Old/New Testament
Ezekiel must warn his people
33 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, speak to your people. Say to them, “Think about what might happen if I send an army to attack a country. The people of that country might choose one of their own men to be a guard to warn them about danger.[a] 3 Then, if the guard sees that enemy soldiers are ready to attack, he must blow a trumpet to warn his people. 4 Someone might hear the sound of the trumpet, but he does nothing to keep himself safe. If enemy soldiers then come and kill that person, he is guilty of his own death. 5 He deserves to die because he heard the sound of the trumpet, but he did nothing. When the trumpet warned him of danger, he should have got ready. If he had done that, he would have saved his life. 6 But the guard might not blow the trumpet when he sees the enemy. He might not warn his people that the enemy is ready to attack them. Then enemy soldiers might kill some of his people. Those people will die because of their sins. But the guard will be guilty of their death, because he did not warn them of danger.”
7 Son of man, I have chosen you to be a guard for Israel's people. You must listen to the messages that I give you. Then you must use what I say to warn the Israelites. 8 I might say to a wicked person, “You will certainly die because of your sins.” Then you must warn that wicked person to stop doing wicked things. If you do not warn him, he will die because of his sins. But I will say that you are guilty of his death. 9 If you do warn him and he refuses to change, he will die because of his sins. But you will have saved your own life.
10 Son of man, give Israel's people this message: “You are saying, ‘The punishment for our sins is too much for us. We are dying because of all the bad things that we have done. What should we do so that we can continue to live?’ ”
11 Tell them, “It does not make me happy to punish wicked people with death. I, the Almighty Lord, promise you this, as surely as I live. I want wicked people to stop doing wrong things so that they may continue to live. So stop doing evil things! Israel's people, you do not have to die. Turn back to me!”
12 Son of man, you must say to your people, “If a righteous person refuses to obey me, I will punish him. The good things that he has done will not save him. And if a wicked person stops doing bad things, he will no longer be guilty. Righteous people will not continue to live if they start to do bad things.”
13 I may say to righteous people that they will certainly continue to live. But then they may trust in the good things that they have done. They may think that I will not punish them if they start to do evil things. But if they do that, I will destroy them because of their sins. I will not even think about the good things that they did at an earlier time.
14 Also, I may say to wicked people, “You will certainly die because of your sins.” But then they may stop doing bad things. They may start to do things that are good and right. 15 For example, a wicked person might give back something that he has taken from someone as a guarantee. Or he might give back things that he has robbed from people. A wicked person might start to obey the laws that give life. He might stop doing evil things. If wicked people change like that, then they will continue to live. They will not die as punishment for their sins. 16 I will not think about the sins that they have done. Now that they have started to do things that are good and right, they will certainly continue to live.
17 Your people, the Israelites, are saying: “The Lord is not fair in the things that he does!” But it is the people themselves who live in a way that is not fair. 18 If a righteous person stops doing good things and he starts to do evil things, he will die. He deserves to die because of his sins. 19 Also, if a wicked person stops doing bad things and he starts to do things that are good and right, he will continue to live. He deserves to live because he has changed. 20 But you Israelites continue to say, “The Lord is not fair!” But I will judge each of you in a way that you deserve for the things that you have done.’
Ezekiel hears news about Jerusalem
21 This is what happened 12 years after we had come to Babylon as prisoners. It was on the 5th day of the 10th month of that year. A man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me in Babylon.[b] He said, ‘Enemies have taken Jerusalem for themselves.’ 22 Before that man arrived, the Lord had taken hold of me in the night. He had opened my mouth so that I was able to speak again.[c]
23 Then the Lord gave this message to me:
24 ‘Son of man, there are people who continue to live in the places in Israel that have become heaps of stones. Those Israelites are saying, “Abraham was only one man, but God gave him the whole land of Israel. We are many people. So we can be sure that the land now belongs to us.”
25 Because they say that, you must tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: You eat meat which still has blood in it. You worship your idols. You also murder people. So you do not deserve to have the land for yourselves. 26 You use violence to get the things that you want. You do disgusting things. You have sex with other men's wives. So you should certainly not have the land!”
27 Say to them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: I promise you this, as surely as I live. Soldiers will kill the people who live among the heaps of stones. I will cause wild animals to eat the people who live in the fields. Diseases will kill the people who hide in strong buildings and in caves. 28 I will make the land become empty, like a desert. You will no longer be proud of your power. Israel's mountains will become empty places that nobody travels through. 29 I will cause the land to become heaps of stones where nobody lives. I will do that to punish the people for the disgusting things that they have done. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
30 Son of man, the Israelites who are here with you in Babylon are talking about you. They meet together near the walls of the city and at the doors of their houses. They are saying to each other, “Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.”
31 They are my people and they come as a crowd to listen to you. They sit and they listen to your words. But they do not obey what you say. They say that they love me. But really they like to cheat people to get things for themselves. 32 They like to hear your voice. For them, you are like someone who sings beautiful songs about love. They listen to your words but they do not obey them.
33 All these things that I have said will certainly happen. When my people see them happen, they will know that a prophet has lived among them.’
Israel's leaders are like shepherds
34 The Lord gave this message to me: 2 ‘Son of man, you must speak my message to the shepherds of Israel to warn them.[d] Tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Terrible trouble will come to you shepherds of Israel who only think about yourselves. Shepherds should take care of the sheep and feed them. 3 You drink their milk and you use their wool to make clothes for yourselves. You kill the best animals to eat. But you do not take care of the sheep! 4 You have not helped the weak sheep to be strong. You have not made the sick sheep well. Nor have you covered their wounds. You have not looked for lost sheep and brought them back. Instead, you have ruled my people in a cruel way. 5 So my sheep ran away to different places because they did not have a shepherd to take care of them. Then the wild animals found them and ate them. 6 My sheep went over all the mountains and the high hills. They went to places everywhere on the earth. And nobody went to look for them and bring them back again.
