Old/New Testament
Warnings for Watchmen
33 This message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of Man, speak to your nation’s children and tell them: ‘If I bring war[a] to a land, and the people of that land appoint one of their conscripted men[b] to serve as a sentinel, 3 and if he notices that violence[c] is approaching and sounds an alarm to warn the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the sound of the alarm does not heed the warning, when the sword arrives and destroys him, his shed blood will remain his own responsibility.[d] 5 After all, he heard the alarm sounding, but did not heed the warning, so his shed blood will remain his own responsibility.[e] If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved himself.[f] 6 If that sentinel notices that violence is approaching, but does not sound an alarm, then because the nation does not take warning and the sword arrives and destroys their lives because of their guilt, I’ll seek retribution for their shed blood from the[g] one who was acting as sentinel.’”
Warning for Ezekiel
7 “Now as for you, Son of Man, I’ve established you as a sentinel for the house of Israel. So whenever you hear a message from me,[h] you are to warn the people[i] from me. 8 If I should say to a certain wicked person, ‘You wicked man, you’re certainly about to die,’ but you don’t warn him to turn from his wicked behavior,[j] he’ll die in his guilt, but I’ll seek retribution for his bloodshed from you.[k] 9 However, if you warn the wicked to turn from his behavior[l] and he does not do so, he will die in his guilt, and you will have saved yourself.”[m]
God Hates the Death of the Wicked
10 “‘Now, Son of Man, tell this to the house of Israel:
‘You keep saying, “Our crimes and sins burden us so much that we’re rotting away, so how can we keep on living?”’
11 “Tell them, ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living,’ declares the Lord God, ‘I receive no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Instead, my pleasure is that the wicked repent from their behavior[n] and live. Turn back! Turn back, all of you, from your wicked behavior! Why do you have to die, you house of Israel?’”
Human Effort is Useless in Sustaining Righteousness
12 “And now, Son of Man, say this to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous won’t save them when they keep on committing crimes against me, the wickedness of the wicked won’t keep them from remaining away[o] when they’re turning from their wickedness, and no righteous person will keep on living by their righteousness when they sin.’
13 “If I tell the righteous person that he will certainly live, if he trusts in his own righteousness and commits evil, none of his righteousness will be remembered, and he will die because of the wrong that he commits.
14 “If I tell the wicked person that he will certainly die, if he turns from his sin and acts with justice and righteousness, 15 returning what has been placed as collateral for a loan, paying back what he has taken, following the regulations that promote life, and committing no iniquity, he will certainly live, and not die. 16 None of the sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. Since he did what is just and right, he will certainly live.
17 “Nevertheless, your people’s children keep saying, ‘Living life the Lord’s way[p] isn’t right,’ when all the while it is their way of living[q] that isn’t right. 18 When a righteous man forsakes his own righteousness and commits evil acts, he will die because of those acts, 19 and when the wicked turn away from their wickedness and do what is just and right, he will certainly live because of that. 20 “And yet you keep saying, ‘Living life[r] the Lord’s way isn’t right,’ But I will judge every one of you according to the way you live, you house of Israel!”
False Reliance on Abraham’s Heritage
21 On the fifth day of the tenth month of the twelfth year of our captivity, a fugitive who had escaped from Jerusalem came and informed me, “The city has been destroyed.”
22 Now the hand of the Lord had been touching me the evening before that fugitive arrived, so the Lord had given me something to say by the time the messenger[s] arrived the next morning. He opened my mouth and I no longer had nothing to say to him.[t] 23 As a result, this message came to me from the Lord:
24 “Son of Man, those who are living among these ruins of the land of Israel keep saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, but he was able to possess the land! As for us, we’re a multitude, and the land has been given to us as an inheritance.’ 25 So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “You keep eating flesh along with its blood, you keep looking to your idols, and you keep shedding blood, and you’re going to take possession of the land? 26 You keep trusting in your weapons, you continue to commit loathsome deeds, men keep defiling their neighbors’ wives, and you’re going to take possession of the land?’
27 “Tell them this: ‘This is what the Lord God says: “As certainly as I’m alive and living, those who live in the wastelands are certain to die violently,[u] I’ll give those who die in the open fields to the wild animals for food, and whoever takes refuge in caves and fortified places will die of diseases. 28 Then I’ll turn the land into a desolate ruin and her arrogant strength will come to an abrupt end. The mountains of Israel will become so desolate that no one will be able to travel over them.” 29 ‘Then they’ll learn that I am the Lord, when I’ve turned their land into a desolate wasteland because of all of the loathsome deeds that they’ve committed.’”
The Disobedient Exiles of Babylon
30 “Now as for you, Son of Man, your nation’s children keep gathering together to talk about you beside the walls and at the doorway to their houses. Everyone tells one another, ‘Please come! Let’s go hear what the Lord has to say!’ 31 Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words—and then they don’t do what you say—[v] because they’re seeking only their own desires,[w] they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests. 32 As far as they are concerned, you sing romantic songs with a beautiful voice and play a musical instrument well. They’ll listen to what you have to say, but they won’t put it into practice! 33 When all of this comes about—and you can be sure that it will!—they’ll learn that a prophet has been in their midst.”
