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Historical

Read the books of the Bible as they were written historically, according to the estimated date of their writing.
Duration: 365 days
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Version
Ezekiel 21-23

Chapter 21

The Sword of the Lord. The word of the Lord came to me: [a]Son of man, turn your face to the south: preach against the south, prophesy against the forest land in the south. Say to the forest in the south: Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: See! I am kindling a fire in you that shall devour every green tree as well as every dry tree. The blazing flame shall not be quenched so that from south to north every face shall be scorched by it. All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.(A)

But I said, “Ah! Lord God, they are saying about me, ‘Is not this the one who is forever spinning parables?’” Then the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, turn your face toward Jerusalem: preach against its sanctuary, prophesy against the land of Israel.(B) Say to the land of Israel: Thus says the Lord: See! I am coming against you; I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.[b] Thus my sword shall come out from its scabbard against all flesh from south to north 10 and all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its scabbard. It cannot return again.(C)

Act Symbolic of the City’s Fall. 11 As for you, son of man, groan! with shattered loins and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 12 When they ask you, “Why are you groaning?” you shall say: Because of what I heard![c] When it comes every heart shall melt, every hand fall helpless; every spirit will grow faint, and every knee run with water. See, it is coming, it is here!—oracle of the Lord God.

Song of the Sword. 13 The word of the Lord came to me:(D) 14 Son of man, prophesy! say: Thus says the Lord:

A sword, a sword has been sharpened,
    a sword, a sword has been burnished:(E)
15 Sharpened to make a slaughter,
    burnished to flash lightning!
Why should I stop now?
    You have rejected the rod and every judgment!
16 I have given it over to the burnisher
    that he might hold it in his hand,
A sword sharpened and burnished
    to be put in the hands of an executioner.
17 Cry out and howl, son of man,
    for it is destined for my people,
For all the princes of Israel,
    victims of the sword with my people.
Therefore, slap your thigh,[d]
18     for it is tested, and why not?
Since you rejected my staff,
    should it not happen?—
    oracle of the Lord God.
19 As for you, son of man, prophesy,
    and clap your hands!
Let the sword strike twice, a third time.
    It is a sword of slaughter,
A sword for slaughtering,
    whirling around them all,
20 That every heart may tremble;
    for many will be made to stumble.
At all their gates
    I have stationed the sword for slaughter,
Made it flash lightning,
    drawn for slaughter.
21 Slash to the right!
    turn to the left,
    Wherever your edge is directed!(F)
22 Then I, too, shall clap my hands,[e]
    and spend my fury.
I, the Lord, have spoken.

Nebuchadnezzar at the Crossroads. 23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 Son of man, make for yourself two roads over which the sword of the king of Babylon can come. Both roads shall start out from the same land. Then put a signpost at the head of each road 25 so the sword can come to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah and its fortress, Jerusalem. 26 For the king of Babylon is standing at the fork of the two roads to read the omens:[f] he shakes out the arrows, inquires of the teraphim, inspects the liver.(G) 27 Into his right hand has fallen the lot marked “Jerusalem”:[g] to order the slaughter, to raise the battle cry, to set the battering rams against the gates, to throw up a ramp, to build siege works. 28 In the eyes of those bound by oath this seems like a false omen; yet the lot taken in hand exposes the wickedness for which they, still bound by oath, will be taken in hand.

29 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because your guilt has been exposed, your crimes laid bare, your sinfulness revealed in all your deeds—because you have been exposed, you shall be taken in hand.(H) 30 And as for you, depraved and wicked prince of Israel, a day is coming to end your life of crime.(I) 31 Thus says the Lord God: Off with the turban and away with the crown! Nothing shall be as it was! Exalt the lowly and bring the exalted low! 32 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I shall make it! Nothing will be the same until the one comes to whom I have given it for judgment.(J)

To the Ammonites.[h] 33 As for you, son of man, prophesy: Thus says the Lord God to the Ammonites and their insults:

O sword, sword drawn for slaughter,
    burnished to consume, to flash lightning!
34 Your false visions and lying omens,
Set you over the necks of the slain,
    the wicked whose day had come—
    an end to their life of crime.
35 Return to your scabbard!
    In the place you were created,
In the land of your origin,
    I will judge you.
36 I will pour out my anger upon you,
    breathing my fiery wrath against you;
I will hand you over to ravagers,
    artisans of destruction!
37 You shall be fuel for the fire,
    your blood shall flow throughout the land;
You shall not be remembered,
    for I, the Lord, have spoken.

