Old/New Testament
Chapter 11
Death for the Remnant in Jerusalem. 1 The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord facing east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men; among them I saw the public officials Jaazaniah, son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, son of Benaiah. 2 The Lord said to me: Son of man, these are the men who are planning evil and giving wicked counsel in this city. 3 They are saying, “No need to build houses! The city is the pot, and we are the meat.”[a](A) 4 Therefore prophesy against them, son of man, prophesy! 5 Then the spirit of the Lord fell upon me and told me to say: Thus says the Lord: This is how you talk, house of Israel. I know the things that come into your mind! 6 You have slain many in this city, filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: The slain whom you piled up in it, that is the meat, the pot is the city. But you I will bring out of it.(B) 8 You fear the sword—that sword I will bring upon you—oracle of the Lord God.(C) 9 I will bring you out of the city, hand you over to foreigners, and execute judgments against you. 10 By the sword you shall fall. At the borders of Israel I will judge you so that you will know that I am the Lord. 11 The city shall not be a pot for you, nor shall you be meat within it. At the borders of Israel I will judge you,(D) 12 so you shall know that I am the Lord, whose statutes you did not follow, whose ordinances you did not keep. Instead, you acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.
13 While I was prophesying, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, dropped dead. I fell down on my face and cried out in a loud voice: “Alas, Lord God! You are finishing off what remains of Israel!”[b](E)
Restoration for the Exiles. 14 The word of the Lord came to me: 15 [c]Son of man, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are saying about all your relatives, the other exiles, and all the house of Israel, “They are far away from the Lord. The land is given to us as a possession.”(F) 16 Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I have indeed sent them far away among the nations, scattered them over the lands, and have been but little sanctuary for them in the lands to which they have gone. 17 Therefore, thus says the Lord God, I will gather you from the nations and collect you from the lands through which you were scattered, so I can give you the land of Israel.(G) 18 They will enter it and remove all its atrocities and abominations. 19 (H)And I will give them another heart and a new spirit I will put within them. From their bodies I will remove the hearts of stone, and give them hearts of flesh, 20 so that they walk according to my statutes, taking care to keep my ordinances. Thus they will be my people, and I will be their God.(I) 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their atrocities and abominations, I will bring their conduct down upon their heads—oracle of the Lord God.
22 Then the cherubim lifted their wings and the wheels alongside them, with the glory of the God of Israel above them.(J) 23 [d]The glory of the Lord rose up from the middle of the city and came to rest on the mountain east of the city.(K) 24 In a vision, the spirit lifted me up and brought me back to the exiles in Chaldea, by the spirit of God. The vision I had seen left me,(L) 25 and I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.(M)
Chapter 12
Acts Symbolic of the Exile. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear. They are such a rebellious house!(N) 3 Now, son of man, during the day while they watch, pack a bag for exile,[e] and again while they watch, go into exile from your place to another place; perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house. 4 During the day, while they watch, bring out your bag, an exile’s bag. In the evening, again while they watch, go out as if into exile.(O) 5 While they watch, dig a hole through the wall[f] and go out through it. 6 While they watch, shoulder your load and go out in darkness. Cover your face so you cannot see the land, for I am making you a sign for the house of Israel!(P)
7 I did just as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my bag, an exile’s bag. In the evening while they watched, I dug a hole through the wall with my hands and set out in darkness, shouldering my load.
8 In the morning, the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that house of rebels, say, “What are you doing?”(Q) 10 Tell them: Thus says the Lord God: This load is the prince in Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel within it. 11 Say, I am a sign for you: just as I have done, so it shall be done to them; into exile, as captives they shall go.(R) 12 The prince among them shall shoulder his load in darkness and go out through the hole they dug in the wall to bring him out. His face shall be covered so that he cannot even see the ground.(S) 13 (T)I will spread my net over him and he shall be caught in my snare. I will bring him into Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans, though he shall not see it,[g] and there he shall die. 14 All his retinue, his aides and all his troops, I will scatter to the winds and pursue them with the sword.(U) 15 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.(V) 16 But I will let a few of them escape the sword, starvation, and plague, so that they may recount all their abominations among the nations to which they go. Thus they may know that I am the Lord.[h]
17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 Son of man, eat your bread trembling and drink your water shaking with fear.(W) 19 And say to the people of the land:[i] Thus says the Lord God about the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: they shall eat their bread in fear and drink their water in horror, because the land will be emptied of what fills it—the lawlessness of all its inhabitants. 20 Inhabited cities shall be in ruins, the land a desolate place. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
Prophecy Ridiculed. 21 The word of the Lord came to me: 22 Son of man, what is this proverb you have in the land of Israel: “The days drag on, and every vision fails”?[j](X) 23 Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to that proverb; they shall never use it again in Israel. Say to them instead: “The days are at hand and every vision fulfilled.”(Y) 24 No longer shall there be any false visions or deceitful divinations within the house of Israel,(Z) 25 for whatever word I speak shall happen without delay. In your days, rebellious house, whatever I speak I will bring about—oracle of the Lord God.(AA)
26 The word of the Lord came to me: 27 Son of man, listen! The house of Israel is saying, “The vision he sees is a long time off; he prophesies for distant times!”(AB) 28 Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord God: None of my words shall be delayed any longer. Whatever I say is final; it shall be done—oracle of the Lord God.
