Old/New Testament

The Lord’s Kindness to Jerusalem

16 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ² “Human being, tell Jerusalem about her hated actions. ³ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: Your beginnings and your ancestors were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite. And your mother was a Hittite. ⁴ On the day you were born, your cord^[a] was not cut. You were not washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt. You were not wrapped in cloths. ⁵ No one felt sorry for you. No one would do any of these things for you. No, you were thrown out into the open field. This is because you were hated on the day you were born.

⁶ “‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood. I said to you, “Live!” ⁷ I made you grow like a plant in the field. You grew up and became tall. You grew up and became like a beautiful jewel. Your breasts formed. Your hair grew. But you were naked and without clothes.

⁸ “‘Later I passed by you and looked at you. I saw that you were at the time for love. So I spread my robe over you and covered your nakedness. I also made a marriage promise to you. I entered into an agreement with you. Then you became mine, says the Lord God.

⁹ “‘Then I bathed you with water and washed all the blood off of you. I put oil on you. ¹⁰ I put beautiful clothes made with needlework on you. I put sandals of fine leather on your feet. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. ¹¹ I put jewelry on you. I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck. ¹² I also put a ring in your nose and earrings in your ears. And I put a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you wore gold and silver. Your dress was made of fine linen, silk and beautiful needlework. You ate fine flour, honey and olive oil. You were very beautiful and became a queen. ¹⁴ Then you became famous among the nations because you were so beautiful. Your beauty was perfect, because of the glory I gave you, says the Lord God.

Jerusalem Becomes a Prostitute

¹⁵ “‘But you trusted in your beauty. You became a prostitute because you were so famous. You had physical relations with anyone who passed by. ¹⁶ And you took some of your clothes and made your places of worship colorful. This is where you carried on your prostitution. These things should not have happened. They should never happen again. ¹⁷ You also took your beautiful jewelry. It was made from gold and silver I had given you. Then you made for yourselves male idols. And you were a prostitute with them. ¹⁸ Then you took your clothes with beautiful needlework and covered the idols. You gave my oil and incense as an offering to them. ¹⁹ Also, you took the bread I gave you. You took the fine flour, oil and honey I gave you to eat. And you offered them before the false gods as a pleasing smell. This is what happened, says the Lord God.

²⁰ “‘Also, you took your sons and daughters who were my children. And you sacrificed them to idols as food. Your sexual sins were not enough for you. ²¹ You killed my children and offered them up in fire to idols. ²² You did all your hated acts and sexual sins. But you did not remember when you were young. At that time you were naked and had no clothes. You were left in your blood.

²³ “‘How terrible! How terrible it will be for you, says the Lord God. This is what you did after all these evil things. ²⁴ You built yourself a place to worship false gods. You made for yourself a place of worship in every city square. ²⁵ You built a place of worship at the head of every street. You made your beauty hateful. You offered your body for sex to anyone who passed by. Your sexual sins became worse and worse. ²⁶ You also committed shameful acts with the Egyptians. They were your neighbors and partners in sexual sins. Your sexual sins became even worse. And they caused me to be angry. ²⁷ So then, I used my power against you. I took away some of your land. I let those who hated you defeat you. They were the Philistine women. Even they were ashamed of your evil ways. ²⁸ Also, you committed shameful acts with the Assyrians because you could not be satisfied. You sinned sexually with them, but you still were not satisfied. ²⁹ You did even more sexual sins in the land of Babylonia. The Babylonians were traders. But you were not satisfied even with this.

³⁰ “‘Truly your will is weak, says the Lord God. You do all the things a stubborn prostitute does. ³¹ You built your place to worship false gods at the beginning of every street. And you made places of worship in every city square. But you were not like a prostitute because you refused payment.

³² “‘You are a wife who is guilty of adultery. You desire strangers instead of your husband. ³³ Men pay prostitutes, but you pay all your lovers. You pay them to come to you. And they come from all around and sin sexually. ³⁴ So you are different from other prostitutes. No one acts like a prostitute the same way you do. You give money, and no money is given to you. Yes, you are different.

