nothing of value.^(AY)
¹²The time has come!
    The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer^(AZ) rejoice
    nor the seller grieve,
    for my wrath is on the whole crowd.^(BA)
¹³The seller will not recover
    the property that was sold—
    as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
    will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
    will preserve their life.^(BB)

¹⁴“‘They have blown the trumpet,^(BC)
    they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
    for my wrath^(BD) is on the whole crowd.
¹⁵Outside is the sword;
    inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
    will die by the sword;
those in the city
    will be devoured by famine and plague.^(BE)
¹⁶The fugitives^(BF) who escape
    will flee to the mountains.
Like doves^(BG) of the valleys,
    they will all moan,
    each for their own sins.^(BH)
¹⁷Every hand will go limp;^(BI)
    every leg will be wet with urine.^(BJ)
¹⁸They will put on sackcloth^(BK)
    and be clothed with terror.^(BL)
Every face will be covered with shame,
    and every head will be shaved.^(BM)

¹⁹“‘They will throw their silver into the streets,^(BN)
    and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
    will not be able to deliver them
    in the day of the Lord’s wrath.^(BO)
It will not satisfy^(BP) their hunger
    or fill their stomachs,
    for it has caused them to stumble^(BQ) into sin.^(BR)
²⁰They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
    and used it to make^(BS) their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;^(BT)
    therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.^(BU)
²¹I will give their wealth as plunder^(BV) to foreigners
    and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
    who will defile it.^(BW)
²²I will turn my face^(BX) away from the people,
    and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
    and will defile it.^(BY)

²³“‘Prepare chains!
    For the land is full of bloodshed,^(BZ)
    and the city is full of violence.^(CA)
²⁴I will bring the most wicked of nations
    to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
    and their sanctuaries^(CB) will be desecrated.^(CC)
²⁵When terror comes,
    they will seek peace in vain.^(CD)
²⁶Calamity upon calamity^(CE) will come,
    and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,^(CF)
    priestly instruction in the law will cease,
    the counsel of the elders will come to an end.^(CG)
²⁷The king will mourn,
    the prince will be clothed with despair,^(CH)
    and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,^(CI)
    and by their own standards I will judge them.

“‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.^(CJ)’”

Idolatry in the Temple

8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders^(CK) of Judah were sitting before^(CL) me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there.^(CM) ²I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man.^[d] From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal.^(CN) ³He stretched out what looked like a hand^(CO) and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up^(CP) between earth and heaven and in visions^(CQ) of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court,^(CR) where the idol that provokes to jealousy^(CS) stood. ⁴And there before me was the glory^(CT) of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.^(CU)

⁵Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol^(CV) of jealousy.

⁶And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable^(CW) things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary?^(CX) But you will see things that are even more detestable.”

⁷Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. ⁸He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.

⁹And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” ¹⁰So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls^(CY) all kinds of crawling things and unclean^(CZ) animals and all the idols of Israel.^(DA) ¹¹In front of them stood seventy elders^(DB) of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer^(DC) in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense^(DD) was rising.^(DE)

¹²He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness,^(DF) each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see^(DG) us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ¹³Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”

¹⁴Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz.^(DH) ¹⁵He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”

¹⁶He then brought me into the inner court^(DI) of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar,^(DJ) were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun^(DK) in the east.^(DL)

¹⁷He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things^(DM) they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence^(DN) and continually arouse my anger?^(DO) Look at them putting the branch to their nose! ¹⁸Therefore I will deal with them in anger;^(DP) I will not look on them with pity^(DQ) or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen^(DR) to them.”

Judgment on the Idolaters

9 Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.” ²And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen^(DS) who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³Now the glory^(DT) of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim,^(DU) where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side ⁴and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem^(DV) and put a mark^(DW) on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament^(DX) over all the detestable things that are done in it.^(DY)”

⁵As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity^(DZ) or compassion.^(EA) ⁶Slaughter^(EB) the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children,^(EC) but do not touch anyone who has the mark.^(ED) Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men^(EE) who were in front of the temple.^(EF)

⁷Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain.^(EG) Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. ⁸While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown,^(EH) crying out, “Alas, Sovereign Lord!^(EI) Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath^(EJ) on Jerusalem?^(EK)”

⁹He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice.^(EL) They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’^(EM) ¹⁰So I will not look on them with pity^(EN) or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.^(EO)”

¹¹Then the man in linen with the writing kit at his side brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded.”

Footnotes

Ezekiel 6:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts Riblah
Ezekiel 7:5 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Disaster after
Ezekiel 7:11 Or The violent one has become
Ezekiel 8:2 Or saw a fiery figure

Hebrews 12

New International Version

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run^(A) with perseverance^(B) the race marked out for us, ²fixing our eyes on Jesus,^(C) the pioneer^(D) and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,^(E) scorning its shame,^(F) and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.^(G) ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary^(H) and lose heart.

God Disciplines His Children

⁴In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.^(I) ⁵And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart^(J) when he rebukes you,
⁶because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,^(K)
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”^[a]^(L)

⁷Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children.^(M) For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline^(N)—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits^(O) and live!^(P) ¹⁰They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.^(Q) ¹¹No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace^(R) for those who have been trained by it.

¹²Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.^(S) ¹³“Make level paths for your feet,”^[b]^(T) so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.^(U)

Warning and Encouragement

¹⁴Make every effort to live in peace with everyone^(V) and to be holy;^(W) without holiness no one will see the Lord.^(X) ¹⁵See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God^(Y) and that no bitter root^(Z) grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ¹⁶See that no one is sexually immoral,^(AA) or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.^(AB) ¹⁷Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears,^(AC) he could not change what he had done.

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

¹⁸You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;^(AD) ¹⁹to a trumpet blast^(AE) or to such a voice speaking words^(AF) that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,^(AG) ²⁰because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”^[c]^(AH) ²¹The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”^[d]^(AI)

²²But you have come to Mount Zion,^(AJ) to the city^(AK) of the living God,^(AL) the heavenly Jerusalem.^(AM) You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³to the church of the firstborn,^(AN) whose names are written in heaven.^(AO) You have come to God, the Judge of all,^(AP) to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,^(AQ) ²⁴to Jesus the mediator^(AR) of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood^(AS) that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.^(AT)

²⁵See to it that you do not refuse^(AU) him who speaks.^(AV) If they did not escape when they refused him who warned^(AW) them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?^(AX) ²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth,^(AY) but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”^[e]^(AZ) ²⁷The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken^(BA)—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,^(BB) let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,^(BC) ²⁹for our “God is a consuming fire.”^[f]^(BD)