Judah's Captivity Symbolized

12 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ^(B)a rebellious house, ^(C)who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are ^(D)a rebellious house. ³ As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself ^(E)an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day ^(F)in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place ^(G)in their sight. ^(H)Perhaps they will understand, though^[a] they are a rebellious house. ⁴ You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself ^(I)at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. ⁵ In their sight ^(J)dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. ⁶ In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you ^(K)a sign for the house of Israel.”

^7 (L)And I did as I was commanded. ^(M)I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: ^9 (N)“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^(O)the rebellious house, said to you, ^(P)‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns^{[b] (Q)}the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’^{[c] 11} Say, ^(R)‘I am a sign for you: ^(S)as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ ^12 (T)And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. ^(U)They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. ^(V)He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. ^13 (W)And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And ^(X)I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, ^(Y)yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. ^14 (Z)And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, ^(AA)and I will unsheathe the sword after them. ^15 (AB)And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ^16 (AC)But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, ^(AD)and may know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me: ^18 (AE)“Son of man, ^(AF)eat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: ^(AG)They shall eat their bread with anxiety, ^(AH)and drink water in dismay. In this way ^(AI)her land will be stripped of all it contains, ^(AJ)on account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ^20 (AK)And the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

²¹ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²² “Son of man, ^(AL)what is this proverb that you^[d] have about the land of Israel, saying, ^(AM)‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? ²³ Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, ^(AN)The days are near, and the fulfillment^[e] of every vision. ^24 (AO)For there shall be no more any ^(AP)false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I am the Lord; I will speak ^(AQ)the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. ^(AR)It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, ^(AS)O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”

²⁶ And the word of the Lord came to me: ²⁷ “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ^(AT)‘The vision that he sees is ^(AU)for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ ²⁸ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(AV)None of my words will be delayed any longer, ^(AW)but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”

False Prophets Condemned

13 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (AX)“Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those ^(AY)who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the Lord!’ ³ Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! ⁴ Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. ^5 (AZ)You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord. ^6 (BA)They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the Lord,’ ^(BB)when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. ⁷ Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, ^(BC)whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?”

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, ^(BD)I am against you, declares the Lord God. ⁹ My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, ^(BE)nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, ^(BF)nor shall they enter the land of Israel. ^(BG)And you shall know that I am the Lord God. ¹⁰ Precisely because they have misled my people, ^(BH)saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, ^(BI)these prophets smear it with whitewash,^{[f] 11} say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! ^(BJ)There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. ¹² And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ ¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(BK)I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, ^(BL)and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. ¹⁴ And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, ^(BM)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, ¹⁶ the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem ^(BN)and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God.

¹⁷ “And you, son of man, ^(BO)set your face against ^(BP)the daughters of your people, ^(BQ)who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them ¹⁸ and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women ^(BR)who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and ^(BS)make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in ^(BT)the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? ¹⁹ You have profaned me among my people ^(BU)for handfuls of barley ^(BV)and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.

²⁰ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, ^(BW)I am against ^(BX)your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. ²¹ Your veils also I will tear off and ^(BY)deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, ^(BZ)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ^22 (CA)Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and ^(CB)you have encouraged the wicked, that ^(CC)he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, ^23 (CD)therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Idolatrous Elders Condemned

14 Then certain of the ^(CE)elders of Israel came to me ^(CF)and sat before me. ² And the word of the Lord came to me: ^3 (CG)“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set ^(CH)the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. ^(CI)Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? ⁴ Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, ^(CJ)I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, ^5 (CK)that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, ^(CL)who are all estranged from me through their idols.

⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(CM)Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. ⁷ For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, ^(CN)who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, ^(CO)I the Lord will answer him myself. ⁸ And ^(CP)I will set my face against that man; I ^(CQ)will make him a sign and a byword ^(CR)and cut him off from the midst of my people, ^(CS)and you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁹ And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, ^(CT)I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. ¹⁰ And they shall bear their punishment^[g]—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike— ¹¹ that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor ^(CU)defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, ^(CV)but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.”

The Priestly Order of Melchizedek

7 For this ^(A)Melchizedek, king of ^(B)Salem, priest of ^(C)the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, ² and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. ³ He is without father or mother ^(D)or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

⁴ See how great this man was to whom Abraham ^(E)the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! ⁵ And ^(F)those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,^[a] though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ But this man ^(G)who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed ^(H)him who had the promises. ⁷ It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸ In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one ^(I)of whom it is testified that ^(J)he lives. ⁹ One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰ for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus Compared to Melchizedek

^11 (K)Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹² For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³ For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴ For it is evident that our Lord was descended ^(L)from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵ This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶ who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is witnessed of him,