Ezekiel 3

New International Version

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” ²So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

³Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate^(A) it, and it tasted as sweet as honey^(B) in my mouth.

⁴He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them.^(C) ⁵You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language,^(D) but to the people of Israel— ⁶not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.^(E) ⁷But the people of Israel are not willing to listen^(F) to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate.^(G) ⁸But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are.^(H) ⁹I will make your forehead^(I) like the hardest stone, harder than flint.^(J) Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.^(K)”

¹⁰And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart^(L) all the words I speak to you. ¹¹Go^(M) now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’^(N) whether they listen or fail to listen.^(O)”

¹²Then the Spirit lifted me up,^(P) and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the Lord rose from the place where it was standing.^[a] ¹³It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures^(Q) brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.^(R) ¹⁴The Spirit^(S) then lifted me up^(T) and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord^(U) on me. ¹⁵I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar River.^(V) And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days^(W)—deeply distressed.

Ezekiel’s Task as Watchman

¹⁶At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:^(X) ¹⁷“Son of man, I have made you a watchman^(Y) for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.^(Z) ¹⁸When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,^(AA)’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for^[b] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.^(AB) ¹⁹But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn^(AC) from their wickedness^(AD) or from their evil ways, they will die^(AE) for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.^(AF)

²⁰“Again, when a righteous person turns^(AG) from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block^(AH) before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.^(AI) ²¹But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.^(AJ)”

²²The hand of the Lord^(AK) was on me there, and he said to me, “Get up and go^(AL) out to the plain,^(AM) and there I will speak to you.” ²³So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River,^(AN) and I fell facedown.^(AO)

²⁴Then the Spirit came into me and raised me^(AP) to my feet. He spoke to me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.^(AQ) ²⁵And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people.^(AR) ²⁶I will make your tongue stick to the roof^(AS) of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious people.^(AT) ²⁷But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’^(AU) Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.^(AV)

Footnotes

Ezekiel 3:12 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text sound—may the glory of the Lord be praised from his place
Ezekiel 3:18 Or in; also in verses 19 and 20

John 16

New International Version

16 “All this^(A) I have told you so that you will not fall away.^(B) ²They will put you out of the synagogue;^(C) in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.^(D) ³They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.^(E) ⁴I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember^(F) that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you,^(G) ⁵but now I am going to him who sent me.^(H) None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’^(I) ⁶Rather, you are filled with grief^(J) because I have said these things. ⁷But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate^(K) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.^(L) ⁸When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹about sin,^(M) because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰about righteousness,^(N) because I am going to the Father,^(O) where you can see me no longer; ¹¹and about judgment, because the prince of this world^(P) now stands condemned.

¹²“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.^(Q) ¹³But when he, the Spirit of truth,^(R) comes, he will guide you into all the truth.^(S) He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵All that belongs to the Father is mine.^(T) That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy

¹⁶Jesus went on to say, “In a little while^(U) you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”^(V)

¹⁷At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’^(W) and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”^(X) ¹⁸They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

¹⁹Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn^(Y) while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.^(Z) ²¹A woman giving birth to a child has pain^(AA) because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²²So with you: Now is your time of grief,^(AB) but I will see you again^(AC) and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.^(AD) ²³In that day^(AE) you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.^(AF) ²⁴Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive,^(AG) and your joy will be complete.^(AH)

²⁵“Though I have been speaking figuratively,^(AI) a time is coming^(AJ) when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶In that day you will ask in my name.^(AK) I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me^(AL) and have believed that I came from God.^(AM) ²⁸I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”^(AN)

²⁹Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech.^(AO) ³⁰Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe^(AP) that you came from God.”^(AQ)

³¹“Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. ³²“A time is coming^(AR) and in fact has come when you will be scattered,^(AS) each to your own home. You will leave me all alone.^(AT) Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.^(AU)

³³“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.^(AV) In this world you will have trouble.^(AW) But take heart! I have overcome^(AX) the world.”

Psalm 78

New International Version

Psalm 78

A maskil^[a] of Asaph.

¹My people, hear my teaching;^(A)
    listen to the words of my mouth.
²I will open my mouth with a parable;^(B)
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
³things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.^(C)
⁴We will not hide them from their descendants;^(D)
    we will tell the next generation^(E)
the praiseworthy deeds^(F) of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders^(G) he has done.
⁵He decreed statutes^(H) for Jacob^(I)
    and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
    to teach their children,
⁶so the next generation would know them,
    even the children yet to be born,^(J)
    and they in turn would tell their children.
⁷Then they would put their trust in God
    and would not forget^(K) his deeds
    but would keep his commands.^(L)
⁸They would not be like their ancestors^(M)—
    a stubborn^(N) and rebellious^(O) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

⁹The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,^(P)
    turned back on the day of battle;^(Q)
¹⁰they did not keep God’s covenant^(R)
    and refused to live by his law.^(S)
¹¹They forgot what he had done,^(T)
    the wonders he had shown them.
¹²He did miracles^(U) in the sight of their ancestors
    in the land of Egypt,^(V) in the region of Zoan.^(W)
¹³He divided the sea^(X) and led them through;
    he made the water stand up like a wall.^(Y)
¹⁴He guided them with the cloud by day
    and with light from the fire all night.^(Z)
¹⁵He split the rocks^(AA) in the wilderness
    and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
¹⁶he brought streams out of a rocky crag
    and made water flow down like rivers.

