Ezekiel 7-9

New International Version

The End Has Come

7 The word of the Lord came to me: ²“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:

“‘The end!^(A) The end has come
    upon the four corners^(B) of the land!
³The end is now upon you,
    and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct^(C)
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.^(D)
⁴I will not look on you with pity;^(E)
    I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.

“‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’^(F)

⁵“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Disaster!^(G) Unheard-of^[a] disaster!
    See, it comes!
⁶The end^(H) has come!
    The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
    See, it comes!
⁷Doom has come upon you,
    upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day^(I) is near!^(J)
    There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
⁸I am about to pour out my wrath^(K) on you
    and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.^(L)
⁹I will not look on you with pity;
    I will not spare you.^(M)
I will repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.^(N)

“‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.^(O)

¹⁰“‘See, the day!
    See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
    the rod^(P) has budded,
    arrogance has blossomed!
¹¹Violence^(Q) has arisen,^[b]
    a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
    none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
    nothing of value.^(R)
¹²The time has come!
    The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer^(S) rejoice
    nor the seller grieve,
    for my wrath is on the whole crowd.^(T)
¹³The seller will not recover
    the property that was sold—
    as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
    will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
    will preserve their life.^(U)

¹⁴“‘They have blown the trumpet,^(V)
    they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
    for my wrath^(W) is on the whole crowd.
¹⁵Outside is the sword;
    inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
    will die by the sword;
those in the city
    will be devoured by famine and plague.^(X)
¹⁶The fugitives^(Y) who escape
    will flee to the mountains.
Like doves^(Z) of the valleys,
    they will all moan,
    each for their own sins.^(AA)
¹⁷Every hand will go limp;^(AB)
    every leg will be wet with urine.^(AC)
¹⁸They will put on sackcloth^(AD)
    and be clothed with terror.^(AE)
Every face will be covered with shame,
    and every head will be shaved.^(AF)

¹⁹“‘They will throw their silver into the streets,^(AG)
    and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
    will not be able to deliver them
    in the day of the Lord’s wrath.^(AH)
It will not satisfy^(AI) their hunger
    or fill their stomachs,
    for it has caused them to stumble^(AJ) into sin.^(AK)
²⁰They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
    and used it to make^(AL) their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;^(AM)
    therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.^(AN)
²¹I will give their wealth as plunder^(AO) to foreigners
    and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
    who will defile it.^(AP)
²²I will turn my face^(AQ) away from the people,
    and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
    and will defile it.^(AR)

²³“‘Prepare chains!
    For the land is full of bloodshed,^(AS)
    and the city is full of violence.^(AT)
²⁴I will bring the most wicked of nations
    to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
    and their sanctuaries^(AU) will be desecrated.^(AV)
²⁵When terror comes,
    they will seek peace in vain.^(AW)
²⁶Calamity upon calamity^(AX) will come,
    and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,^(AY)
    priestly instruction in the law will cease,
    the counsel of the elders will come to an end.^(AZ)
²⁷The king will mourn,
    the prince will be clothed with despair,^(BA)
    and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,^(BB)
    and by their own standards I will judge them.

“‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.^(BC)’”

Idolatry in the Temple

8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders^(BD) of Judah were sitting before^(BE) me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there.^(BF) ²I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man.^[c] From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal.^(BG) ³He stretched out what looked like a hand^(BH) and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up^(BI) between earth and heaven and in visions^(BJ) of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court,^(BK) where the idol that provokes to jealousy^(BL) stood. ⁴And there before me was the glory^(BM) of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.^(BN)

⁵Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol^(BO) of jealousy.

⁶And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable^(BP) things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary?^(BQ) But you will see things that are even more detestable.”

⁷Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. ⁸He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.

⁹And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” ¹⁰So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls^(BR) all kinds of crawling things and unclean^(BS) animals and all the idols of Israel.^(BT) ¹¹In front of them stood seventy elders^(BU) of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer^(BV) in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense^(BW) was rising.^(BX)

¹²He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness,^(BY) each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see^(BZ) us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ¹³Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”

¹⁴Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz.^(CA) ¹⁵He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”

¹⁶He then brought me into the inner court^(CB) of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar,^(CC) were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun^(CD) in the east.^(CE)

¹⁷He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things^(CF) they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence^(CG) and continually arouse my anger?^(CH) Look at them putting the branch to their nose! ¹⁸Therefore I will deal with them in anger;^(CI) I will not look on them with pity^(CJ) or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen^(CK) to them.”

Judgment on the Idolaters

9 Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, “Bring near those who are appointed to execute judgment on the city, each with a weapon in his hand.” ²And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen^(CL) who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

³Now the glory^(CM) of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim,^(CN) where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side ⁴and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem^(CO) and put a mark^(CP) on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament^(CQ) over all the detestable things that are done in it.^(CR)”

⁵As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity^(CS) or compassion.^(CT) ⁶Slaughter^(CU) the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children,^(CV) but do not touch anyone who has the mark.^(CW) Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men^(CX) who were in front of the temple.^(CY)

⁷Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain.^(CZ) Go!” So they went out and began killing throughout the city. ⁸While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown,^(DA) crying out, “Alas, Sovereign Lord!^(DB) Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath^(DC) on Jerusalem?^(DD)”

⁹He answered me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice.^(DE) They say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land; the Lord does not see.’^(DF) ¹⁰So I will not look on them with pity^(DG) or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.^(DH)”

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

Footnotes

Ezekiel 7:5 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Disaster after
Ezekiel 7:11 Or The violent one has become
Ezekiel 8:2 Or saw a fiery figure

John 3

New International Version

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus^(A) who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.^(B) ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,^(C) we know^(D) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs^(E) you are doing if God were not with him.”^(F)

³Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”^(G)

⁴“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

⁵Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.^(H) ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit.^(I) ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]^(J)

⁹“How can this be?”^(K) Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,”^(L) said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know,^(M) and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.^(N) ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³No one has ever gone into heaven^(O) except the one who came from heaven^(P)—the Son of Man.^[e]^(Q) ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,^(R) so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^[f]^(S) ¹⁵that everyone who believes^(T) may have eternal life in him.”^[g]^(U)

¹⁶For God so loved^(V) the world that he gave^(W) his one and only Son,^(X) that whoever believes^(Y) in him shall not perish but have eternal life.^(Z) ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world^(AA) to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.^(AB) ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned,^(AC) but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.^(AD) ¹⁹This is the verdict: Light^(AE) has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.^(AF) ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.^(AG) ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

John Testifies Again About Jesus

²²After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.^(AH) ²³Now John^(AI) also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. ²⁴(This was before John was put in prison.)^(AJ) ²⁵An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing.^(AK) ²⁶They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi,^(AL) that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified^(AM) about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

²⁷To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’^(AN) ²⁹The bride belongs to the bridegroom.^(AO) The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.^(AP) ³⁰He must become greater; I must become less.”^[h]

³¹The one who comes from above^(AQ) is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth.^(AR) The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³²He testifies to what he has seen and heard,^(AS) but no one accepts his testimony.^(AT) ³³Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. ³⁴For the one whom God has sent^(AU) speaks the words of God, for God^[i] gives the Spirit^(AV) without limit. ³⁵The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.^(AW) ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,^(AX) but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.