Old/New Testament

The Boiling Pot

24 The Word of the Lord came to me on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year, saying, ² “Son of man, put down in writing this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has shut Jerusalem in with his army this very day. ³ And tell a picture-story to these sinful people of Israel. Tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “Put the pot on the fire. Put it on, and pour water in it. ⁴ Put all the good pieces of meat in it, the thigh, the shoulder. And fill it with the best bones. ⁵ Take the best of the flock. Put more and more wood under the pot to make it boil, and boil the bones in it.”

⁶ ’For the Lord God says, “It is bad for the city of blood, for the rusted pot whose rust has not been cleaned out of it! Take the pieces of meat out of it without choosing them. ⁷ For the blood of the city has been poured on the rock. It was not poured on the ground where the dust would cover it. ⁸ I have put the blood on the rock where it could not be covered, so that it would cause anger and punishment.” ⁹ So the Lord God says, “It is bad for the city of blood! I will put much wood on the fire. ¹⁰ Put on more and more wood, and make the fire burn. Boil the meat well. Mix in the spices, and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹ Now set the empty pot on the coals until it becomes hot and its brass becomes bright with the heat. Then what is not clean in it will melt away. Its rust will be destroyed. ¹² But it has been all for nothing. Its rust has not left it, not even by fire. ¹³ It is sin that makes you unclean. I have tried to make you clean, but you would not be made clean from your sins. So you will not be clean again until My anger against you is finished. ¹⁴ I, the Lord, have spoken. The time has come for Me to act. I will not hold back, I will not pity, and I will not be sorry. I will punish you for your ways and for what you have done,” says the Lord God.’”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

¹⁵ The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the desire of your eyes. But do not have sorrow or loud crying or any tears. ¹⁷ Cry inside yourself. Do not show sorrow for the dead. Put your head-covering on. Put your shoes on your feet. Do not cover your face or eat the bread of those in sorrow.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did as I was told. ¹⁹ And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?” ²⁰ So I said to them, “The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ²¹ ’Tell the people of Israel, “The Lord God says, ‘I am about to let sin fill My holy place, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes, and the happiness of your soul. And your sons and daughters you have left behind will be killed by the sword. ²² Then you will do as I have done. You will not cover your face or eat the bread of those in sorrow. ²³ Your heads will be covered and your shoes will be on your feet. You will not have sorrow or cry. But you will waste away in your sins and cry in pain to one another. ²⁴ So Ezekiel will be something special for you to see. You will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord God.’”

²⁵ ‘Son of man, I will take away their strong-place that was their joy and pride, the desire of their eyes and the things their hearts wanted most. And I will take away their sons and their daughters. ²⁶ On that day, one who gets away will come to you with the news. ²⁷ That same day your mouth will be opened. You will speak with him and no longer be quiet. So you will be something special for them to see, and they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Word against Ammon

25 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, look toward the Ammonites and speak against them. ³ Tell them, ‘Hear the Word of the Lord God! The Lord God says, “Because you were happy when My holy place was made unclean, and when the land of Israel was made waste, and when the people of Judah were taken away, ⁴ I am going to give you to the people of the east. They will put up their tents among you and live among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵ I will turn the city of Rabbah into a field for camels, and Ammon into a resting place for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ⁶ For the Lord God says, “Because you have clapped your hands and crushed under your feet and showed your joy because of your hate for Israel, ⁷ I have put out My hand against you. I will give you away to the nations. And I will destroy you from the nations and from the lands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

Word against Moab

⁸ ‘The Lord God says, “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘See, Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ I will lay waste the side of Moab, beginning with these cities there, Beth-jeshimoth, Baalmeon, and Kiriathaim, the best of the country. ¹⁰ I will give it to the people of the east, as I did with Ammon, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations. ¹¹ I will punish Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Word against Edom

¹² ‘The Lord God says, “Because Edom has fought against Judah in its anger, and has become very guilty by doing so,” ¹³ the Lord God says, “I will put out My hand against Edom and kill its men and their animals. I will destroy it and they will fall by the sword from Teman to Dedan. ¹⁴ I will punish Edom by the hand of My people Israel. They will act in My anger against Edom, and Edom will know My anger,” says the Lord God.

Word against Philistia

¹⁵ ‘The Lord God says, “Because the Philistines have fought to destroy Judah with the lasting anger that is in their hearts,” ¹⁶ the Lord God says, “I will put out My hand against the Philistines. And I will destroy the Cherethites and those left beside the sea. ¹⁷ I will punish them in My anger, and they will know that I am the Lord when I punish them.”’”