¹⁷But they continued to sin^(AB) against him,
    rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
¹⁸They willfully put God to the test^(AC)
    by demanding the food they craved.^(AD)
¹⁹They spoke against God;^(AE)
    they said, “Can God really
    spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰True, he struck the rock,
    and water gushed out,^(AF)
    streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
    Can he supply meat^(AG) for his people?”
²¹When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
    his fire broke out^(AH) against Jacob,
    and his wrath rose against Israel,
²²for they did not believe in God
    or trust^(AI) in his deliverance.
²³Yet he gave a command to the skies above
    and opened the doors of the heavens;^(AJ)
²⁴he rained down manna^(AK) for the people to eat,
    he gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵Human beings ate the bread of angels;
    he sent them all the food they could eat.
²⁶He let loose the east wind^(AL) from the heavens
    and by his power made the south wind blow.
²⁷He rained meat down on them like dust,
    birds^(AM) like sand on the seashore.
²⁸He made them come down inside their camp,
    all around their tents.
²⁹They ate till they were gorged—^(AN)
    he had given them what they craved.
³⁰But before they turned from what they craved,
    even while the food was still in their mouths,^(AO)
³¹God’s anger rose against them;
    he put to death the sturdiest^(AP) among them,
    cutting down the young men of Israel.

³²In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;^(AQ)
    in spite of his wonders,^(AR) they did not believe.^(AS)
³³So he ended their days in futility^(AT)
    and their years in terror.
³⁴Whenever God slew them, they would seek^(AU) him;
    they eagerly turned to him again.
³⁵They remembered that God was their Rock,^(AV)
    that God Most High was their Redeemer.^(AW)
³⁶But then they would flatter him with their mouths,^(AX)
    lying to him with their tongues;
³⁷their hearts were not loyal^(AY) to him,
    they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸Yet he was merciful;^(AZ)
    he forgave^(BA) their iniquities^(BB)
    and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger^(BC)
    and did not stir up his full wrath.
³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh,^(BD)
    a passing breeze^(BE) that does not return.

⁴⁰How often they rebelled^(BF) against him in the wilderness^(BG)
    and grieved him^(BH) in the wasteland!
⁴¹Again and again they put God to the test;^(BI)
    they vexed the Holy One of Israel.^(BJ)
⁴²They did not remember^(BK) his power—
    the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,^(BL)
⁴³the day he displayed his signs^(BM) in Egypt,
    his wonders^(BN) in the region of Zoan.
⁴⁴He turned their river into blood;^(BO)
    they could not drink from their streams.
⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies^(BP) that devoured them,
    and frogs^(BQ) that devastated them.
⁴⁶He gave their crops to the grasshopper,^(BR)
    their produce to the locust.^(BS)
⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail^(BT)
    and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail,
    their livestock^(BU) to bolts of lightning.
⁴⁹He unleashed against them his hot anger,^(BV)
    his wrath, indignation and hostility—
    a band of destroying angels.^(BW)
⁵⁰He prepared a path for his anger;
    he did not spare them from death
    but gave them over to the plague.
⁵¹He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,^(BX)
    the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.^(BY)
⁵²But he brought his people out like a flock;^(BZ)
    he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
⁵³He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
    but the sea engulfed^(CA) their enemies.^(CB)
⁵⁴And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
    to the hill country his right hand^(CC) had taken.
⁵⁵He drove out nations^(CD) before them
    and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;^(CE)
    he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

⁵⁶But they put God to the test
    and rebelled against the Most High;
    they did not keep his statutes.
⁵⁷Like their ancestors^(CF) they were disloyal and faithless,
    as unreliable as a faulty bow.^(CG)
⁵⁸They angered him^(CH) with their high places;^(CI)
    they aroused his jealousy with their idols.^(CJ)
⁵⁹When God heard^(CK) them, he was furious;^(CL)
    he rejected Israel^(CM) completely.
⁶⁰He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,^(CN)
    the tent he had set up among humans.^(CO)
⁶¹He sent the ark of his might^(CP) into captivity,^(CQ)
    his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
⁶²He gave his people over to the sword;^(CR)
    he was furious with his inheritance.^(CS)
⁶³Fire consumed^(CT) their young men,
    and their young women had no wedding songs;^(CU)
⁶⁴their priests were put to the sword,^(CV)
    and their widows could not weep.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,^(CW)
    as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
⁶⁶He beat back his enemies;
    he put them to everlasting shame.^(CX)
⁶⁷Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
    he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;^(CY)
⁶⁸but he chose the tribe of Judah,^(CZ)
    Mount Zion,^(DA) which he loved.
⁶⁹He built his sanctuary^(DB) like the heights,
    like the earth that he established forever.
⁷⁰He chose David^(DC) his servant
    and took him from the sheep pens;
⁷¹from tending the sheep^(DD) he brought him
    to be the shepherd^(DE) of his people Jacob,
    of Israel his inheritance.
⁷²And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;^(DF)
    with skillful hands he led them.