The Daily Audio Bible

21 ^(20:45) The word of Adonai came to me: ^2 (20:46) “Human being, turn your face southward, preach to the south and prophesy to the scrublands of the Negev; ^3 (20:47) say to the Negev forest: ‘Hear the word of Adonai. Adonai Elohim says, “I will light a fire in you; it will devour every tree in you, green and dry alike; a blazing, unquenchable flame that will scorch every face from the Negev to the north. ^4 (20:48) All humanity will see that I, Adonai, lit it; it will not be put out.”’” ^5 (20:49) I said, “Oh, Adonai Elohim! They complain that I speak only in parables.”

^6 (1) Then the word of Adonai came to me: ^7 (2) “Human being, turn your face toward Yerushalayim, preach to the sanctuaries and prophesy to the land of Isra’el; ^8 (3) tell the land of Isra’el that Adonai Elohim says, ‘I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. ^9 (4) Since I am going to rid you of both righteous and evildoers, my sword will also go out of its scabbard against everyone, from the Negev to the north. ^10 (5) Everyone alive will know that I, Adonai, drew my sword from its scabbard; it will not be sheathed again.’

^11 (6) “Therefore, human being, groan! Groan bitterly, as if your heart would break, as they watch. ^12 (7) Then, when they ask you, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you will answer, ‘Because of the news, because it’s coming. All hearts will melt, all hands hang limp, all spirits faint and all knees turn to water; here, it’s coming, it will happen,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

^13 (8) The word of Adonai came to me: ^14 (9) “Human being, prophesy. Say that Adonai Elohim says to say this:

^17 (12) “Shout and wail, human being, because it’s coming upon my people, upon all the leaders of Isra’el — they will be victims of the sword along with my people. Strike your thigh in remorse! ^18 (13) For a test is coming, and what if he rejects the rod again then? He will cease to exist,” says Adonai Elohim.

^19 (14) “Therefore, human being, prophesy and clap your hands together. Then the sword will strike twice, three times, the sword for victims, the sword for a great slaughter, coming from every direction. ^20 (15) So that their hearts will melt, and many will stumble and fall, I have posted the point of the sword at every one of their gates. See how it flashes, sharpened for the kill!

I, Adonai, have spoken.”

^23 (18) The word of Adonai came to me: ^24 (19) “Now, human being, designate two roads for the sword of the king of Bavel to follow, both coming out of one country. Put up a signpost at the start of the road leading to the city. ^25 (20) Make a road, so that the sword can come to Rabbah of the people of ‘Amon and to Y’hudah in fortified Yerushalayim. ^26 (21) For the king of Bavel is standing at the fork in the road, where the two roads separate, about to use divination — he is shaking the arrows, consulting the household gods, examining the liver. ^27 (22) Into his right hand comes the lot for Yerushalayim, to set up battering rams, give the order for slaughter, raise a shout, set battering rams against the gates, build siege ramps and erect watchtowers. ^28 (23) The inhabitants will believe this is a false divination because of the oaths upon oaths [that their false prophets have sworn to the contrary]. But it will cause [God] to remember their guilt and thus insure their capture.

^29 (24) “Therefore this is what Adonai Elohim says: ‘Because you have caused your guilt to be remembered, with your misdeeds revealed and the sins in all your actions evident — since you have been remembered, you will be captured.’ ^30 (25) As for you, you wicked prince of Isra’el, due to be killed, whose day has come, at the time of final punishment, ^31 (26) here is what Adonai Elohim says:

22 The word of Adonai came to me: ² “Now, human being, are you prepared to judge? Are you prepared to judge the city drenched in blood? Then make her realize how disgusting all her practices are! ³ Say that Adonai Elohim says, ‘City that sheds blood within yourself, thus speeding your own doom, and that makes idols for yourself that defile you: ⁴ you are guilty because of the blood you have shed, you are defiled by your idols that you have made. You have shortened your days, you have completed your years; therefore I have made you an object of scorn for the nations and a laughingstock for every country. ⁵ Those close by and those far off will taunt you, you who have such a defiled reputation and such great disorder.

