Old/New Testament
11 Moreover, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the East Gate of the LORD’s House, which lies eastward. And behold, at the entry of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah, the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, the princes of the people.
2 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men that imagine mischief, and devise wicked counsel in this city.
3 They say, ‘It is not near, to build houses. This is the caldron, and we are the flesh.’
4 “Therefore, prophesy against them, son of man. Prophesy!”
5 And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said to me: “Say, ‘Thus says the LORD: “O you House of Israel! This you have said. And I know that which rises up from your minds.
6 “You have murdered many in this city. And you have filled its streets with the slain.
7 ‘Therefore thus says the LORD God: “Those whom you have killed, and have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh; and this is the caldron. But I will bring you forth from the midst of it.
8 “You have feared the sword; and I will bring a sword upon you,” says the Lord GOD.
9 “And I will bring you out of its midst, and deliver you into the hands of strangers, and will execute judgments among you.
10 “You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you on the border of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD.
11 “This shall not be your caldron, nor shall you be the flesh in its midst. I will judge you on the border of Israel.
12 “And you shall know that I am the LORD! For you have not walked in My Statutes or executed My Judgments but have observed the ordinances of the heathen who are all around you.”’”
13 And after I prophesied, Pelatiah, the son of Benaiah, died. Then I fell down upon my face and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will You then utterly destroy all the remnant of Israel?”
14 The Word of the LORD came to me again, saying:
15 “Son of man. Your brethren, your relatives, your kinsmen, and all the House of Israel, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far away from the LORD! This land has been given to us as a possession!’
16 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far away, among the heathen; and although I have scattered them among the countries, I will still be to them as a little Sanctuary in the countries where they shall go.”’
17 “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you again from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered. And I will give you the land of Israel.
18 “And they shall come there; and they shall take away all its idols, and all its abominations from there.
19 “And I will give them one heart. And I will put a new spirit within their core. And I will take the stony heart out of their bodies. And will give them a heart of flesh,
20 “so that they may walk in My Statutes, and keep My Judgments, and execute them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
21 “But upon those whose heart is toward their idols, and whose affection goes after their abominations, I will lay their way upon their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.’”
22 Then, the Cherubim lifted up their wings, and the wheels with them, and the Glory of the God of Israel was upon them on high.
23 And the Glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood upon the mountain which is toward the east side of the city.
24 Afterward, the Spirit took me up and brought me, in a vision by the Spirit of God, into Chaldea, to those who were led away as captives. So the vision that I had seen went up from me.
25 Then I declared all the things that the LORD had shown me to those who had been led away as captives.
12 The Word of the LORD also came to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious House, which have eyes to see and do not see. They have ears to hear and do not hear. For they are a rebellious House.
3 “Therefore, you, son of man, prepare your stuff to go into captivity; and go forth by day, in their sight. And you shall pass from your place to another place, in their sight. It may be that they consider it, though they are a rebellious house.
4 “Then you shall bring forth your stuff by day, in their sight, as the stuff of him who goes into captivity. And you shall go forth in the evening, in their sight, as those who go forth into captivity.
5 “Dig through the wall in their sight and carry it out.
6 “You shall bear it upon your shoulders in their sight, carry it forth in the dark. You shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground. For I have set you as a sign to the House of Israel.”
7 And as I was commanded, so I brought forth my stuff by day, as the stuff of one who goes into captivity. And by night, I dug through the wall with my hand, and brought it forth in the dark. I bore it upon my shoulder, in their sight.
8 And in the morning, the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
9 “Son of man, has not the House of Israel, the rebellious House, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’
10 “Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “This burden concerns the chief in Jerusalem, and all the House of Israel who are among them.”’
11 “Say, ‘I am your sign. As I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into bondage and captivity.’
12 “And the chief among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the dark and shall go forth. They shall dig through the wall to carry it out. He shall cover his face, so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes.
13 “I will also spread My net over him; and he shall be taken in My net. And I will bring him to Babel, to the land of the Chaldeans. Yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there.
14 “And I will scatter all who are around him toward every wind, to help him, and all his garrisons. And I will draw out the sword after them.
15 “And they shall know that I am the LORD when I shall scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the countries.
16 “But I will save a small number of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the pestilence, so that they may declare all these abominations among the heathen, wherever they go. And they shall know that I am the LORD.”
17 Moreover, the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with trouble, and with carefulness.
19 “And say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD about the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and of the land of Israel: “They shall eat their bread with carefulness and drink their water with desolation. For the land shall be desolate from her abundance, because of the cruelty of those who dwell in it.
20 “And the cities that are inhabited shall be left empty. And the land shall be desolate. And you shall know that I am the LORD.”’”
