Old/New Testament
Chapter 24
Allegory of the Pot.[a] 1 On the tenth day of the tenth month, in the ninth year,[b] the word of the Lord came to me:(A) 2 Son of man, write down today’s date this very day, for on this very day the king of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem. 3 (B)Propose this parable to the rebellious house and say to them: Thus says the Lord God:
Put the pot on, put it on!
Pour in some water;
4 Add to it pieces of meat,
all choice pieces;
With thigh and shoulder,
with choice cuts fill it.
5 Choose the pick of the flock,
then pile logs beneath it;
Bring it to a boil,
cook all the pieces in it.(C)
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the city full of blood!(D)
A pot containing filth,
whose filth cannot be removed!
Take out its pieces one by one,
for no lot has fallen on their behalf.
7 For her blood is still in her midst;
on a bare rock she left it;
She did not pour it on the ground
to be covered with dirt.[c]
8 To arouse wrath, to exact vengeance,
I have left her blood on bare rock
not to be covered.
9 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the city full of blood!
I will make the pyre great!
10 Pile on the wood, kindle the fire.
Cook the meat, stir the spicy mixture,
char the bones!
11 Then set it empty on the coals,
to heat up until its copper glows,
So its impurities melt,
its filth disappears.
12 [d]The toil is exhausting,
but the great filth will not come out—
Filth, even with fire.
13 Even in defiling yourself with depravity
I would still have cleansed you,
but you would not have your impurity cleansed.
You will not be cleansed now
until I wreak my fury on you.(E)
14 I, the Lord, have spoken;
it will happen!
I will do it and not hold back!
I will not have pity or relent.
By your conduct and deeds you shall be judged—
oracle of the Lord God.
Ezekiel as a Sign for the Exiles. 15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 Son of man, with a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes, but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.(F) 17 Groan, moan for the dead, but make no public lament; bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet, but do not cover your beard or eat the bread of mourners.[e] 18 I spoke to the people in the morning. In the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I had been commanded.(G) 19 Then the people asked me, “Will you not tell us what all these things you are doing mean for us?” 20 I said to them, The word of the Lord came to me: 21 Say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the delight of your eyes, the concern of your soul. The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.(H) 22 [f]Then you shall do as I have done, not covering your beards nor eating the bread of mourning. 23 (I)Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet. You shall not mourn or weep, but you shall waste away because of your sins and groan to one another. 24 Ezekiel shall be a sign for you: everything he did, you shall do. When it happens, you shall know that I am the Lord God.
End of Ezekiel’s Muteness. 25 (J)As for you, son of man, truly, on the very day I take away from them their strength, their glorious joy, the delight of their eyes, the desire of their soul, the pride of their hearts, their sons and daughters, 26 on that day a survivor will come to you so that you may hear it with your own ears.(K) 27 On that day, with the survivor, your mouth shall be opened; you shall speak and be mute[g] no longer. You shall be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
III. Prophecies Against Foreign Nations[h]
Chapter 25[i]
Against Ammon. 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, turn toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.(L) 3 Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: Because you jeered at my sanctuary when it was desecrated, at the land of Israel when it was destroyed, and at the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore I am giving you to people from the east[j] as a possession. They shall set up their encampments among you and pitch their tents in your midst; they shall eat your produce and drink your milk.(M) 5 And I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and all of Ammon into a grazing place for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
6 For thus says the Lord God: Because you rejoiced over the land of Israel with scorn in your heart, clapping your hands and stamping your feet, 7 therefore, see, I am stretching out my hand against you and giving you up as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and wipe you out of the lands. I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.(N)
Against Moab. 8 (O)Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab said, “See! the house of Judah is like all the other nations,” 9 therefore, I am exposing the whole flank of Moab[k] with its cities, the jewels of its land: Beth-jesimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim. 10 I will hand it over, along with the Ammonites, to the people from the east that it may not be remembered among the nations. 11 I will execute judgment upon Moab that they may know that I am the Lord.(P)
Against Edom. 12 (Q)Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom took vengeance on the house of Judah and incurred terrible guilt by taking vengeance on them, 13 therefore thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it human being and beast alike. I will turn it into ruins from Teman to Dedan; they shall fall by the sword.(R) 14 I will put my vengeance against Edom into the hands of my people Israel; they will deal with Edom in accord with my furious anger. Thus they shall know my vengeance!—oracle of the Lord God.(S)
Against the Philistines. 15 Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines acted vengefully and exacted vengeance with intentional malice, destroying with undying hostility,(T) 16 therefore thus says the Lord God: See! I am stretching out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites[l] and wipe out the remnant on the seacoast. 17 Thus I will execute great acts of vengeance on them, punishing them furiously. Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I wreak my vengeance on them.