7 So, you shepherds, listen to the Lord's message. 8 My sheep do not have any shepherds to take care of them. So they are not safe from danger. They have become food for all the wild animals. You, my shepherds, have not gone to look for the sheep that were lost. You only wanted to help yourselves instead of my sheep. So I, the Almighty Lord, promise you this, as surely as I live. 9 You shepherds, listen to the Lord's message! 10 The Almighty Lord says this: I have become the shepherds' enemy. I will take my sheep away from them. I will no longer allow them to be shepherds. They will not be able to kill my sheep to feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep, so that the shepherds cannot eat them.
11 So this is what the Almighty Lord says: I myself will go and look for my sheep to bring them back. 12 I will be like a shepherd who looks everywhere to find his lost sheep. I will find them and I will rescue them. I will bring them back from the places that they have run away to. It was a dark day with many clouds when they ran away. 13 They have been living in foreign countries among other people. I will bring them back to live in their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel. They will eat beside its rivers and in all the places where people live. 14 I will feed them in fields on Israel's mountains where grass grows. They will lie down in the good fields. They will eat the green grass that grows on the mountains. 15 I myself will take care of my sheep. I will give them safe places to lie down and rest. I, the Almighty Lord, say this. 16 I will find the lost sheep and I will bring them back. I will cover their wounds. I will help those who are weak to become strong. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will give them justice as their food!
17 This is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to you, my sheep: I will judge you. I will decide which of you are good and which of you are bad. I will judge between male sheep and goats. 18 You bad sheep make sure that you have plenty of good grass to eat. But then you spoil the other grass so that no other sheep can eat it. You have clean water to drink. But then you spoil the water which remains. It is too dirty for other sheep to drink. 19 Because of that, my sheep eat grass that you have spoiled. They drink water that you have made dirty with your feet.
20 So this is what I, the Almighty Lord, say to the sheep: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. 21 You fat sheep use your shoulders to push the other sheep away. You attack the weak sheep with your horns so that they run away. 22 Because you do this, I will rescue my sheep. They will no longer be in danger from other animals. I will judge between one sheep and another sheep.
23 Then I will choose one shepherd to lead them. He is my servant, David. He will take care of them as their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God. My servant David will be their ruler. I, the Lord, have said this.[e]
25 I will make an agreement with them, that I will give them peace. I will remove the dangerous wild animals from the land. Then they can live there safely, even in the wilderness. They will not be afraid when they sleep in the forests. 26 I will bless them with many good things as they live around my holy hill. I will send rain at the proper time each year. The rain will bring my blessings to them. 27 The trees in the fields will give them fruit to eat. Crops of food will grow in the ground. The people will live safely in their land. I will take away the power of those who were cruel to them. I will rescue them from the people who made them their slaves. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 28 They will no longer be in danger from other nations. Wild animals will no longer eat them. They will live safely and nobody will cause them to be afraid. 29 I will give them a land that is famous for its good crops. So famine will never cause them to suffer in that land. Other nations will no longer insult them. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them. They will know that they are my people, the Israelites. That is what the Almighty Lord says.
31 You are my people and I take care of you, as a shepherd takes care of his sheep. You are my people and I am your God. That is what the Almighty Lord says.” ’
Peter writes to leaders and young men
5 Now I want to say something to you who are leaders of the groups of believers. Like you, I am also a leader. I myself saw how people caused Christ to have great pain so that he died. One day people will see how great he really is. Then I will be among those people who join with him in heaven. So I say this to you who are leaders: 2 Watch over the group of believers that God has given to you. Be like a shepherd that takes care of his sheep. Lead them well because you want to do it. Do not do it just because you have to do it. Do it in the way that God wants for you. Do not be a leader because you want to receive money for yourself. Instead, do it because you want to help people.
3 God has given you a group of believers to take care of them. Do not try to rule over them with power. Instead, show them how to live in a good way, so that they can copy you. 4 Then our master, Christ, will give you a beautiful crown when he appears. That is a great gift that will never become old or less beautiful. He is the great Shepherd who takes care of us.[a]
5 I want to say the same thing to you who are young men. You must respect the authority of the leaders. All of you who are believers must respect one another. Do not think that you are more important than other people. The Bible says:
‘God is against proud people.
But he is kind to humble people.’[b]
6 Remember that God is strong and powerful. So be humble in front of him. Then he will lift you up to a good place at the right time. 7 If you have any kind of trouble in your mind, give it to God. God has promised to take care of you.[c]
8 Think seriously about how you live. Watch carefully for danger. Remember that the Devil is your enemy. He wants to hurt you. He walks about like a hungry lion. He is looking for someone to kill and then eat them! 9 But you must be strong to fight against him. Trust God completely. Remember this: Believers all over the world are having the same kind of trouble. 10 Yes, you will have trouble like this for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He is completely kind and he will always help you. Because you belong to Christ, God has chosen you to live with him in heaven for ever. You will join him in that beautiful place. Then God will make you well again. He will make you strong in your spirits. You will be able to stand strongly. 11 Yes, God rules with power for ever! Amen! This is true!
Peter finishes his letter
12 Silas has helped me to write this short letter to you. I know that he continues to trust Christ well.[d] I have written to you because I want you to be strong. I have told you how God is kind to us and he helps us. This is God's true message to you. So continue to believe it and be strong.
13 The believers here in Babylon say ‘hello’ to you.[e] God has chosen them as his people, together with you. Mark, who is like my son, also says ‘hello’ to you. 14 When you meet, kiss each other as Christian brothers and sisters.
I pray for all of you who belong to Christ. I pray that God will give you peace in your minds.
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