The Prostitute Is Judged

³⁵ “‘So, prostitute, hear the word of the Lord. ³⁶ This is what the Lord God says: You showed your riches to other countries. And you uncovered your body in your sexual sins with your lovers. And you even did it with all your hated idols. You killed your children and offered their blood to your idols. ³⁷ So I will gather all your lovers with whom you found pleasure. Yes, I will gather all those you loved and those you hated. Yes, I will gather them against you from all around. I will strip you naked in front of them. Then they will be able to see your nakedness. ³⁸ So I will punish you as judges punish women guilty of adultery. I will punish you as murderers are punished. I will put you to death because I am angry and jealous. ³⁹ I will also hand you over to your lovers. They will tear down your places of worship. They will destroy the places where you worship false gods. They will tear off your clothes and take away your jewelry. They will leave you naked and bare. ⁴⁰ They will bring a crowd against you. They will throw stones at you and cut you into pieces with their swords. ⁴¹ They will burn your houses with fire. They will punish you in front of many women. Then I will put an end to your sexual sins. And you will no longer pay your lovers. ⁴² Then I will rest from my anger against you. I will stop being jealous. I will be quiet and not angry anymore.

⁴³ “‘You didn’t remember when you were young. So you have made me angry in all these ways. And I will repay you for what you have done, says the Lord God. Didn’t you add sexual sins to all your other acts which I hate?

⁴⁴ “‘Everyone who uses wise sayings will say this about you: “The daughter is like her mother.” ⁴⁵ You are like your mother. She hated her husband and children. You are also like your sisters. They hated their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite. And your father was an Amorite. ⁴⁶ Now your older sister is Samaria. She lived north of you with her daughters. And your younger sister Sodom lived south of you with her daughters. ⁴⁷ You followed their ways. And you did what they did. But you were even worse than they were in everything you did. ⁴⁸ As surely as I live, says the Lord God, this is true. Your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.

⁴⁹ “‘This was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were proud. They had plenty of food. They lived in great comfort. But she did not help the poor and needy. ⁵⁰ So Sodom and her daughters were proud. And they did things I hate in front of me. So I got rid of them when I saw what they did. ⁵¹ Also, Samaria did not do half the sins you do. You have done more hated things than they did. So you make your sisters look good because of all the hated things you have done. ⁵² You will suffer disgrace because you have provided an excuse for your sisters. They are more right than you are. Your sins were even more terrible than theirs. Be ashamed and suffer disgrace because you made your sisters seem right.

⁵³ “‘But I will give Sodom and her daughters their riches back. I will give Samaria and her daughters their riches back. And with them I will also give you back your riches. ⁵⁴ But you will have to suffer disgrace. You will feel ashamed for all the things you have done. You even gave comfort to your sisters in their sins. ⁵⁵ Your sisters are Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters. They will return to what they were before. You and your daughters will also return to what you were before. ⁵⁶ You would not even mention your sister Samaria when you were proud. ⁵⁷ Nor would you mention her before your evil was uncovered. And now the Edomite women and their neighbors say bad things about you. Even the Philistine women say bad things about you. Those around you hate you. ⁵⁸ You will be punished for your sexual sins and actions that I hate, says the Lord.

God Keeps His Promises

⁵⁹ “‘This is what the Lord God says: I will give you what you should have. You hated and broke the marriage agreement. ⁶⁰ But I will remember my agreement I made with you when you were young. I will make an agreement that will continue forever with you. ⁶¹ Then you will remember what you have done. You will be ashamed when you receive your sisters—both your older and your younger sisters. I will give them to you like daughters. But it will not be because of my agreement with you. ⁶² I will set up my agreement with you. And you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶³ You will remember and be ashamed. You will not open your mouth again because of your shame. This is because I will forgive you for all the things you have done, says the Lord God.’”

The Eagle and the Vine

17 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ² “Human being, give a riddle. Tell a story to the people of Israel. ³ Say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: A great eagle came to Lebanon. He had great wings with long feathers of many different colors. The eagle took hold of the top of a cedar tree. ⁴ He pulled off the top branch. And he brought it to a land of traders. The eagle planted it in a city of traders.

⁵ “‘The eagle took a young plant from the land. And he planted it in a good field near plenty of water. He planted it to grow like a willow tree. ⁶ The plant grew and became a low vine that spread over the ground. The vine’s branches turned toward the eagle. The vine’s roots were under the eagle. So the plant became a vine. And its branches grew, sending out leaves.

