A Rebellious Nation

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!(A)
    For the Lord has spoken:(B)
“I reared children(C) and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled(D) against me.

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Hear,(A) you peoples, all of you,(B)
    listen, earth(C) and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness(D) against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.(E)

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32 Listen,(A) you heavens,(B) and I will speak;
    hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.(C)

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26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses(A) against you(B) this day that you will quickly perish(C) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed.

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19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you(A) that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.(B) Now choose life, so that you and your children may live

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Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices

“A son honors his father,(A) and a slave his master.(B) If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect(C) due me?” says the Lord Almighty.(D)

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask,(E) ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

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He summons the heavens above,
    and the earth,(A) that he may judge his people:(B)

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The Lord’s Case Against Israel

Listen to what the Lord says:

“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;(A)
    let the hills hear what you have to say.

“Hear,(B) you mountains, the Lord’s accusation;(C)
    listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the Lord has a case(D) against his people;
    he is lodging a charge(E) against Israel.

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Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you(A)—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:(B)

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therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys,(A) to the desolate ruins(B) and the deserted(C) towns that have been plundered and ridiculed(D) by the rest of the nations around you(E)

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29 O land,(A) land, land,
    hear the word of the Lord!

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“Listen(A) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
    all the remnant(B) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(C)
    and have carried(D) since you were born.(E)
Even to your old age and gray hairs(F)
    I am he,(G) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain(H) you and I will rescue you.

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For these are rebellious(A) people, deceitful(B) children,
    children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.(C)

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But as for me, I am filled with power,
    with the Spirit of the Lord,
    and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
    to Israel his sin.(A)

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“‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”[a](A) I made you grow(B) like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.(C)

“‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment(D) over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant(E) with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.(F)

“‘I bathed you with water and washed(G) the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered(H) dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen(I) and covered you with costly garments.(J) 11 I adorned you with jewelry:(K) I put bracelets(L) on your arms and a necklace(M) around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose,(N) earrings(O) on your ears and a beautiful crown(P) on your head.(Q) 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes(R) were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil(S) and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.(T) 14 And your fame(U) spread among the nations on account of your beauty,(V) because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord.(W)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:6 A few Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts repeat and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!”

They will come with weeping;(A)
    they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead(B) them beside streams of water(C)
    on a level(D) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,(E)
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

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Threat of Captivity

15 Hear and pay attention,
    do not be arrogant,
    for the Lord has spoken.(A)

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19 Hear, you earth:(A)
    I am bringing disaster(B) on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,(C)
because they have not listened to my words(D)
    and have rejected my law.(E)

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All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,(A)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations(B)

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In all their distress he too was distressed,
    and the angel(A) of his presence(B) saved them.[a]
In his love and mercy he redeemed(C) them;
    he lifted them up and carried(D) them
    all the days of old.(E)
10 Yet they rebelled(F)
    and grieved his Holy Spirit.(G)
So he turned and became their enemy(H)
    and he himself fought(I) against them.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 63:9 Or Savior in their distress. / It was no envoy or angel / but his own presence that saved them

Woe to the Obstinate Nation

30 “Woe(A) to the obstinate children,”(B)
    declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
    forming an alliance,(C) but not by my Spirit,
    heaping sin upon sin;

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The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.(B)
He built a watchtower(C) in it
    and cut out a winepress(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.(E)

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22 You also made the Lord angry(A) at Taberah,(B) at Massah(C) and at Kibroth Hattaavah.(D)

23 And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea,(E) he said, “Go up and take possession(F) of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled(G) against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust(H) him or obey him. 24 You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.(I)

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What other nation is so great(A) as to have their gods near(B) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws(C) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

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31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried(A) you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”(B)

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