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12 The word of the Lord came to me: 13 Mortal, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly and I stretch out my hand against it and cut off its supply of bread[a] and send famine upon it and cut off from it humans and animals,(A) 14 even if Noah, Daniel,[b] and Job, these three, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, says the Lord God.(B) 15 If I send wild animals through the land to ravage it so that it is made desolate and no one may pass through because of the animals,(C) 16 even if these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither sons nor daughters; they alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, “Let a sword pass through the land,” and I cut off humans and animals from it,(D) 18 though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be saved. 19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off humans and animals from it,(E) 20 even if Noah, Daniel,[c] and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither son nor daughter; they would save only their own lives by their righteousness.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four deadly acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild animals, and pestilence, to cut off humans and animals from it!(F) 22 Yet survivors shall be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; they will come out to you. When you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it.(G) 23 They shall console you when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that it was not without cause that I did all that I have done in it, says the Lord God.(H)
The Useless Vine
15 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 O mortal, how does the wood of the vine surpass all other wood,
the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest?(I)
3 Is wood taken from it to make anything?
Does one take a peg from it on which to hang any object?
4 It is put in the fire for fuel;
when the fire has consumed both ends of it
and the middle of it is charred,
is it useful for anything?(J)
5 When it was whole it was used for nothing;
how much less—when the fire has consumed it,
and it is charred—
can it ever be used for anything!
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(K) 7 I will set my face against them; although they escape from the fire, the fire shall still consume them, and you shall know that I am the Lord when I set my face against them.(L) 8 And I will make the land desolate because they have acted faithlessly, says the Lord God.(M)
God’s Faithless Bride
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, make known to Jerusalem her abominations(N) 3 and say: Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.(O) 4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in cloths.(P) 5 No eye pitied you to do any of these things for you out of compassion for you, but you were thrown out in the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.(Q)
6 I passed by you and saw you flailing about in your blood. As you lay in your blood, I said to you, “Live!(R) 7 and grow up[d] like a plant of the field.” You grew up and became tall and arrived at full womanhood;[e] your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown, yet you were naked and bare.(S)
8 I passed by you again and looked on you; you were at the age for love. I spread the edge of my cloak over you and covered your nakedness: I pledged myself to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord God, and you became mine.(T) 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off the blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you with embroidered cloth and with sandals of fine leather; I bound you in fine linen and covered you with rich fabric.[f] 11 I adorned you with ornaments: I put bracelets on your arms, a chain on your neck,(U) 12 a ring on your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head. 13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, rich fabric,[g] and embroidered cloth. You had choice flour and honey and oil for food. You grew exceedingly beautiful, fit to be a queen.(V) 14 Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of my splendor that I had bestowed on you, says the Lord God.
15 But you trusted in your beauty and prostituted yourself because of your fame and lavished your prostitutions on any passer-by.[h](W) 16 You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful high places and on them prostituted yourself; nothing like this has ever been or ever shall be.[i](X) 17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and my silver that I had given you and made for yourself male images and with them prostituted yourself,(Y) 18 and you took your embroidered garments to cover them and set my oil and my incense before them. 19 Also my bread that I gave you—I fed you with choice flour and oil and honey—you set it before them as a pleasing odor, and so it was, says the Lord God. 20 You took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. As if your prostitutions were not enough!(Z) 21 You slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering to them.(AA) 22 And in all your abominations and your prostitutions you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, flailing about in your blood.(AB)
23 After all your wickedness (woe, woe to you! says the Lord God), 24 you built yourself a platform and made yourself a lofty place in every square;(AC) 25 at the head of every street you built your lofty place and prostituted your beauty, offering yourself[j] to every passer-by and multiplying your prostitution.(AD) 26 You prostituted yourself with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors,[k] multiplying your prostitution, to provoke me to anger.(AE) 27 Therefore I stretched out my hand against you, reduced your rations, and gave you up to the will of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior.(AF) 28 You prostituted yourself with the Assyrians because you were insatiable; you prostituted yourself with them, and still you were not satisfied.(AG) 29 You multiplied your prostitution with Chaldea, the land of merchants, and even with this you were not satisfied.(AH)
30 How sick is your heart,[l] says the Lord God, that you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your platform at the head of every street and making your lofty place in every square! Yet you were not like a prostitute because you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Gifts are given to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from all around for your prostitutions.(AI) 34 So you were different from other women in your prostitutions: no one solicited you to prostitute yourself, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; you were different.
35 Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 36 Thus says the Lord God: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them,(AJ) 37 therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated; I will gather them against you from all around and will uncover your nakedness to them so that they may see all your nakedness.(AK) 38 I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged and bring blood upon you in wrath and jealousy.(AL) 39 I will deliver you into their hands, and they shall throw down your platform and break down your lofty places; they shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful objects and leave you naked and bare.(AM) 40 They shall bring up a mob against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords.(AN) 41 They shall burn your houses and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women; I will stop you from prostituting yourself, and you shall also make no more payments.(AO)
18 There is, on the one hand, the abrogation of an earlier commandment because it was weak and ineffectual(A) 19 (for the law made nothing perfect); there is, on the other hand, the introduction of a better hope through which we approach God.(B)
20 This was confirmed with an oath, for others have become priests without an oath, 21 but this one became a priest with an oath because of the one who said to him,
22 accordingly Jesus has also become the guarantor of a better covenant.(D)
23 Furthermore, the former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able for all time to save[b] those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.(E)
26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.(F) 27 Unlike the other[c] high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.(G) 28 For the law appoints as high priests humans, who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.(H)
Psalm 106
A Confession of Israel’s Sins
1 Praise the Lord!
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(A)
2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord
or declare all his praise?(B)
3 Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times.(C)
4 Remember us,[a] O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help us[b] when you deliver them,(D)
5 that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that we may glory in your heritage.(E)
6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.(F)
7 Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love
but rebelled against the Most High[c] at the Red Sea.[d](G)
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
so that he might make known his mighty power.(H)
9 He rebuked the Red Sea,[e] and it became dry;
he led them through the deep as through a desert.(I)
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.(J)
11 The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.(K)
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.(L)
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.(A)
6 Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts,
but profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.