⁷ “‘But there was another eagle with great wings and many feathers. The vine then bent its roots toward this eagle. The vine also sent out its branches toward the eagle so he could water it. The vine turned away from the area where it was planted. ⁸ It was planted in a good field. It was by plenty of water so it could grow branches and give fruit. It could have become a fine vine.’

⁹ “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: The vine will not continue to grow. The first eagle will pull up the vine’s roots and strip off its fruit. Then the vine will dry up. All its new leaves will dry up and die. It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull the vine up by its roots. ¹⁰ It might be planted again. But it will not continue to grow. It will completely die when the east wind hits it. It will dry up in the area where it grew.’”

Zedekiah Against Nebuchadnezzar

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke his word to me. He said: ¹² “Say now to the people who refuse to obey: ‘Do you know what these things mean?’ Say: ‘The king of Babylon came to Jerusalem. He took the king and important men of Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon. ¹³ Then he took a member of the family of the king of Judah. He made an agreement with him. The king of Babylon made this person promise to support him. The king also took away the leaders of Judah. ¹⁴ He did this to make the kingdom of Judah weak so it would not be strong again. Then the kingdom of Judah could continue only by keeping its agreement with the king of Babylon. ¹⁵ But the king of Judah turned against the king of Babylon. The king of Judah sent his messengers to Egypt. He asked the Egyptians for horses and many soldiers. Will the king of Judah succeed? Will the one who does such things escape? He cannot break the agreement and escape.

¹⁶ “‘As surely as I live, says the Lord God, he will die in Babylon. He will die in the land of the king who made him king of Judah. The king of Judah hated his promise. He broke his agreement with the king of Babylon. ¹⁷ The king of Egypt will not help the king of Judah in the war. He will not help with his mighty army and many people. The Babylonians will build devices to attack the cities and to kill many people. ¹⁸ The king of Judah showed that he hated the promise by breaking the agreement. He promised to support Babylon, but he did all these things. So he will not escape.

¹⁹ “‘So this is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, this is true: I will pay back the king of Judah for hating my promise and breaking my agreement. ²⁰ I will spread my net over him. He will be caught in my trap. Then I will bring him to Babylon. There I will judge him for the unfaithful acts he did against me. ²¹ And all the best of his soldiers who escape will die by the sword. Those who live will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.

²² “‘This is what the Lord God says: I myself will also take a young branch from the top of a cedar tree. And I will plant it. I will cut off a small twig. It will be from the top of the tree’s young branches. I will plant it on a high and great mountain. ²³ I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel. Then it will grow branches and give fruit. And it will become a great cedar tree. Birds of every kind will build nests in it. They will live in the shelter of the tree’s branches. ²⁴ Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the Lord. I am the one who brings down the high tree. I make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree. And I make the dry tree grow. I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it.’”

Controlling the Things We Say

3 My brothers, not many of you should become teachers. You know that we who teach will be judged more strictly than others. ² We all make many mistakes. If there were a person who never said anything wrong, he would be perfect. He would be able to control his whole body, too. ³ We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. We can control their whole bodies. ⁴ It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. The man who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. The ship goes where the man wants. ⁵ It is the same with the tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it brags about doing great things.

A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. ⁶ And the tongue is like a fire. It is a whole world of evil among the parts of our bodies. The tongue spreads its evil through the whole body. It starts a fire that influences all of life. The tongue gets this fire from hell. ⁷ People can tame every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have tamed them. ⁸ But no one can tame the tongue. It is wild and evil. It is full of poison that can kill. ⁹ We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people. And God made them like himself. ¹⁰ Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers, this should not happen. ¹¹ Do good and bad water flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers, can a fig tree make olives? Can a grapevine make figs? No! And a well full of salty water cannot give good water.

True Wisdom

¹³ Is there anyone among you who is truly wise and understanding? Then he should show his wisdom by living right. He should do good things without being proud. A wise person does not brag. ¹⁴ But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. ¹⁵ That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. ¹⁶ Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. Then it is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. ¹⁸ When people work for peace in a peaceful way, they receive the good result of their right living.