The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed

4 “And you, O mortal, take a brick and set it before you. On it portray a city, Jerusalem,^{(A) 2} and put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a ramp against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around.^{(B) 3} Then take an iron plate and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.^(C)

⁴ “Then lie on your left side and place the guilt of the house of Israel upon it; you shall bear their guilt for the number of the days that you lie there.^{(D) 5} For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their guilt, and so you shall bear the guilt of the house of Israel.^{(E) 6} When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the guilt of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, one day for each year. ⁷ You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and with your arm bared you shall prophesy against it.^{(F) 8} See, I am putting cords on you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.^(G)

⁹ “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel and make bread for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred ninety days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰ The food that you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; at fixed times you shall eat it. ¹¹ And you shall drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; at fixed times you shall drink. ¹² You shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.”^{(H) 13} The Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread, unclean, among the nations to which I will drive them.”^{(I) 14} Then I said, “Ah Lord God! I have never defiled myself; from my youth up until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has carrion flesh come into my mouth.”^{(J) 15} Then he said to me, “See, I will let you have cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.”

¹⁶ Then he said to me, “Mortal, I am going to cut off the supply of bread^[a] in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.^{(K) 17} Lacking bread and water, they will look at one another in dismay and waste away under their punishment.^(L)

The Peril of Falling Away

6 Therefore let us go on^[a] toward perfection,^[b] leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God,^{(A) 2} instruction about baptisms and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.^{(B) 3} And we will do^[c] this, if God permits. ⁴ For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit^{(C) 5} and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come^{(D) 6} and then have fallen away, since they are crucifying again the Son of God to their own harm and are holding him up to contempt.^{(E) 7} Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God.^{(F) 8} But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.^(G)

⁹ Even though we speak in this way, beloved, we are confident of better things in your case, things that belong to salvation. ¹⁰ For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the^[d] love that you showed for his sake^[e] in serving the saints, as you still do.^{(H) 11} And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end,^{(I) 12} so that you may not become sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.^(J)

A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus

⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.^{(A) 52} And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for his arrival,^{(B) 53} but they did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”^{[a](C) 55} But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then^[b] they went on to another village.

Would-Be Followers of Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”^{(D) 60} And Jesus^[c] said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”