Old/New Testament

A Prophecy against Idolatry

14 Later, some men from the elders of Israel came to visit me. After they had sat down in my presence, ² this message came to me from the Lord.

³ “Son of Man, these men have taken idols into their hearts. They’ve placed the stumbling block that is their own iniquity right in front of their faces. Should I be consulted by them at all? ⁴ Therefore, speak up and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says, “Every person from Israel’s house who follows his idols and sets the stumbling block that is his own sin in front of his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord will answer him according to how many idols he embraces. ⁵ I’ll do this in order to capture the hearts of Israel’s house who have become alienated from me due to all of their idols.”’”

An Exhortation to Turn Away

⁶ “Therefore you are to tell Israel’s house, ‘This is what the Lord God says, “Turn away! Turn away from your idols, and abandon your detestable practices! ⁷ For when a native Israeli or a resident alien abandons me to set up idols in his heart behind my back, and then places the stumbling block of his iniquity right in front of his own face, then approaches a prophet to inquire of me on behalf of his own self-interest, I, the Lord will answer him myself. ⁸ I’m determined to oppose that person^[a] and make him an example. Proverbs will be written about him^[b] when I eliminate him from my people. Then you’ll know that I am the Lord.”’”

On False Prophets

⁹ “Now as to the prophet, if through deceit he delivers a message, I the Lord have deceived that prophet! I’ll reach out in opposition to him and exterminate him from among my people Israel. ¹⁰ They’ll bear the consequences of their guilt, and the prophet will be just as guilty as the one who seeks that prophet’s guidance. ¹¹ Then Israel’s house won’t wander away from me again, nor will they defile themselves again with all their transgressions. They’ll become my people and I’ll be their God,” declares the Lord God.

On Noah, Daniel, and Job

¹² This message came to me from the Lord: ¹³ “Son of Man, when a nation^[c] sins against me by a treacherous act,^[d] I’ll reach out to oppose it, destroying its source of food,^[e] by sending famine against it, and by destroying both people and beast within it. ¹⁴ Though these three men, Noah, Daniel,^[f] and Job lived in that land, they would only save their own lives on account of their righteousness,” declares the Lord God.

¹⁵ “If I were to make wild animals pass throughout the land, so that they kill its residents^[g] and it were to become desolate because no one will travel through it due to those wild animals,^{[h] 16} then even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they wouldn’t be able to deliver even their sons or daughters. They would only save themselves, but the land would become desolate.

¹⁷ “Or if I were to bring war to^[i] that land and say, ‘Hey, sword! Pass throughout the land so I can destroy both man and beasts in it,’ ¹⁸ though these three men lived there, as I live,” declares the Lord God, “they couldn’t deliver their own sons and daughters. They would only save themselves.

¹⁹ “Or if I were to send a pestilence against that land and pour out my anger in it with bloodshed, destroying both man and beast in it, ²⁰ even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were among them, as I live” says the Lord God, “they couldn’t save their own sons or daughters. They would only save their own souls due to their own righteousness.”

²¹ This is what the Lord God says, “I’m sending four of my most destructive judgments—military invasion,^[j] famine, wild animals, and pestilence—into Jerusalem to destroy both human beings and livestock in it. ²² But look! There will be a remnant who escapes, a few sons and daughters to be brought out. Look! They’ll come out to you and you’ll see how they’ve lived and what they’ve done, and you’ll be comforted concerning the catastrophe that I brought on Jerusalem, including everything that I brought against her. ²³ They’ll comfort you when you see how they’ve lived and what they’ve done, because you’ll know for certain that I haven’t done anything that I’ve done against them without any reason,”^[k] declares the Lord God.

A Message about Vines

15 This message came to me from the Lord: ² “Son of Man, how does wood from a vine compare to a branch taken from any of the trees in the forest? ³ Is wood ever taken from it to make anything practical? Can it even be made into a peg to hang something on? ⁴ After all, it’s useful only for kindling a fire, isn’t it? And once you’ve burnt up the ends and charred through the middle of it, is it useful for anything else? ⁵ If it was useless before it was burned, now that it’s been burned and charred through, it’s even more useless!

⁶ Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Just as the wood from a grape vine is removed from the forest and used for kindling fires, I’m giving the inhabitants of Jerusalem over ⁷ to punishment. They may have escaped one fire, but the coming fire will burn them up completely, and they will know that I am the Lord, when I set myself in opposition to^[l] them ⁸ and dedicate the land to desolation because of their unfaithful unbelief,” declares the Lord God.

Do Not Show Partiality

2 My brothers, do not let your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus, the Messiah,^[a] be tainted by favoritism. ² Suppose a man wearing gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly,^[b] and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in. ³ If you give special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Please take this seat,” but you say to the poor man, “Stand over there” or “Sit on the floor at my feet,”^{[c] 4} then you will have made false distinctions among yourselves and will have judged from evil motives, will you not?

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not? ⁶ But you have humiliated the man who is poor. Are not rich people the ones who oppress you and drag you into court? ⁷ Are not they the ones who blaspheme the noble Name^[d] by which you have been called?

⁸ Nevertheless, you are doing the right thing if you obey the royal Law in keeping with the Scripture, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[e] 9} But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and will be convicted by the Law as violators. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole Law but fails in one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹ For the one who said, “Never commit adultery,”^[f] also said, “Never murder.”^[g] Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you become a violator of the Law. ¹² You must make it your habit to speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith is Shown by Actions

¹⁴ What good does it do, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but does not prove it with actions? This kind of faith cannot save him, can it? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister does not have any clothes or daily food ¹⁶ and one of you tells them, “Go in peace! Stay warm and eat heartily.” If you do not provide for their bodily needs, what good does it do? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it does not prove itself with actions, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone may say, “You have faith, and I have actions.” Show me your faith without any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear. ²⁰ Do you want proof, you foolish person, that faith without actions is worthless? ²¹ Our ancestor Abraham was justified by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar, wasn’t he? ²² You^[h] see that his faith worked together with what he did, and by his actions his faith was made complete. ²³ And so the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^[i] And so he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You^[j] observe that a person is justified through actions and not through faith alone. ²⁵ Likewise, Rahab the prostitute was justified through actions when she welcomed the messengers^[k] and sent them away on a different road, wasn’t she? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit^[l] is dead, so faith without actions is also dead.