Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Davidic Psalm.
The Lord Shepherds His People
23 The Lord is the one who is shepherding me;
I lack nothing.
2 He causes me to lie down in pastures of green grass;
he guides me beside quiet waters.
3 He revives my life;
he leads me in pathways that are righteous
for the sake of his name.[a]
4 Even when I walk through a valley of deep darkness,[b]
I will not be afraid
because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me,
even in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Truly, goodness and gracious love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will remain in[c] the Lord’s Temple forever.[d]
The Vision of the Eastern Gate
11 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east facing gate of the Lord’s Temple. At the entrance of the gate I saw 25 men. Included among them were Azzur’s son Jaazaniah and Benaiah’s son Pelatiah, who were princes of the people.
2 Then he told me, “Son of Man, these men are plotting evil and are giving wicked advice in this city. 3 They keep saying, ‘The right time to build families[a] hasn’t yet arrived. The city is the pot and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore you are to prophesy against them. Prophesy, Son of Man!”
God Rebukes those who Plot Evil
5 Just then the Spirit of the Lord took control of[b] me and told me, “You are to say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You’ve said, O house of Israel, that I know what goes through your mind.[c] 6 You’ve increased the number of fatally wounded in this city and you’ve filled your streets with the dead.”
7 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord God says, “The corpses that you’ve laid out in your midst are the meat, and this city is the cooking pot. But you’ll be taken out from the middle of it. 8 You’ve feared the sword,[d] but I’m bringing violent death in your direction,”[e] declares the Lord God. 9 “I’m bringing you out from the middle of it and I’m going to deliver you into the hands of strangers, because I’m going to carry out my sentence against you. 10 You’re going to die violently,[f] and I’ll judge you as far as the borders of Israel. Then you’ll learn[g] that I am the Lord. 11 This city won’t be your cooking pot and neither will you be the meat in it, because I’m going to judge you as far as the borders of Israel. 12 Then you’ll learn[h] that I am the Lord, because you didn’t live by my statues or obey my ordinances. Instead, you obeyed the ordinances of the nations around you.”’”
Ezekiel Reacts to Pelatiah’s Death
13 While I was prophesying, Benaiah’s son Pelatiah died, so I fell on my face and cried out with a loud voice. “Ah, Lord God,” I said, “are you going to put an end to the survivors within Israel?”
14 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 15 “Son of Man, your brothers, your other relatives, your fellow exiles,[i] and the entire house of Israel are the people to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They’ve abandoned the Lord. This land was given to us for an inheritance.’”
The Future Hope of Israel
16 “Therefore you are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says, “Although I’ve removed them far away to live among the nations, and although I’ve scattered them throughout the earth, yet I’ve continued to be their sanctuary, even for the short time that they will be living in the lands to which they’ve gone.”’
17 “Therefore you are to say, ‘This is what the Lord God says, “I’m going to gather you from among the nations, assembling you from the lands among which you have been dispersed. I’ll give you the land of Israel. 18 When they return from there and cast away all of their loathsome things and detestable practices, 19 then I’ll give them a united heart, placing a new spirit within them.[j] I’ll remove their stubborn heart[k] and give them a heart that’s sensitive to me.[l] 20 When they live by my statutes and keep my ordinances by observing them, then they’ll be my people and I will be their God. 21 But to those whose hearts delight in loathsome things and detestable practices, I’ll bring the consequences of their behavior crashing down on their own heads,” declares the Lord God.’”
The Cherubim Leave
22 Then the cherubim arose, with their wheels alongside, and the glory of Israel’s God remained above and over them. 23 The glory of the Lord went up from the middle of the city and stood on the mountain, east of the city. 24 Then in a vision from the Spirit of God, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Chaldea. At that point, the vision that I had been observing ended. 25 Later, I spoke to the exiles concerning everything the Lord had spoken that I had witnessed.
The Vision of the Scroll with Seven Seals
5 Then I saw in the right hand of the one who sits on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the outside, sealed with seven seals. 2 I also saw a powerful angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 No one in heaven, on earth, or under the earth could open the scroll or look inside it. 4 I began to cry bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look inside it.
5 “Stop crying,” one of the elders told me. “Look! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered. He can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
The Vision of the Lamb Taking the Scroll
6 Then I saw a lamb standing in the middle of the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders. He looked[a] like he had been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who sits on the throne.
8 When the lamb had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders bowed down in front of him. Each held a harp and a gold bowl full of incense, the prayers of the saints. 9 They sang a new song:
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