Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁵ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

¹⁶ Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke: and thou shalt not lament, nor weep: neither shall thy tears run down.

¹⁷ Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead: let the tire of thy head be upon thee, and thy shoes on thy feet, and cover not thy face, nor eat the meat of mourners.

¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening: and I did in the morning as he had commanded me.

¹⁹ And the people said to me: Why dost thou not tell us what these things mean that thou doest?

²⁰ And I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me, saying:

²¹ Speak to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will profane my sanctuary, the glory of your realm, and the thing that your eyes desire, and for which your soul feareth: your sons, and your daughters, whom you have left, shall fall by the sword.

²² And you shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your faces, nor shall you eat the meat of mourners.

²³ You shall have crowns on your heads, and shoes on your feet: you shall not lament nor weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities, and every one shall sigh with his brother.

²⁴ And Ezechiel shall be unto you for a sign of things to come: according to all that he hath done, so shall you do, when this shall come to pass: and you shall know that I am the Lord God.

²⁵ And thou, O son of man, behold in the day wherein I will take away from them their strength, and the joy of their glory, and the desire of their eyes, upon which their souls rest, their sons and their daughters.

²⁶ In that day when he that escapeth shall come to thee, to tell thee:

²⁷ In that day, I say, shall thy mouth be opened to him that hath escaped, and thou shalt speak, and shalt be silent no more: and thou shalt be unto them for a sign of things to come, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

¹⁵ And how shall they preach unless they be sent, as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad tidings of good things!

¹⁶ But all do not obey the gospel. For Isaias saith: Lord, who hath believed our report?

¹⁷ Faith then cometh by hearing; and hearing by the word of Christ.

¹⁸ But I say: Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world.

¹⁹ But I say: Hath not Israel known? First, Moses saith: I will provoke you to jealousy by that which is not a nation; by a foolish nation I will anger you.

²⁰ But Isaias is bold, and saith: I was found by them that did not seek me: I appeared openly to them that asked not after me.

²¹ But to Israel he saith: All the day long have I spread my hands to a people that believeth not, and contradicteth me.