⁶ “‘The leaders of Isra’el in you all use their power in order to shed blood. ⁷ In you, they make light of fathers and mothers, they oppress foreigners, they wrong orphans and widows. ⁸ You treat my holy things with contempt, you profane my shabbats. ⁹ In you, people gossip to the point of inciting bloodshed; in you are those who go to eat on the mountains; in you, they commit lewd acts; ¹⁰ in you, they commit incest; in you, they force themselves on women during their menstrual impurity. ¹¹ In you, one commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another commits some lewd act defiling his daughter-in-law; still another humbles his sister, his own father’s daughter. ¹² In you, people take bribes to shed blood; you demand and accept interest on loans; in greed you make profits off your neighbors by extorting them; and you have forgotten me,’ says Adonai Elohim.

¹³ “‘Therefore, I am clapping my hands together because of your ill-gotten gains and the blood shed in you. ¹⁴ Can your courage last, can your strength continue during the days when I deal with you? I, Adonai, have spoken it; and I will do it. ¹⁵ I will scatter you among the Goyim and disperse you throughout the countries; thus I will remove your defilement from you, ¹⁶ and you will cause yourselves to be profaned in full view of the Goyim. Then you will know that I am Adonai.’”

¹⁷ The word of Adonai came to me: ¹⁸ “Human being, the house of Isra’el has become an alloy of base metals for me; they are all copper, tin, iron and lead mixed together in the crucible, the dross left over from the silver. ¹⁹ Therefore Adonai Elohim says this: ‘Because you have all become dross, I will collect all of you inside Yerushalayim. ²⁰ Then, just as they collect silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a crucible and blow fire on it to melt it down; so likewise I will collect you in my anger and fury, throw you in there, and melt you down. ²¹ Yes, I will collect you and blow on you with the fire of my rage, and you will be melted down in it. ²² As silver is melted down in a crucible, so will you be melted down in [Yerushalayim]. Then you will know that it is I, Adonai, who have poured out my fury on you.’”

²³ The word of Adonai came to me: ²⁴ “Human being, tell her this: ‘You are a land that is neither cleansed nor rained on in the day of fury. ²⁵ There is a conspiracy of prophets in it like a roaring lion tearing up the prey; they have devoured people, seized wealth and valuables, and widowed many in it. ²⁶ Her cohanim have done violence to my Torah, profaned my holy things, made no difference between the holy and the common, not distinguished between unclean and clean, hidden their eyes from my shabbats, and profaned me among themselves. ²⁷ Her leaders in it are like wolves tearing up the prey to shed blood and destroy people, in order to benefit unjustly. ²⁸ Her prophets have “plastered” for them with whitewash, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, “Thus says Adonai Elohim,” when Adonai has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have extorted, robbed, wronged the poor and needy and unjustly oppressed foreigners.

³⁰ “‘I sought for a man among them who could build a barricade or stand in the break to oppose me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. ³¹ Therefore I am pouring out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my rage, bringing their own ways on their own heads,’ says Adonai Elohim.”

10 For the Torah has in it a shadow of the good things to come, but not the actual manifestation of the originals. Therefore, it can never, by means of the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, bring to the goal those who approach the Holy Place to offer them. ² Otherwise, wouldn’t the offering of those sacrifices have ceased? For if the people performing the service had been cleansed once and for all, they would no longer have sins on their conscience. ³ No, it is quite the contrary — in these sacrifices is a reminder of sins, year after year. ⁴ For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.

⁵ This is why, on coming into the world, he says,

⁸ In saying first, “You neither willed nor were pleased with animal sacrifices, meal offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings,” things which are offered in accordance with the Torah; ⁹ and then, “Look, I have come to do your will”; he takes away the first system in order to set up the second. ¹⁰ It is in connection with this will that we have been separated for God and made holy, once and for all, through the offering of Yeshua the Messiah’s body.

¹¹ Now every cohen stands every day doing his service, offering over and over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this one, after he had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from then on to wait until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet.^{[b] 14} For by a single offering he has brought to the goal for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy.

¹⁵ And the Ruach HaKodesh too bears witness to us; for after saying,

¹⁷ he then adds,