Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
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33 Lord, teach me your laws,
and I will always follow them.
34 Help me understand your teachings,
and I will follow them.
Obeying them will be my greatest desire.
35 Help me follow your commands,
because that makes me happy.
36 Give me the desire to follow your rules,
not the desire to get rich.
37 Don’t let me look at worthless things.
Help me live your way.
38 Do what you promised me, your servant,
so that people will respect you.
39 Take away the shame I fear.
Your laws are good.
40 See how much I want to obey your instructions!
Be good to me, and let me live.
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
15 Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 16 “Son of man, you love your wife very much, but I am going to take her away from you. Your wife will die suddenly, but you must not show your sadness. You must not cry loudly. You will cry and your tears will fall, 17 but you must mourn quietly. Dress as you normally do; wear your turban and sandals; don’t cover your mustache, and don’t eat the food people normally eat when someone dies.”
18 The next morning I told the people what God had said. That evening, my wife died. The next morning I did what God commanded. 19 Then the people said to me, “Why are you doing this? What does it mean?”
20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me. He told me 21 to speak to the family of Israel. The Lord God said, ‘Look, I will destroy my holy place. You are proud of that place and sing songs of praise about it. You love to see it. You really love that place. But I will destroy it, and your children that you left behind will be killed in battle. 22 But you will do the same things that I have done about my dead wife. You will not cover your mustache or eat the food people normally eat when someone dies. 23 You will wear your turbans and your sandals. You will not show your sadness publicly or cry publicly, but you will waste away with guilt and talk to each other quietly about your grief. 24 So Ezekiel is an example for you. You will do all the same things he did. That time of punishment will come, and then you will know that I am the Lord God.’”
25-26 The Lord said, “Son of man, I will take away the place that makes the people feel safe—Jerusalem, that beautiful city that makes them so happy. They really love that place. They love to look at it. But I will take it away from them, and I will also take their children. On that day one of the survivors will come to you with the bad news about Jerusalem. 27 That same day you will be able to talk to the messenger. You will not be silent anymore. This will be a sign to the people, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
15 And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent. As the Scriptures say, “How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!”[a]
16 But not all the people accepted that good news. Isaiah said, “Lord, who believed what we told them?”[b] 17 So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.
18 But I ask, “Did those people not hear the Good News?” Yes, they heard—as the Scriptures say,
“Their voices went out all around the world.
Their words went everywhere in the world.” (A)
19 Again I ask, “Did the people of Israel not understand?” Yes, they did understand. First, Moses says this for God:
“I will use those who are not really a nation to make you jealous.
I will use a nation that does not understand to make you angry.” (B)
20 Then Isaiah is bold enough to say this for God:
“The people who were not looking for me—
they are the ones who found me.
I made myself known to those who did not ask for me.” (C)
21 But about the people of Israel God says,
“All day long I stood ready to accept those people,
but they are stubborn and refuse to obey me.” (D)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International