Word against Tyre

26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Son of man, Tyre has said this about Jerusalem, ‘O, the gate to the nations is broken. It has opened to me. I will do well, now that she is laid waste.’ ³ So the Lord God says, ‘I am against you, O Tyre. And I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. Then I will clean away what is left from her and make her nothing but rock. ⁵ She will be a place to spread fish nets out in the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God. ‘The nations will take her riches. ⁶ And her villages on the land across the sea from her will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

⁷ For the Lord God says, “I will bring Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north. He will come with horses, war-wagons, horsemen, and a large army. ⁸ And he will kill with the sword those in your villages. He will build battle-walls around you. He will build up earth so they can go over your walls. He will build walls and make battle-coverings around you. ⁹ He will roll down large objects to knock down your walls, and will break down your towers with axes. ¹⁰ There will be so many horses that you will be covered by their dust. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wheels and war-wagons, when he comes through your gates as men come into a city that has been broken open. ¹¹ The feet of his horses will run all over your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² They will take your riches and good things as prizes of war. They will break down your walls and destroy your beautiful houses. And they will throw your stones and wood into the sea. ¹³ I will put an end to the music of your songs. And the sound of your harps will be heard no more. ¹⁴ I will make you nothing but rock. You will be a place for nets to be spread. You will never be built again, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.

¹⁵ The Lord God says to Tyre, “Will not the lands beside the sea shake at the sound of your fall, when those who have been hurt cry in pain, when your people are killed? ¹⁶ Then all the leaders of the sea will step down from their thrones and take off their beautiful clothing. They will clothe themselves with fear. They will sit on the ground and not be able to stop shaking, full of fear and wonder because of you. ¹⁷ They will cry in sorrow for you and say, ‘How you have been destroyed from the seas, O well-known city where many people once lived! You were powerful on the sea. You and all your people who lived here were filled with fear. ¹⁸ Now the islands shake in fear on the day of your fall. Yes, the lands which are by the sea are afraid because of how you are destroyed.’” ¹⁹ The Lord God says, “I will lay waste your city and make you like a destroyed city where no one lives. I will bring up the deep sea over you, and the many waters will cover you. ²⁰ Then I will send you down with those who go down to the grave, to the people of long ago. I will make you stay in the lower parts of the earth, like in waste places of long ago, with those who go down to the grave. So you will not have people living in you, and you will not have a place in the land of the living. ²¹ I will fill you with fear and destroy you. People will look for you, but you will never be found again,” says the Lord God.

Food for Christians

2 Put out of your life hate and lying. Do not pretend to be someone you are not. Do not always want something someone else has. Do not say bad things about other people. ² As new babies want milk, you should want to drink the pure milk which is God’s Word so you will grow up and be saved from the punishment of sin. ³ If you have tasted of the Lord, you know how good He is.

The Living Stone

⁴ Come to Christ as to a living stone. Men have put Him aside, but He was chosen by God and is of great worth in the sight of God. ⁵ You are to be as living stones in the building God is making also. You are His religious leaders giving yourselves to God through Jesus Christ. This kind of gift pleases God. ⁶ The Holy Writings say, “See, I lay down in Jerusalem a Stone of great worth, worth far more than any amount of money. Anyone who puts his trust in Him will not be ashamed.” ^{(A) 7} This Stone is of great worth to you who have your trust in Him. But to those who have not put their trust in Him, the Holy Writings say, “The Stone which the workmen put aside has become the most important part of the building.” ^{(B) 8} The Holy Writings say, also, “Christ is the Stone that some men will trip over and the Rock over which they will fall.” When they do not obey the Word of God, they trip over it. This is what happens to such men. ⁹ But you are a chosen group of people. You are the King’s religious leaders. You are a holy nation. You belong to God. He has done this for you so you can tell others how God has called you out of darkness into His great light. ¹⁰ At one time you were a people of no use. Now you are the people of God. At one time you did not have loving-kindness. Now you have God’s loving-kindness.

¹¹ Dear friends, your real home is not here on earth. You are strangers here. I ask you to keep away from all the sinful desires of the flesh. These things fight to get hold of your soul. ¹² When you are around people who do not know God, be careful how you act. Even if they talk against you as wrong-doers, in the end they will give thanks to God for your good works when Christ comes again.

Obey the Leaders

¹³ Obey the head leader of the country and all other leaders over you. This pleases the Lord. ¹⁴ Obey the men who work for them. God sends them to punish those who do wrong and to show respect to those who do right. ¹⁵ This is what God wants. When you do right, you stop foolish men from saying bad things. ¹⁶ Obey as men who are free but do not use this to cover up sin. Live as servants owned by God at all times. ¹⁷ Show respect to all men. Love the Christians. Honor God with love and fear. Respect the head leader of the country.

Servants

¹⁸ Servants, you are to respect your owners and do what they say. Do this if you have a good and kind owner. You must do it even if your owner is hard to work for. ¹⁹ This shows you have received loving-favor when you are even punished for doing what is right because of your trust in God. ²⁰ What good is it if, when you are beaten for doing something wrong, you do not try to get out of it? But if you are beaten when you have done what is right, and do not try to get out of it, God is pleased. ²¹ These things are all a part of the Christian life to which you have been called. Christ suffered for us. This shows us we are to follow in His steps. ²² He never sinned. No lie or bad talk ever came from His lips. ²³ When people spoke against Him, He never spoke back. When He suffered from what people did to Him, He did not try to pay them back. He left it in the hands of the One Who is always right in judging. ²⁴ He carried our sins in His own body when He died on a cross. In doing this, we may be dead to sin and alive to all that is right and good. His wounds have healed you! ²⁵ You were like lost sheep. But now you have come back to Him Who is your Shepherd and the One Who cares for your soul.