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God’s Dealings with Israel for His Name’s Sake
20 And then in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, men from the elders of Israel came to consult Yahweh, and they sat before me.[a] 2 And the word of Yahweh came[b] to me, saying,[c] 3 “Son of man,[d] speak with the elders of Israel, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Are you coming to consult me? As I live,[e] I will surely not allow myself[f] to be consulted by you!”’ declares[g] the Lord Yahweh. 4 Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man?[h] Make known to them the detestable things of their ancestors.[i] 5 And you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “On the day of my choosing Israel I swore[j] to the offspring of the house of Jacob, and I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, and I swore[k] to them, saying,[l] ‘I am Yahweh your God.’ 6 On that day I swore[m] to them to bring them out from the land of Egypt to the land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey—it is the most beautiful of all of the lands. 7 Then I said to them, ‘Let each one throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I am Yahweh your God.’ 8 But they rebelled against me, and they were not willing to listen to me; each one did not throw away[n] the detestable things of their eyes; and they did not abandon[o] the idols of Egypt, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9 “But[p] I acted for the sake of my name to keep it from being profaned[q] before the eyes of the nations among whom they lived,[r] where I made known to them before their eyes, to bring them out from the land of Egypt. 10 And I brought them out from the land of Egypt, and I brought them to the desert, 11 and I gave my statutes to them, and my regulations I made known to them, which, if a person does them, then he will live by them. 12 And also my Sabbaths I gave to them to be a sign between me and between them so they would know[s] that I, Yahweh, am the one sanctifying them.
13 “But[t] in the desert the house of Israel rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes,[u] and they rejected my regulations, which, if a person does them, he will live by them, and they greatly profaned my Sabbaths, and I decided to pour out my rage on them in the desert to destroy them, 14 and I acted for the sake of my name, that it not be profaned before the eyes of the nations before whom I brought them out.[v] 15 And also I myself swore[w] to them in the desert not to bring them into the land that I had given to them, flowing with milk and honey—it is the most beautiful of all of the lands— 16 because they despised my judgments, and they did not walk in my statutes,[x] and my Sabbaths they profaned, for their heart was going after their idols. 17 But my eye took pity on them by not destroying them, and I did not completely destroy them[y] in the desert.
18 “And I said to their children in the desert, ‘You must not go in the statutes of your parents;[z] you must not keep their regulations, and you must not make yourself unclean with their idols. 19 I, Yahweh, am your God, so go in my statutes and keep my regulations and do them. 20 And treat my Sabbaths as holy, and they will be a sign between me and between you that you may know[aa] that I, Yahweh, am your God.’ 21 But the children rebelled against me; they did not walk in my statutes,[ab] and they did not observe my regulations,[ac] which if a person does them, then he will live by them. My Sabbaths they desecrated, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to finish my anger against them in the desert. 22 But I withheld my hand, and I acted for the sake of my name not to be profaned before the eyes of the nations before whom I had brought them out before their eyes. 23 What is more, I swore[ad] to them in the desert to scatter them among the nations and to disperse them in the lands, 24 because they did not do my regulations, and my statutes they despised, and my Sabbaths they profaned, and their eyes were after the idols of their ancestors.[ae] 25 And in turn I gave to them rules that were not good and regulations by which they will not live.[af] 26 And I defiled them through their gifts in sacrificing all of the first offspring of the womb, in order that[ag] I will cause them to be stunned, so that they will know that I am Yahweh.
27 “Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man,[ah] and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Again in this your ancestors blasphemed me at[ai] their display of infidelity toward me.”’[aj] 28 And I brought them to the land that I swore[ak] to give[al] to them, and they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and they offered their sacrifices, and they presented there the provocation of their offering, and they gave there their fragrant incense offering, and they poured out their libations there. 29 And I said to them, ‘What is the high place[am] to which you are going?’ And it is called[an] Bamah until this day. 30 Therefore thus say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “In the way of your ancestors[ao] will you defile yourself, and after their vile idols will you prostitute yourselves? 31 And when you lift up your gifts, sacrificing your children[ap] through the fire, you are defiling yourself through all of your idols until today,[aq] and will I let myself[ar] be consulted by you, house of Israel?”’ As I live,”[as] declares[at] the Lord Yahweh, “I will not let myself[au] be consulted by you! 32 And what you are planning,[av] surely it will not be—that you are saying, ‘Let us be like the nations, like the clans[aw] of the lands, serving wood and stone!’[ax]
33 “As I live,”[ay] declares[az] the Lord Yahweh, “surely[ba] with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage pouring forth[bb] I will reign as king over you! 34 And I will bring you from the peoples, and I will gather you from the countries to which you were scattered with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with rage poured out. 35 Then I will bring you to the desert of the peoples, and I will execute justice on you there face to face. 36 Just as[bc] I executed justice on your ancestors[bd] in the desert of the land of Egypt, likewise I will execute justice on you!” declares[be] the Lord Yahweh. 37 “And I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. 38 And I will purge the rebels from among you and the ones transgressing against me; I will bring them out from the land where they are living as aliens,[bf] but into the land of Israel they will not come, and then you will know that I am Yahweh.