Chapter 22

Crimes of Jerusalem. The word of the Lord came to me: You,[i] son of man, will you judge? will you judge the city of bloodshed? Then make known all its abominations, and say: Thus says the Lord God: O city that sheds blood within itself so that its time has come, that has made idols for its own defilement: By the blood you shed you have become guilty, and by the idols you made you have become defiled. You have brought on your day, you have come to the end of your years. Therefore I make you an object of scorn for the nations and a laughingstock for all lands.(K) Those near and those far off will mock you: “Defiled of Name! Queen of Tumult!” See! the princes of Israel within you use their power to shed blood.[j] Within you, father and mother are dishonored; they extort the resident alien in your midst; within you, they oppress orphans and widows.(L) What I consider holy you have rejected, and my sabbaths you have desecrated. [k]In you are those who slander to cause bloodshed; within you are those who feast on the mountains; in your midst are those whose actions are depraved.(M) 10 In you are those who uncover the nakedness of their fathers; in you those who coerce women to intercourse during their period.(N) 11 (O)There are those in you who do abominable things with their neighbors’ wives, men who defile their daughters-in-law by incest, men who coerce their sisters to intercourse, the daughters of their own fathers. 12 There are those in you who take bribes to shed blood. You exact interest and usury; you extort profit from your neighbor by violence. But me you have forgotten—oracle of the Lord God.(P)

13 See, I am clapping my hands because of the profits you extorted and the blood shed in your midst. 14 Will your heart remain firm, will your hands be strong, in the days when I deal with you? I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will act! 15 I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you over other lands, so that I may purge your filth. 16 In you I will allow myself to be desecrated in the eyes of the nations; thus you shall know that I am the Lord.

17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 [l]Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead within a furnace; they have become the dross from silver.(Q) 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because all of you have become dross, See! I am gathering you within Jerusalem. 20 Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are gathered within a furnace to be blasted with fire to smelt it, so I will gather you together in my furious wrath, put you in, and smelt you.(R) 21 When I have assembled you, I will blast you with the fire of my anger and smelt you with it. 22 Just as silver is smelted in a furnace, so you shall be smelted in it. Thus you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.

23 The word of the Lord came to me: 24 [m]Son of man, say to her: You are an unclean land receiving no rain at the time of my fury. 25 A conspiracy of its princes is like a roaring lion tearing prey; they devour people, seizing their wealth and precious things, making many widows within her.(S) 26 Her priests violate my law and desecrate what I consider holy; they do not distinguish between holy and common, nor teach the difference between unclean and clean; they pay no attention to my sabbaths, so that I have been desecrated in their midst.(T) 27 (U)Within her, her officials are like wolves tearing prey, shedding blood and destroying lives to extort profit. 28 (V)And her prophets cover them with whitewash, seeing false visions and performing lying divinations, saying, “Thus says the Lord God,” although the Lord has not spoken. 29 The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they wrong the poor and the needy, and oppress the resident alien without justice. 30 Thus I have searched among them for someone who would build a wall or stand in the breach before me to keep me from destroying the land; but I found no one. 31 Therefore I have poured out my fury upon them; with my fiery wrath I have consumed them, bringing down their ways upon their heads—oracle of the Lord God.

Chapter 23

The Two Sisters. (W)The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother.(X) Even as young girls, they were prostitutes, serving as prostitutes in Egypt. There the Egyptians fondled their breasts and caressed their virgin nipples.(Y) Oholah was the name of the elder, and the name of her sister was Oholibah.[n] They became mine and gave birth to sons and daughters.(Z) As for their names: Samaria was Oholah and Jerusalem, Oholibah. (AA)Oholah became a prostitute while married to me and lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians: warriors dressed in purple, governors and officers, all of them handsome young soldiers, mounted on horses. She gave herself as a prostitute to them, to all the Assyrian elite; with all those for whom she lusted, she also defiled herself with their idols. She did not abandon the prostitution she had begun with the Egyptians, who had lain with her when she was young, fondling her virgin breasts and pouring out their lust upon her.(AB) Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, to the Assyrians for whom she lusted. 10 (AC)They exposed her nakedness; her sons and daughters they took away, and her they killed with the sword. She became a byword for women because of the sentence carried out against her.

