The Slaughter of the Idolaters

9 Then he cried in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, you executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” ² And six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand; among them was a man clothed in linen with a writing case at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.^(A)

³ Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the entryway of the temple. The Lord^[a] called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing case at his side^{(B) 4} and said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of those who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”^{(C) 5} To the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him and kill; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.^{(D) 6} Cut down old men, young men and young women, little children and women, but touch no one who has the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the house.^{(E) 7} Then he said to them, “Defile the house and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went out and killed in the city.^{(F) 8} While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell prostrate on my face and cried out, “Ah Lord God! Will you destroy all who remain of Israel as you pour out your wrath upon Jerusalem?”^{(G) 9} He said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city full of perversity, for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’^{(H) 10} As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity, but I will bring down their deeds upon their heads.”^(I)

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

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.^{(A) 13} Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord^[a] has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ^[b] rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.^{(B) 16} Let the word of Christ^[c] dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.^{[d](C) 17} And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.^(D)

Rules for Christian Households

¹⁸ Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.^{(E) 19} Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

²⁰ Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is your acceptable duty in the Lord.^{(F) 21} Fathers, do not provoke your children, or they may lose heart. ²² Slaves, obey your earthly masters^[e] in everything, not with a slavery performed merely for looks, to please people, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.^{[f](G) 23} Whatever task you must do, work as if your soul depends on it, as for the Lord and not for humans, ²⁴ since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.^{(H) 25} For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality.^(I) 4 ¹ Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. There, at the entrance of the gateway, were twenty-five men; among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people.^{(A) 2} He said to me, “Mortal, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city;^{(B) 3} they say, ‘The time is not near to build houses; this city is the pot, and we are the meat.’^{(C) 4} Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O mortal.”^(D)

⁵ Then the spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: This is what you think, O house of Israel; I know the things that come into your mind.^{(E) 6} You have killed many in this city and have filled its streets with the slain.^{(F) 7} Therefore thus says the Lord God: The slain whom you have placed within it are the meat, and this city is the pot, but you shall be taken out of it.^{(G) 8} You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, says the Lord God. ⁹ I will take you out of it and give you over to the hands of foreigners and execute judgments upon you.^{(H) 10} You shall fall by the sword; I will judge you at the border of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord.^{(I) 11} This city shall not be your pot, and you shall not be the meat inside it; I will judge you at the border of Israel. ¹² Then you shall know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you have not followed and whose ordinances you have not kept, but you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations that are around you.”^(J)

¹³ Now, while I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face, cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah Lord God! You are finishing off the remnant of Israel!”^(K)

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,^{(A) 2} since you have given him authority over all people,^[a] to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.^{(B) 3} And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.^{(C) 4} I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.^{(D) 5} So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.^(E)

⁶ “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.^{(F) 7} Now they know that everything you have given me is from you, ⁸ for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.^{(G) 9} I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.^{(H) 10} All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them.^{(I) 11} And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.^{(J) 12} While I was with them, I protected them in your name that^[b] you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost,^[c] so that the scripture might be fulfilled.^{(K) 13} But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.^{[d] 14} I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.^{(L) 15} I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.^{[e](M) 16} They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.^{(N) 19} And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰ “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,^[f] so that the world may believe that you have sent me.^{(O) 22} The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one,^{(P) 23} I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.^(Q)

²⁵ “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you have sent me.^{(R) 26} I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.”^(S)