The Prophet’s Call

2 Then He said to me, “Son of man, ^(A)stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” ² And as He spoke to me the ^(B)Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. ³ Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have ^(C)rebelled against Me; ^(D)they and their fathers have revolted against Me to this very day. ⁴ So I am sending you to those who are ^[a](E)impudent and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord ^[b]God says:’ ⁵ As for them, ^(F)whether they listen or ^[c]not—for they are a rebellious house—they will ^(G)know that a prophet has been among them. ⁶ And as for you, son of man, you are ^(H)not to fear them nor fear their words, though ^(I)thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; you are not to fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, since they are a rebellious house. ⁷ But you shall ^(J)speak My words to them ^(K)whether they listen or ^[d]not, for they are rebellious.

⁸ “Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth wide and ^(L)eat what I am giving you.” ⁹ Then I looked, and behold, a ^(M)hand was extended to me; and behold, a ^[e](N)scroll was in it. ¹⁰ When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were songs of mourning, sighing, and ^(O)woe.

^8 (A)See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through ^(B)philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the ^(C)elementary principles of the world, ^[a]rather than in accordance with Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the ^(D)fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been ^(E)made ^[b]complete, and ^(F)He is the head ^[c]over every ^(G)ruler and authority; ¹¹ and in Him ^(H)you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of ^(I)the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been ^(J)buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also ^(K)raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who ^(L)raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And ^[d]when you were ^(M)dead ^[e]in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He ^(N)made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, ¹⁴ having canceled ^(O)the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and ^(P)He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had ^[f](Q)disarmed the ^(R)rulers and authorities, He ^(S)made a public display of them, having ^(T)triumphed over them through ^[g]Him.

¹⁶ Therefore, no one is to ^[h](U)act as your judge in regard to ^(V)food and ^(W)drink, or in respect to a ^(X)festival or a ^(Y)new moon, or a ^(Z)Sabbath ^[i]day— ¹⁷ things which are only a ^(AA)shadow of what is to come; but the ^[j]substance ^[k]belongs to Christ. ¹⁸ Take care that no one keeps ^[l](AB)defrauding you of your prize by ^(AC)delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, ^[m]taking his stand on visions he has seen, ^[n](AD)inflated without cause by his ^(AE)fleshly mind, ¹⁹ and not holding firmly to ^(AF)the head, from whom ^(AG)the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ^[o]ligaments, grows with a growth ^[p]which is from God.

Ezekiel’s Commission

3 Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; ^(A)eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I ^(B)opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and ^(C)fill your ^[a]body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ^(D)ate it, and it was as sweet as ^(E)honey in my mouth.

⁴ Then He said to me, “Son of man, ^[b]go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. ⁵ For ^(F)you are not being sent to a people of ^[c](G)unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, ⁶ nor to many peoples of ^[d]unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. ^[e]But I have sent you to ^[f]the people who understand you; ⁷ yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are ^(H)not willing to listen to Me. The entire house of Israel certainly is ^[g]stubborn and obstinate. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face just as hard as their faces, and your forehead just as hard as their foreheads. ⁹ Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, since they are a rebellious house.” ¹⁰ Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My ^(I)words which I will speak to you and listen ^[h]closely. ^11 [i]Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or ^[j]not, ‘This is what the Lord ^[k]God says.’”

¹² Then the ^(J)Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great ^(K)rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place!” ¹³ And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another and the sound of the ^(L)wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound. ¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and ^(M)the hand of the Lord was strong on me.

Jesus Is the Vine—Followers Are Branches

15 “^(A)I am the true vine, and My Father is the ^(B)vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He ^[a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. ^3 (C)You are already ^[b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ^4 (D)Remain in Me, ^[c]and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit ^[d]of itself ^[e]but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him ^[f](E)bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in Me, he is ^(F)thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you remain in Me, and My words remain in you, ^(G)ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My ^(H)Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so ^[g](I)prove to be My disciples. ⁹ Just as ^(J)the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. ^10 (K)If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as ^(L)I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. ^11 (M)These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your ^(N)joy may be made full.

Disciples’ Relation to Each Other

¹² “This is ^(O)My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. ^13 (P)Greater love has no one than this, that a person will ^(Q)lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My ^(R)friends if ^(S)you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because ^(T)all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. ^16 (U)You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and ^(V)bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that ^(W)whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. ¹⁷ This ^(X)I command you, that you love one another.

Disciples’ Relation to the World

¹⁸ “^(Y)If the world hates you, ^[h]you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but ^(Z)I chose you out of the world, ^(AA)because of this the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘^(AB)A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, ^(AC)they will persecute you as well; if they ^(AD)followed My word, they will follow yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you ^(AE)on account of My name, ^(AF)because they do not know the One who sent Me. ^22 (AG)If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have ^[i]sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ The one who hates Me hates My Father also. ^24 (AH)If I had not done among them ^(AI)the works which no one else did, they would not have ^[j]sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. ²⁵ But this has happened so that the word that is written in their ^(AJ)Law will be fulfilled: ‘^(AK)They hated Me for no reason.’

²⁶ “When the ^[k](AL)Helper comes, ^(AM)whom I will send to you from the Father, namely, ^(AN)the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, ^(AO)He will testify about Me, ²⁷ and ^[l](AP)you are testifying as well, because you have been with Me ^(AQ)from the beginning.