Israel’s False Shepherds
34 A message came from the Lord for me, and it had this to say: 2 “Son of Man, prophesy against Israel’s shepherds. Tell those shepherds, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn’t shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You’re eating the best parts,[x] clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering the home-grown sheep without having fed the sheep! 4 You haven’t strengthened the weak, treated the sick, set broken bones, regathered the scattered, or looked for the lost. Instead, you’ve dominated them with brutal force and ruthlessness.
5 “Since they have no shepherd, they have been scattered around and have become prey for all sorts of wild animals. How scattered they are! 6 My sheep have gone wandering on all of the mountains, on all of the hills, and throughout every high place in the whole world, with no one to look for them or go out in search of them.
7 “Therefore listen to what the Lord says, you shepherds: 8 ‘As certainly as I’m alive and living, my sheep have truly become victims, food for all of the wild animals because there are no shepherds. My shepherds did not go searching for my flock. Instead, the shepherds fed themselves, and my flock they would not feed!’
9 “Therefore, you shepherds, listen to what the Lord says: 10 ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Watch out, I’m coming after you shepherds! I’m going to demand my sheep back from them[y] and fire them as shepherds. The shepherds won’t be shepherds anymore when I snatch my flock right out of their mouths so they can’t be eaten by them anymore.”’”
The Coming True Shepherd
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Watch me! I’m going to search for my flock. I’ll watch over them myself. 12 Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I’m going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they’ve been scattered during the times of gloom and doom.[z] 13 I’m going to bring them out from foreign[aa] nations and from foreign lands. Then I’ll bring them to their own land and feed them in Israel—on the mountains, in their valleys, and in all of their settlements throughout the land. 14 I’ll feed them in excellent pastures, and even the very heights of Israel’s mountains will serve as verdant pastures for them in which they’ll rest and feed—yes, even on the fertile mountains of Israel! 15 I will feed my sheep and give them rest,’ declares the Lord God. 16 ‘I’m going to seek both the lost as well as the scattered, and bring them both back so their broken bones can be set and the sick can be healed. But in righteousness I’ll exterminate the fat and the stiff-necked.’”
God’s Message to His Sheep
17 “Now as for you, my flock, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Watch out! I’m going to judge between one sheep and another, and between the rams and the goats. 18 Is it such an insignificant thing to you that you’re feeding in good pastures but trampling down the other pastures with your feet? Or that as you’re drinking from the clear streams you’re muddying the rest with your feet? 19 My flock is grazing on what you’ve been treading down with your feet and they’re drinking what you’ve been making muddy with your feet!’
20 “Therefore this is what the Lord God says to them: ‘Watch me! I’m going to judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep, 21 since you’ve been bumping aside all the weaker sheep with your backsides and shoulders, butting them with your horns until they’re scattered around outside. 22 That’s how I’ll save my sheep so they won’t be plundered any longer. I’m going to judge between one sheep and another.’”
God’s Shepherd: His Servant David
23 “‘Then I’ll install one shepherd for them—my servant David—and he will feed them, will be there for them, and will serve as their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will rule among them as Prince.’ I, the Lord, have spoken this.
25 “I’m going to enter into a covenant with them, one of peace, and I’ll eliminate wild beasts from the land so they can live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests. 26 I’m going to make[ab] them and everything that surrounds my hill[ac] a blessing. I’ll send down the rain! At the appropriate time there will be a rainstorm of blessing! 27 I’ll bring fruit to the trees in the orchards, the land will yield its produce, they will live securely on their land, and they will learn that I am the Lord, when I break the bar that has been their yoke and deliver them from the control of those who have enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will settle down confidently, with nothing to frighten them. 29 I’m going to prepare for them the best of gardening spots. They will no longer live as victims in a land of starvation, nor will they have to bear the insults of the international community. 30 That’s when they’ll learn that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people,’ declares the Lord God. 31 ‘And as for you, my sheep, the flock that I’m pasturing, you are mankind, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord God.”
Be Shepherds of God’s Flock
5 Therefore, as a fellow elder, a witness of the Messiah’s[a] sufferings, and one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over it, not because you must but because you want to, and not greedily but eagerly, as God desires. 3 Do not lord it over the people entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. 4 Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the victor’s crown of glory that will never fade away.
Be Humble and Alert
5 In a similar way, you young people must submit to the elders.[b] All of you must clothe yourselves with humility for the sake of each other, because:
“God opposes the arrogant,
but gives grace to the humble.”[c]
6 Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time he may exalt you. 7 Throw all your worry on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent, the Devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him and be firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you by the Messiah[d] Jesus[e] to his eternal glory, will restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and support you. 11 Power belongs[f] to him forever and ever! Amen.
Final Greeting
12 Through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is to be the true grace of God in which you are to stand firm! 13 Your sister church[g] in Babylon, chosen along with you, sends you greetings, as does Mark, whom I regard as a son. 14 Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace be to all of you who are in the Messiah![h]
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