11 Although her sister Oholibah saw all this, her lust was more depraved than her sister’s; she outdid her in prostitution.(AD) 12 She too lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officers, warriors impeccably clothed, mounted on horses, all of them handsome young soldiers.(AE) 13 I saw that she had defiled herself—now both had gone down the same path. 14 She went further in her prostitution: She saw male figures drawn on the wall, images of Chaldeans drawn with vermilion, 15 with sashes tied about their waists, flowing turbans on their heads, all looking like chariot warriors, images of Babylonians, natives of Chaldea. 16 As soon as she set eyes on them she lusted for them, and she sent messengers to them in Chaldea.(AF) 17 The Babylonians came to her, to her love couch; they defiled her with their impurities. But as soon as they had defiled her, she recoiled from them. 18 When her prostitution was discovered and her shame revealed, I recoiled from her as I had recoiled from her sister. 19 But she increased her prostitution, recalling the days of her youth when she had served as a prostitute in the land of Egypt. 20 She lusted for the lechers of Egypt, whose members are like those of donkeys, whose thrusts are like those of stallions.

21 You reverted to the depravity of your youth, when Egyptians fondled your breasts, caressing your young nipples. 22 Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: I will now stir up your lovers against you, those from whom you recoiled, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the men of Babylon and all of Chaldea, Pekod, Shoa and Koa,[o] along with all the Assyrians, handsome young soldiers, all of them governors and officers, charioteers and warriors, all of them horsemen. 24 They shall invade you with armor, chariots and wagons, a horde of peoples; they will array against you on every side bucklers and shields and helmets. I will give them the right of judgment, and they will judge you according to their standards.(AG) 25 I will direct my jealousy against you, so that they deal with you in fury, cutting off your nose and ears; what is left of you shall fall by the sword. They shall take away your sons and daughters, and what is left of you shall be devoured by fire. 26 They shall strip off your clothes and seize your splendid jewelry. 27 I will put an end to your depravity and to your prostitution from the land of Egypt; you shall no longer look to them, nor even remember Egypt again.

28 For thus says the Lord God: I am now handing you over to those whom you hate, to those from whom you recoil. 29 They shall treat you with hatred, seizing all that you worked for and leaving you stark naked, so that your indecent nakedness is exposed.(AH) Your depravity and prostitution 30 brought these things upon you because you served as a prostitute for the nations, defiling yourself with their idols.(AI)

31 Because you followed your sister’s path, I will put her cup into your hand.[p](AJ)

32 Thus says the Lord God:(AK)
The cup of your sister you shall drink,
    deep and wide;
It brings ridicule and mockery,
    it holds so much;
33 You will be filled with drunkenness and grief—
    A cup of horror and devastation,
    the cup of your sister Samaria;
34 You shall drink it dry,
    its very sherds you will gnaw;
And you shall tear out your breasts;
    for I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God.

35 Therefore thus says the Lord God: You have forgotten me and cast me behind your back; now suffer for your depravity and prostitution.

36 [q]Then the Lord said to me: Son of man, would you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then make known to them their abominations.(AL) 37 For they committed adultery, and blood covers their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; even the children they bore for me they burnt as food for them. 38 And they also did this to me: on that day, they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my sabbaths. 39 On the very day they slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered my sanctuary to desecrate it. Thus they acted within my house!(AM) 40 Moreover, they sent for men who had to come from afar; when a messenger was sent to them, they came. On their account you bathed, painted your eyes, and put on jewelry.(AN) 41 You sat on a magnificent couch, set before it a table, on which to lay my incense and oil. 42 The cries of a mob! The shouts of men coming in from the wilderness! They put bracelets on the women’s arms and splendid crowns on their heads. 43 I said: “That worn-out one still has adulteries in her! Now they engage her as a prostitute and she…” 44 And indeed they did come in to her as men come in to a prostitute. Thus they came to Oholah and Oholibah, the depraved women. 45 The righteous shall certainly punish them with sentences given to adulterers and murderers, for they committed adultery, and blood is on their hands.(AO)

46 Indeed, thus says the Lord God: Raise up an army against them and hand them over to terror and plunder. 47 The army will stone them and hack them to pieces with their swords. They will kill their sons and daughters and set fire to their houses. 48 Thus I will put an end to depravity in the land, and all women will be warned not to imitate your depravity. 49 They shall inflict on you the penalty of your depravity, and you shall pay for your sins of idolatry. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.(AP)

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.