39 And you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Let each one go serve his idols now and after, if you are not listening to me, but my holy name[bg] you will not profane any longer with your gifts and with your idols.
40 “For on my holy mountain,[bh] on the mountain of the height of Israel,” declares[bi] the Lord Yahweh, “there all of the house of Israel will serve me, all of them,[bj] in the land. I will take pleasure in them, and there I will accept your contributions and the best of your portions with all of your holy objects. 41 I will accept you as a fragrant incense offering[bk] when I bring you out from the peoples and I gather you from the lands to which you were scattered, and I will show myself holy among you before the eyes of the nations. 42 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I bring you to the land of Israel, to the land that I swore[bl] to give to your ancestors. 43 And you will remember there your ways, and all of your deeds by which you were made unclean,[bm] and you will feel a loathing for yourself[bn] for all of your evils that you have done. 44 And you will know that I am Yahweh when I deal with you[bo] for the sake of my name and not according to your evil ways[bp] or according to[bq] your corrupted deeds, house of Israel,” declares[br] the Lord Yahweh.
45 [bs] And the word of Yahweh came[bt] to me, saying,[bu] 46 “Son of man,[bv] set your face toward the way of the south,[bw] and preach to the south, and prophesy against the forest of the territory of the Negev. 47 And you must say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! I am kindling against you a fire, and it will devour in you every fresh tree and every dry tree; the blaze of the flame will not be quenched, and all the surfaces from the south to the north will be scorched by it. 48 And all creatures will see that I, Yahweh, I kindled it—it will not be quenched!”’” 49 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, they are saying about me, ‘Is he not posing a parable?’”
The Heavenly Ministry of the New Covenant
11 But Christ has arrived as a high priest of the good things to come. Through the greater and more perfect tent not made by hands, that is, not of this creation, 12 and not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered once for all into the most holy place, obtaining eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled sanctify them for the ritual purity of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And because of this, he is the mediator of a new covenant, in order that, because[a] a death has taken place for the redemption of transgressions committed during the first covenant, those who are the called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where there is a will, it is a necessity for the death of the one who made the will to be established. 17 For a will is in force concerning those who are dead, since it is never in force when the one who made the will is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was ratified without blood. 19 For when[b] every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves[c] with water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the scroll itself and all the people, 20 saying,
“This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded for you.”[d]
21 And likewise he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the utensils of service with the blood. 22 Indeed, nearly everything is purified with blood according to the law, and apart from the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
23 Therefore it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves to be purified with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf, 25 and not in order that he can offer himself many times, as the high priest enters into the sanctuary year by year[e] with blood not his own, 26 since it would have been necessary for him to suffer many times from the foundation of the world, but now he has appeared once at the end of the ages for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as[f] it is destined for people to die once, and after this, judgment, 28 thus also Christ, having been offered once in order to bear the sins of many, will appear for the second time without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him for salvation.
Thanksgiving to Yahweh for His of Deliverance
107 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
2 Let the redeemed of Yahweh declare[a] it,
those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
3 and gathered from the lands,
from east and from west, from north and from south.[b]
4 They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert.
They could find no way[c] to a city to inhabit.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their soul grew faint within them.
6 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble.
He delivered them from their distresses
7 and led them by a straight way
to get to a city to inhabit.
8 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love,
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
9 for he satisfies the longing soul,[d]
and the hungry soul he fills with good.
10 Those who sat in darkness and gloom,
prisoners of misery and iron—
11 because they rebelled against the words of God
and spurned the counsel of the Most High,
12 he therefore humbled their heart with trouble.
They stumbled and there was no helper.
13 Then they called to Yahweh for help in their trouble;
he saved them from their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and tore off their bonds.
15 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
16 for he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts through the bars of iron.
17 Fools, because of their rebellious way
and their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all food,
and they approached the gates of death.
19 Then they called to Yahweh for help in their trouble.
He saved them from their distresses.
20 He sent his word and healed them,
and he delivered them from their pits.[e]
21 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love,
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
22 and let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his works with rejoicing.
23 Those who went down to the sea into ships,
doing business on the high seas,[f]
24 they saw the works of Yahweh,
and his wonderful deeds in the deep.
25 For he spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
and it whipped up its waves.
26 They rose to the heavens; they plunged to the depths.
Their soul melted in their calamity.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
and they were at their wits’ end.[g]
28 Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distresses.
29 He made the storm be still
and their waves became calm.
30 Then they were glad because they grew silent,
so he guided them to their desired harbor.
31 Let them give thanks to Yahweh for his loyal love
and his wonderful deeds for the children of humankind,
32 and let them exalt him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a wilderness
and springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty place,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a wilderness into a pool of water
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 And he settles the hungry there,
so that they may establish a city to inhabit,
37 and sow fields and plant vineyards,
that they may yield fruit at harvest.[h]
38 And he blesses them and they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle become few.
39 When they become few and they are bent down
from the oppression of calamity and grief,
40 he pours contempt on princes
and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41 But he protects[i] the needy from misery,
and he makes their families like a flock.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, then let him observe these things,
and let them consider Yahweh’s acts of loyal love.
11 Be wise, my child, and make my heart glad,
and I will answer him who reproaches me with a word.
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