HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1108
EZEKIEL 1 5
message. So I, the Lord, will give them the kind
of answer their great idolatry deserves. 5 I will
do this to capture the minds and hearts of all
my people who have turned from me to worship
their detestable idols.’
6 “Therefore, tell the people of Israel, ‘This is
what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent and turn
away from your idols, and stop all your detestable sins. 7 I, the Lord, will answer all those,
both Israelites and foreigners, who reject me
and set up idols in their hearts and so fall into
sin, and who then come to a prophet asking for
my advice. 8 I will turn against such people and
make a terrible example of them, eliminating
them from among my people. Then you will
know that I am the Lord.
9 “‘And if a prophet is deceived into giving
a message, it is because I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet. I will lift my fist against
such prophets and cut them off from the community of Israel. 10 False prophets and those
who seek their guidance will all be punished for
their sins. 11 In this way, the people of Israel will
learn not to stray from me, polluting themselves
with sin. They will be my people, and I will be
their God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!’”
The Certainty of the LORD’s Judgment
12 Then this message came to me from the Lord:
13 “Son of man, suppose the people of a country
were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to
crush them, cutting off their food supply and
sending a famine to destroy both people and
animals. 14 Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were
there, their righteousness would save no one
but themselves, says the Sovereign Lord.
15 “Or suppose I were to send wild animals to
invade the country, kill the people, and make
the land too desolate and dangerous to pass
through. 16 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if those three men were there,
they wouldn’t be able to save their own sons or
daughters. They alone would be saved, but the
land would be made desolate.
17 “Or suppose I were to bring war against
the land, and I sent enemy armies to destroy
both people and animals. 18 As surely as I live,
says the Sovereign Lord, even if those three
men were there, they wouldn’t be able to save
their own sons or daughters. They alone would
be saved.
19 “Or suppose I were to pour out my fury by
sending an epidemic into the land, and the disease killed people and animals alike. 20 As surely
as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah,
Daniel, and Job were there, they wouldn’t be
able to save their own sons or daughters. They
alone would be saved by their righteousness.
21 “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
How terrible it will be when all four of these
dreadful punishments fall upon Jerusalem—war,
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famine, wild animals, and disease—destroying
all her people and animals. 22 Yet there will be
survivors, and they will come here to join you
as exiles in Babylon. You will see with your own
eyes how wicked they are, and then you will
feel better about what I have done to Jerusalem.
23 When you meet them and see their behavior,
you will understand that these things are not
being done to Israel without cause. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
Jerusalem—a Useless Vine
Then this message came to me from the
Lord: 2 “Son of man, how does a grapevine compare to a tree? Is a vine’s wood as useful as the wood of a tree? 3 Can its wood be used
for making things, like pegs to hang up pots and
pans? 4 No, it can only be used for fuel, and even
as fuel, it burns too quickly. 5 Vines are useless
both before and after being put into the fire!
6 “And this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
The people of Jerusalem are like grapevines
growing among the trees of the forest. Since
they are useless, I have thrown them on the fire
to be burned. 7 And I will see to it that if they
escape from one fire, they will fall into another.
When I turn against them, you will know that I
am the Lord. 8 And I will make the land desolate
because my people have been unfaithful to me.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
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Jerusalem—an Unfaithful Wife
Then another message came to me from
the Lord: 2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable sins. 3 Give her this
message from the Sovereign Lord: You are
nothing but a Canaanite! Your father was an
Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 On the day
you were born, no one cared about you. Your
umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never
washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in
cloth. 5 No one had the slightest interest in you;
no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day
you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in
a field and left to die.
6 “But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you
lay there, I said, ‘Live!’ 7 And I helped you to
thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and
became a beautiful jewel. Your breasts became
full, and your body hair grew, but you were still
naked. 8 And when I passed by again, I saw that
you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my
cloak around you to cover your nakedness and
declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant
with you, says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
9 “Then I bathed you and washed off your
blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin.
10 I gave you expensive clothing of fine linen
and silk, beautifully embroidered, and sandals
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