Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
He
33 O Eternal One, show me how to live according to Your statutes,
and I will keep them always.
34 Grant me understanding so that I can keep Your law
and keep it wholeheartedly.
35 Guide me to walk in the way You commanded
because I take joy in it.
36 Turn my head and my heart to Your decrees
and not to sinful gain.
37 Keep my eyes from gazing upon worthless things,
and give me true life according to Your plans.
38 Verify Your word to Your servant,
which will lead me to worship You.
39 Take away the scorn that I dread
because Your actions are just and good.
40 Look and see—I long for Your guidance;
restore me in Your righteousness.
This memorable allegory traces the fate of two sisters who represent the two capital cities of Israel and Judah: Samaria and Jerusalem. The graphic portrayals of their sexual exploits are some of the most disturbing in Scripture; they highlight the disgust God and His prophet must feel toward God’s wayward people. Anyone who hears Ezekiel speak this message must come to the same conclusion: God must judge His unfaithful wives. It is right. It is just. It is necessary.
24 The word of the Eternal came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day.
Eternal One: 2 Son of man, remember this date. Write it down. The Babylonian king laid siege to Jerusalem today. 3 Tell this rebellious crowd a parable. Here is what the Eternal Lord has to say:
Put the cooking pot on the fire;
put it on and fill it with water.
4 Put the finest cuts of meat into it—legs and brisket;
fill it with the best bones.
5 Pick out the best from the flock,
stack wood beneath the pot,
Bring it to a rolling boil,
and cook what’s in the pot.
No one is safe in the cauldron of Jerusalem.
6 Woe to this city polluted with blood—
that pot thickly corroded, whose filth is impossible to clean!
Empty the pot one piece at a time;
don’t bother choosing one or the other!
7 The blood she shed is still polluting the city.
She poured it out on bare rock
Instead of into the ground
to be absorbed by the dust where blood belongs.
8 I have spilled her blood on bare rock
so that it may not be covered,
knowing My anger would be ignited and My revenge accomplished.
9 That’s why I, the Eternal Lord, speak out:
Woe to this city polluted with blood;
I will stack the wood Myself—
10 Stack it high beneath the pot
to feed the fire.
Mix spices and seasoning into the boiling brew
and cook the meat and then burn the bones.
11 Set the empty pot on the coals
until it grows so hot its metal begins to glow,
its filth melts inside, and no trace of corrosion remains.
12 But she has thwarted My efforts!
Her massive corrosion remains when the fire should have cleansed her.
13 Jerusalem, I tried to cleanse your lewd impurity, but you would not stay pure. Because of this, you will not be clean again until after you have suffered the full punishment of My wrath. 14 I, the Eternal One, have spoken. Your day of judgment has arrived, and I will act. I will not be easy on you; I will not feel sorry for you; I will not regret My actions. You will be judged by what you have done and get only what you deserve.
So said the Eternal Lord.
11 I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. Why didn’t you stick up for me? I may not be much, but you could have shown me the same respect as you did the other so-called great emissaries.[a] I am not inferior to them in the least. 12 Miracles, wonders, and signs were all performed right before your eyes, proving I am who I say, a true emissary of Jesus. 13 With the exception of not asking you to shoulder the burden of my care, I have treated you no differently from any other churches. Forgive me for wronging you by not charging for my services!
14 Now listen, for the third time I am ready to travel to you, and once again I will not burden you because there’s nothing of yours that I want: the only thing I want is you. You see, it’s not right for children to have to save up for their parents because it’s the parents’ job to care for their children. 15 I would happily spend until I had nothing left if it was for you. But just because I love you more, should you love me less? 16 Because even though you didn’t have to lift a finger for me, lies abound that I deceived you by some clever act. 17 Did I cheat you somehow through one of the coworkers I sent your way? If any of them defrauded you, I’d like to see it. 18 I was the one who insisted Titus come to you with the brother I sent along. Did Titus take advantage of you in some way? Didn’t we work in the same spirit and follow the same direction?
19 I hope you don’t think that all this time we’ve been defending ourselves to you. We come as the voice of the Anointed; God will judge whether all our work has been useful in building you up, beloved. 20 And quite honestly, I am afraid that when I come, we may both be disappointed with what we find; in my fear, my thoughts go from bad to worse—into a drama of friction, rivalry, fevered tempers and fists, selfishness, slander, defamation, pride, and complete chaos. 21 I am worried that when I come to visit that my God will humble me somehow before you, that I will have to grieve over all those who have sinned before and then refused to turn away[b] from their addictions to impure practices, immoral sex, and reckless perversions.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.