The Siege of Jerusalem

24 ^(A)In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (B)“Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. ³ And ^(C)utter a parable to ^(D)the rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God:

⁶ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(G)Woe to the bloody city, to ^(H)the pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.^{[b] 7} For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on ^(I)the bare rock; ^(J)she did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. ⁸ To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. ⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! ^(K)I also will make the pile great. ¹⁰ Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices,^[c] and let the bones be burned up. ¹¹ Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, ^(L)that its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed. ^12 (M)She has wearied herself with toil;^[d] its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion! ¹³ On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, ^(N)you shall not be cleansed anymore till ^(O)I have satisfied my fury upon you. ^14 (P)I am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; ^(Q)I will not spare; ^(R)I will not relent; ^(S)according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel's Wife Dies

¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ^16 (T)“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. ¹⁷ Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. ^(U)Bind on your turban, and ^(V)put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, ^(W)nor eat the bread of men.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and ^(X)at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did ^(Y)as I was commanded.

¹⁹ And ^(Z)the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” ²⁰ Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: ²¹ ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^(AA)Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and ^(AB)your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. ²² And ^(AC)you shall do as I have done; ^(AD)you shall not cover your lips, ^(AE)nor eat the bread of men. ^23 (AF)Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but ^(AG)you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. ²⁴ Thus shall Ezekiel be to you ^(AH)a sign; ^(AI)according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then ^(AJ)you will know that I am the Lord God.’

²⁵ “As for you, ^(AK)son of man, surely on the day when I take from them ^(AL)their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters, ^26 (AM)on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. ²⁷ On that day your mouth ^(AN)will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. ^(AO)So you will be a sign to them, and ^(AP)they will know that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy Against Ammon

25 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (AQ)“Son of man, ^(AR)set your face toward ^(AS)the Ammonites and prophesy against them. ³ Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: ^(AT)Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ^(AU)‘Aha!’ over my ^(AV)sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, ⁴ therefore behold, I am handing you over to ^(AW)the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. ⁵ I will make ^(AX)Rabbah a ^(AY)pasture for camels and Ammon^{[e] (AZ)}a fold for flocks. ^(BA)Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶ For thus says the Lord God: Because ^(BB)you have clapped your hands ^(BC)and stamped your feet and ^(BD)rejoiced with all the ^(BE)malice within your soul against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore, behold, ^(BF)I have stretched out my hand against you, and ^(BG)will hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy Against Moab and Seir

⁸ “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^(BH)Moab and ^(BI)Seir^[f] said, ‘Behold, the ^(BJ)house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ ⁹ therefore ^(BK)I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, ^(BL)Beth-jeshimoth, ^(BM)Baal-meon, and ^(BN)Kiriathaim. ¹⁰ I will give it ^(BO)along with the Ammonites ^(BP)to the people of the East as a possession, ^(BQ)that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations, ^11 (BR)and I will execute judgments upon Moab. ^(BS)Then they will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy Against Edom

¹² “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^(BT)Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended ^(BU)in taking vengeance on them, ¹³ therefore thus says the Lord God, ^(BV)I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from ^(BW)Teman even to ^(BX)Dedan they shall fall by the sword. ¹⁴ And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom ^(BY)by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and ^(BZ)they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.

Prophecy Against Philistia

¹⁵ “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^(CA)the Philistines ^(CB)acted revengefully and took vengeance ^(CC)with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, ¹⁶ therefore thus says the Lord God, ^(CD)Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off ^(CE)the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. ¹⁷ I will execute great vengeance on them ^(CF)with wrathful rebukes. ^(CG)Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”

Prophecy Against Tyre

26 ^(CH)In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (CI)“Son of man, because ^(CJ)Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ^(CK)‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ ³ therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(CL)Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up ^(CM)many nations against you, ^(CN)as the sea brings up its waves. ⁴ They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and ^(CO)make her a bare rock. ⁵ She ^(CP)shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, ^(CQ)for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, ⁶ and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. ^(CR)Then they will know that I am the Lord.

⁷ “For thus says the Lord God: ^(CS)Behold, I will bring against Tyre ^(CT)from the north Nebuchadnezzar^[g] king of Babylon, ^(CU)king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. ⁸ He will kill with the sword ^(CV)your daughters on the mainland. ^(CW)He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise ^(CX)a roof of shields against you. ^9 (CY)He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. ¹⁰ His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. ¹¹ With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. ¹² They will plunder ^(CZ)your riches and loot ^(DA)your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and ^(DB)soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. ^13 (DC)And I will stop the music of your songs, and ^(DD)the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. ^14 (DE)I will make you a bare rock. ^(DF)You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, ^(DG)for I am the Lord; I have spoken, declares the Lord God.

¹⁵ “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not ^(DH)the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, ^(DI)when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? ¹⁶ Then all ^(DJ)the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and ^(DK)remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; ^(DL)they will sit on the ground and ^(DM)tremble every moment and ^(DN)be appalled at you. ¹⁷ And they will ^(DO)raise a lamentation over you and say to you,

¹⁹ “For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, ^(DR)when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, ²⁰ then ^(DS)I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, ^(DT)with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty ^(DU)in the land of the living. ²¹ I will bring you ^(DV)to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. ^(DW)Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”

A Living Stone and a Holy People

2 ^(A)So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ^2 (B)Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^(C)milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have ^(D)tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone ^(E)rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ^5 (F)you yourselves like living stones are being built up as ^(G)a spiritual house, to be ^(H)a holy priesthood, ^(I)to offer spiritual sacrifices ^(J)acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

⁷ So the honor is for you who ^(M)believe, but for those who ^(N)do not believe,

⁸ and

They stumble because they disobey the word, ^(Q)as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are ^(R)a chosen race, ^(S)a royal ^(T)priesthood, ^(U)a holy nation, ^(V)a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^(W)out of darkness into ^(X)his marvelous light. ^10 (Y)Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you ^(Z)as sojourners and exiles ^(AA)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, ^(AB)which wage war against your soul. ^12 (AC)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, ^(AD)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on ^(AE)the day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

^13 (AF)Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,^[b] whether it be to the emperor^[c] as supreme, ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him ^(AG)to punish those who do evil and ^(AH)to praise those who do good. ¹⁵ For this is the will of God, ^(AI)that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ^16 (AJ)Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but ^(AK)living as servants^[d] of God. ^17 (AL)Honor everyone. ^(AM)Love the brotherhood. ^(AN)Fear God. Honor the emperor.

^18 (AO)Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. ¹⁹ For this is a gracious thing, when, ^(AP)mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. ²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But ^(AQ)if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. ²¹ For ^(AR)to this you have been called, ^(AS)because Christ also suffered for you, ^(AT)leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ^22 (AU)He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ^23 (AV)When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, ^(AW)but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ^24 (AX)He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we ^(AY)might die to sin and ^(AZ)live to righteousness. ^(BA)By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For ^(BB)you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to ^(BC)the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.