21 And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
22 “Son of man, what is that proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are prolonged, and all visions fail?’
23 “Tell them, therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will make this proverb cease, and they shall no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.”’ But say to them, “The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.
24 “For there shall no longer be any false vision or flattering divination within the House of Israel.
25 “For I am the LORD. I will speak, and that thing that I shall speak shall come to pass. It shall no longer be delayed. For in your days, O rebellious House, I will say the thing and will perform it,” says the Lord GOD.’”
26 Again, the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
27 “Son of man, behold. Those of the House of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees, is for many days in the future; and he prophesies of the times that are far off.’
28 “Therefore, say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “All My Words shall no longer be delayed. But that thing which I have spoken shall be done,” says the Lord GOD.’”
13 And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy. And say to those who prophesy out of their own hearts, ‘Hear the Word of the LORD!’”
3 Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing.
4 “O Israel, your prophets are like the foxes in the waste places.
5 “You have not risen up in the gaps or made up the hedge for the House of Israel, to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD.
6 “They have seen vanity, and lying divination, saying, ‘The LORD says it!’ and the LORD has not sent them. And they hoped that their words would be confirmed.
7 “Have you not seen an empty vision? And have you not spoken a lying divination? You say, ‘The LORD says it!’ even though I have not spoken.”
8 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have spoken vanity and have seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you,” says the Lord GOD.
9 “And My Hand shall be upon the prophets who see vanity, and divine lies. They shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor shall they be written in the record of the House of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
10 “And therefore, because they have deceived My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ and there was no peace—and one builds up a wall and behold, the others daub it with untempered mortar—
11 “say to those who daub it with untempered mortar that it shall fall. There shall come a great shower; and I will send hailstones which shall cause it to fall. And a stormy wind shall break it.
12 “Lo, after the wall has fallen, shall it not be said to you, ‘Where is the daubing with which you have daubed it?’”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My wrath, and a great shower shall be in My anger and hailstones in indignation, to consume it.
14 “So I will destroy the wall that you have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation shall be uncovered. And it shall fall; and you shall be consumed in its midst. And you shall know that I am the LORD.
15 “Thus I will accomplish My wrath upon the wall, and upon those who have daubed it with untempered mortar, and will say to you, ‘The wall is no more, nor its daubers
16 ‘(to wit, the prophets of Israel, who prophesy upon Jerusalem and see visions of peace for it, and there is no peace),’ says the Lord GOD.
17 “Likewise, you son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own heart. And Prophesy against them, and say,
18 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the women who sew pillows into joints and make veils for the heads of people of every stature, to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people? And will you give life to the souls who come to you?
19 “And will you defame Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread—to slay the souls of those who should not die, and to give life to the souls who should not live—by lying to My people who hear your lies?”’”
20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against your pillows with which you hunt the souls, to make them flee. And I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, the souls that you hunt to make them flee.
21 “Also, I will tear your veils and deliver My people out of your hand. And they shall no longer be in your hands, to be hunted. And you shall know that I am the LORD.
22 “Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad (whom I have not made sad) and strengthened the hands of the wicked by promising him life, so that he would not return from his wicked way.
23 “Therefore, you shall see no more vanity or divine divinations. For I will deliver My people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the LORD.”
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
2 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials,
3 knowing that the trying of your faith brings forth patience.
4 And let patience have her perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives liberally to all and reproaches no one. And it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, and do not waver. For the one who wavers is like a wave of the sea, tossed by the wind and carried away.
7 Do not let that man think he shall receive anything from the Lord.
8 A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice, in that he is exalted;
10 likewise the one who is rich, in that he is made low. For as the flower of the grass, he shall vanish away.
11 For when the Sun rises with heat, the grass withers, its flower falls away and its good shape perishes. So, also, shall the rich man wither away in all his ways.
12 Blessed is the man who endures trials. For when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God.” For God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
14 But everyone is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and is enticed.
15 Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it is completed, brings forth death.
16 Make no mistake, my dear brothers.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no change or turning shadow.
18 Of His own will He begat us with the Word of Truth, so that we would be as the firstfruits of His creatures.
19 Therefore my dear brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
20 For the wrath of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore, put aside all filthiness and abundance of wickedness. In humility, receive the Word implanted in you which is able to save your souls.
22 And be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if any hear the Word, and does not do it, he is like a man who beholds his natural face in a mirror.
24 For after he has looked at himself, he goes his way and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues therein (not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work), he shall be blessed in his deed.
26 If anyone among you seems religious but does not refrain his tongue and deceives his own heart, their religion is vain.
27 Religion, pure and undefiled before God (even the Father) is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their adversity, and to keep oneself undefiled by the world.
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