Chapter 13
Against the Prophets of Peace. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, prophesy! Say to those who prophesy their own thoughts: Hear the word of the Lord!(AC) 3 Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those prophets, the fools who follow their own spirit and see nothing.(AD) 4 Like foxes among ruins are your prophets, Israel! 5 You did not step into the breach, nor repair the wall around the house of Israel so it would stand firm against attack on the day of the Lord. 6 False visions! Lying divinations! They say, “The oracle of the Lord,” even though the Lord did not send them. Then they expect their word to be confirmed!(AE) 7 Was not the vision you saw false? Did you not report a lying divination when you said, “Oracle of the Lord,” even though I never spoke? 8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore, for certain I am coming at you—oracle of the Lord God. 9 My hand is against the prophets who see false visions and who make lying divinations. They shall not belong to the community of my people. They shall not be written in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.(AF)
10 Because they led my people astray, saying, “Peace!” when there is no peace, and when a wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,[k] 11 say then to the whitewashers: I will bring down a flooding rain; hailstones shall fall, and a stormwind shall break forth.(AG) 12 When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked: “Where is the whitewash you spread on it?”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God: In my fury I will let loose stormwinds; because of my anger there will be flooding rain, and hailstones will fall with destructive wrath.(AH) 14 I will tear down the wall you whitewashed and level it to the ground, laying bare its foundations. When it falls, you shall be crushed beneath it. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord. 15 When I have poured out my fury on the wall and its whitewashers, it will fall. Then I will say to you: No wall! No whitewashers— 16 the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem and see visions of peace for it when there is no peace—oracle of the Lord God.(AI)
Against Witches. 17 As for you, son of man, now set your face against the daughters of your people who play the prophet from their own thoughts, and prophesy against them.(AJ) 18 You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to those who sew amulets for the wrists of every arm and make veils[l] for every head size to snare lives! You ensnare the lives of my people, even as you preserve your own lives! 19 You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and crumbs of bread,[m] slaying those who should not be slain, and keeping alive those who should not live, lying to my people, who listen to lies. 20 Therefore thus says the Lord God: See! I am coming after your amulets by which you ensnare lives like prey. I will tear them from your arms and set free the lives of those you have ensnared like prey.(AK) 21 I will tear off your veils and deliver my people from your power, so that they shall never again be ensnared by your hands. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord. 22 Because you discourage the righteous with lies when I did not want them to be distressed, and encourage the wicked so they do not turn from their evil ways and save their lives,(AL) 23 therefore you shall no longer see false visions or practice divination again. I will deliver my people from your hand. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.
I. Address
Chapter 1
1 [a]James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.(A)
II. The Value of Trials and Temptation
Perseverance in Trial. 2 (B)Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,[b] 3 for you know that the testing[c] of your faith produces perseverance. 4 And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom,[d] he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.(C) 6 But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.(D) 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
9 The brother in lowly circumstances[e] should take pride in his high standing,(E) 10 and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away “like the flower of the field.”(F) 11 For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Temptation. 12 (G)Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation,[f] for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him. 13 [g]No one experiencing temptation should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one.(H) 14 Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.
16 [h]Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers: 17 all good giving and every perfect gift[i] is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. 18 (I)He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.[j]
III. Exhortations and Warnings
Doers of the Word. 19 Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear,[k] slow to speak, slow to wrath,(J) 20 for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.(K) 21 Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.(L)
22 Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.(M) 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. 24 He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law[l] of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.(N)
26 [m]If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue[n] but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.(O) 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows[o] in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.(P)
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.