The Fall of Jerusalem

²¹ And it came to pass in the twelfth year ^(A)of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(B)that one who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, ^(C)“The city has been ^[a]captured!”

²² Now ^(D)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had ^(E)opened my mouth; so when he came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

The Cause of Judah’s Ruin

²³ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²⁴ “Son of man, ^(F)they who inhabit those ^(G)ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ^(H)‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. ^(I)But we are many; the land has been given to us as a ^(J)possession.’

²⁵ “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(K)“You eat meat with blood, you ^(L)lift up your eyes toward your idols, and ^(M)shed blood. Should you then possess the ^(N)land? ²⁶ You rely on your sword, you commit abominations, and you ^(O)defile one another’s wives. Should you then possess the land?” ’

²⁷ “Say thus to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “As I live, surely ^(P)those who are in the ruins shall fall by the sword, and the one who is in the open field ^(Q)I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in the strongholds and ^(R)caves shall die of the pestilence. ^28 (S)For I will make the land most desolate, ^[b]her ^(T)arrogant strength shall cease, and ^(U)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through. ²⁹ Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed.” ’

Hearing and Not Doing

³⁰ “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they ^(V)speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ ³¹ So ^(W)they come to you as people do, they ^(X)sit before you as My people, and they ^(Y)hear your words, but they do not do them; ^(Z)for with their mouth they show much love, but ^(AA)their hearts pursue their own gain. ³² Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do ^(AB)not do them. ^33 (AC)And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then ^(AD)they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin^(A)

^53 (B)And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were ^(C)assembled all the ^(D)chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. ⁵⁴ But ^(E)Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.

^55 (F)Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. ⁵⁶ For many bore ^(G)false witness against Him, but their testimonies ^[a]did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ^(H)‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ” ⁵⁹ But not even then did their testimony agree.

^60 (I)And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” ⁶¹ But ^(J)He kept silent and answered nothing.

^(K)Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”

⁶² Jesus said, “I am. ^(L)And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the ^(M)blasphemy! What do you think?”

And they all condemned Him to be deserving of ^(N)death.

⁶⁵ Then some began to ^(O)spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers ^[b]struck Him with the palms of their hands.

Israel Rebels Against God

³⁷ “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ^(A)‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. ^(B)Him^[a] you shall hear.’

^38 (C)“This is he who was in the ^[b]congregation in the wilderness with ^(D)the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, ^(E)the one who received the living ^(F)oracles^[c] to give to us, ³⁹ whom our fathers ^(G)would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, ^40 (H)saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ^41 (I)And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and ^(J)rejoiced in the works of their own hands. ⁴² Then ^(K)God turned and gave them up to worship ^(L)the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:

God’s True Tabernacle

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses ^(O)to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, ^45 (P)which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, ^(Q)whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the ^(R)days of David, ^46 (S)who found favor before God and ^(T)asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. ^47 (U)But Solomon built Him a house.

⁴⁸ “However, ^(V)the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

Israel Resists the Holy Spirit

⁵¹ “You ^(Y)stiff-necked^[d] and ^(Z)uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. ^52 (AA)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of ^(AB)the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, ^53 (AC)who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”