Old/New Testament
Condemnation of Israel’s Idolatrous Elders
14 And men from the elders of Israel came to me, and they sat before me.[a] 2 And the word of Yahweh came[b] to me, saying,[c] 3 “Son of man,[d] these men took up their idols into their heart and they placed before themselves[e] a stumbling block of their guilt.[f] Should I really let myself be consulted by them?[g] 4 Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and places before himself[h] a stumbling block of his guilt[i] and yet he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act[j] with respect to the multitude[k] of his idols, 5 so that I may take hold of the house of Israel by their heart, those who are estranged from me, all of them, through their idols.’ 6 Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Return,[l] and turn away from your idols and from all of your detestable things! Turn away your faces!”’ 7 For each person[m] from the house of Israel, and from the alien who dwells as an alien in Israel, who separates himself from following me[n] and brings up his idols into his heart and places before himself[o] a stumbling block of his guilt[p], and yet he comes to the prophet to consult him concerning me, I Yahweh will answer[q] him myself. 8 And I will set my face against that person, and I will make him to[r] be a sign and make him into[s] the subject of proverbs; and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you will know I am Yahweh. 9 And the prophet, if he is deceived and he speaks a word, I Yahweh, I have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him, and I will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they will bear their guilt, like[t] the guilt of the inquirer so[u] the guilt of the prophet will be, 11 so that the house of Israel will not go astray again from me,[v] and they will not make themselves unclean again with all of their transgressions, and they will be for me a people, and I will be for them as God,” declares[w] the Lord Yahweh.
Jerusalem will not be Spared
12 And the word of Yahweh came[x] to me, saying,[y] 13 “Son of man,[z] when a land sins against me by acting very unfaithfully,[aa] then I will stretch out my hand against it, and I will break for it the supply of food,[ab] and I will send against it famine, and I will cut it off, both human and animal. 14 And if even the three of these men were in the midst of it—Noah, Daniel, and Job—they, through their righteousness, would save only themselves!”[ac] declares[ad] the Lord Yahweh. 15 “If a fierce animal I should let cross through the land, and it should make it childless and it will be a desolation, so that there will not be one crossing over the land due to[ae] the presence of the animal, 16 even if these three men were in the midst of it, as surely as I live,”[af] declares[ag] the Lord Yahweh, “surely they will not save sons and daughters; they themselves alone,[ah] they will be saved, but the land will be a desolation. 17 Or, if I bring a sword over that land, and I say, ‘Sword, let it cross over into[ai] the land!’ And I will cut off from it both human and animal. 18 And if these three men were in the midst of it, as surely as I live,”[aj] declares[ak] the Lord Yahweh, “they will not save sons and daughters, but they alone[al] will be saved. 19 And if I were to send a plague to that land, and I pour out my rage on it with blood to cut it off, both human and animal, 20 and if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the midst of her, as surely as I live,”[am] declares[an] the Lord Yahweh, “surely not a son, surely not a daughter will they save by their righteousness; they would save themselves.”[ao] 21 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: “How much more when I send my four punishments—the evil sword, and famine, and a fierce animal, and a plague—to Jerusalem to cut it off, both human and animal! 22 But[ap] look! A remnant will be left over in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out.[aq] Look! They are coming out to you, and you will see their way, and with their deeds you will be consoled with respect to[ar] the evil that I brought over Jerusalem, all of it that I brought over[as] it. 23 And they will console you when you see their way and their deeds, and you will know that not for nothing I did all that I did in it,” declares[at] the Lord Yahweh.
Jerusalem a Useless Vine
15 And the word of Yahweh came[au] to me, saying,[av] 2 “Son of man, how will the wood of the vine be better than[aw] any of the wood of[ax] the branch which is among the trees of the forest?[ay] 3 Can wood be taken from it to make anything, or can they take a tent peg from it to hang on it any object?[az] 4 Look! It is given to the fire as fuel. The fire will consume two of its ends, and its middle will be charred. Is it useful for anything? 5 Look! When it is in perfect condition,[ba] it will not be used for anything, how much less[bb] when the fire has consumed it[bc] and it is charred; and then can it be used again for anything? 6 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Just like[bd] the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest[be] which I gave to the fire for fuel, so I have given the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 And I will set my face against them. From the fire they mayescape,[bf] but the fire will yet consume them, and they will know that I am Yahweh when I set my face against them.[bg] 8 And I will make the land a desolation because they acted very unfaithfully!”[bh] declares[bi] the Lord Yahweh.
Partiality Forbidden
2 My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. 2 For if someone[a] enters into your assembly[b] in fine clothing with a gold ring on his finger, and a poor person in filthy clothing also enters, 3 and you look favorably on the one wearing the fine clothing and you say, “Be seated here in a good place,” and to the poor person you say, “You stand or be seated there[c] by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts? 7 Do they themselves not blaspheme the good name of the one to whom you belong[d]?
8 However, if you carry out the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”[e] you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and thus[f] are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point only has become guilty of all of it. 11 For the one who said “Do not commit adultery”[g] also said “Do not murder.”[h] Now if you do not commit adultery but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 Thus speak and thus act as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith and Works
14 What is the benefit, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have works? That faith is not able to save him, is it?[i] 15 If a brother or a sister is poorly clothed and lacking food for the day, 16 and one of you should say to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well[j],” but does not give them what is necessary for the body, what is the benefit? 17 Thus also faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.”[k] Show me your faith apart from your[l] works, and I will show you my[m] faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe, and shudder! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he[n] offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working together with his works, and by the works the faith was perfected. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness,”[o] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And likewise was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she[p] welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software