Chapter 26
Against the City of Tyre. 1 [m]On the first day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year, the word of the Lord came to me:
2 [n]Son of man, because Tyre said of Jerusalem:
“Aha! The gateway of the peoples is smashed!
It has been turned over to me;
I will be enriched by its ruin!”(U)
3 therefore thus says the Lord God:
See! I am coming against you, Tyre;
I will churn up against you many nations,
just as the sea churns up its waves.
4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre
and tear down its towers;
I will scrape off its debris
and leave it a bare rock.[o]
5 It will become a place for drying nets
in the midst of the sea.
For I have spoken—oracle of the Lord God:
she will become plunder for the nations.
6 Her daughter cities[p] on the mainland
will be slaughtered by the sword;
then they shall know that I am the Lord.
7 Indeed thus says the Lord God:
I am bringing up against Tyre
from the north, Nebuchadnezzar,
King of Babylon, king of kings,
with horses and chariots, with cavalry,
and a mighty horde of troops.(V)
8 Your daughter cities on the mainland
he shall slay with the sword.
He shall build a siege wall around you,
throw up a ramp against you,
and raise his shields about you.
9 He shall pound your walls with battering-rams
and break down your towers with his axes.
10 From the surging of his horses
he will cover you with dust;
from the noise of warhorses,
wheels and chariots.
Your walls will shake
when he enters your gates,
even as one enters a city that is breached.
11 With the hooves of his horses
he will trample all your streets;
Your people he will slay by the sword;
your mighty pillars will collapse.(W)
12 They shall plunder your wealth
and pillage your goods;
They will tear down your walls
and demolish your splendid houses.
Your stones, timbers, and debris
they will cast into the sea.
13 I will bring an end to the noise of your songs;
the music of your lyres will be heard no more.
14 I will turn you into bare rock,
you will become a place for drying nets.
You shall never be rebuilt,
for I the Lord have spoken—
oracle of the Lord God.
15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre:
At the sound of your downfall,
at the groaning of the wounded,
When victims are slain within you,
will the islands not quake?
16 All the princes of the sea[q]
will step down from their thrones,
Lay aside their robes,
and strip off their embroidered garments.
Clothed in mourning,
they will sit on the ground
And tremble, horror-struck
and appalled at you.(X)
17 They will raise lament[r] over you
and say to you:
How you have perished,
gone from the seas,
Renowned City!
Once she was mighty on the sea,
she and her inhabitants,
Those who spread their terror
to all who dwelt nearby.(Y)
18 On this, the day of your fall,
the islands quake!
The islands in the sea
are terrified at your passing.
19 Indeed thus says the Lord God:
When I make you a ruined city
like cities no longer inhabited,
When I churn up the deep
and its mighty waters cover you,
20 Then I will thrust you down
with those who go down to the pit,[s]
to those of the bygone age;
I will make you dwell in the netherworld,
in the everlasting ruins,
with those who have gone down to the pit,
So you will never return
or have a place in the land of the living.(Z)
21 I will make you a horror,
and you shall be no more;
You shall be sought for,
but never found again—
oracle of the Lord God.
Chapter 2
God’s House and People. 1 [a]Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, insincerity, envy, and all slander;(A) 2 like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, 3 (B)for you have tasted that the Lord is good.[b] 4 Come to him, a living stone,[c] rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God,(C) 5 and, like living stones, let yourselves be built[d] into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.(D) 6 For it says in scripture:
“Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone, chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.”(E)
7 Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:
“The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”(F)
8 and
“A stone that will make people stumble,
and a rock that will make them fall.”
They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.(G)
9 [e]But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.(H)
10 Once you were “no people”
but now you are God’s people;
you “had not received mercy”
but now you have received mercy.(I)
III. The Christian in a Hostile World
Christian Examples. 11 [f]Beloved, I urge you as aliens and sojourners[g] to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against the soul.(J) 12 Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Christian Citizens.[h] 13 Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king as supreme(K) 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the approval of those who do good. 15 For it is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Be free, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but as slaves of God.(L) 17 Give honor to all, love the community, fear God, honor the king.(M)
Christian Slaves. 18 [i]Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and equitable but also to those who are perverse.(N) 19 For whenever anyone bears the pain of unjust suffering because of consciousness of God, that is a grace. 20 But what credit is there if you are patient when beaten for doing wrong? But if you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered[j] for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.(O)
23 When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.(Q) 24 He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.(R) 25 For you had gone astray like sheep,(S) but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.[l]
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.