Day 313 of 730

¹"You also, son of man, take a tile, and lay it before yourself, and portray on it a city, even Jerusalem:

²and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around.

³Take for yourself an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city: and set your face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

⁴"Moreover lie on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; according to the number of the days that you shall lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity.

⁵For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be to you a number of days, even three hundred ninety days: so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

⁶"Again, when you have accomplished these, you shall lie on your right side, and shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it to you.

⁷You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm uncovered; and you shall prophesy against it.

⁸Behold, I lay bands on you, and you shall not turn you from one side to the other, until you have accomplished the days of your siege.

⁹"Take for yourself also wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it; according to the number of the days that you shall lie on your side, even three hundred ninety days, you shall eat of it.

¹⁰Your food which you shall eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time you shall eat it.

¹¹You shall drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time you shall drink.

¹²You shall eat it as barley cakes, and you shall bake it in their sight with dung that comes out of man."

¹³The Lord said, "Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them."

¹⁴Then I said, "Ah Lord God! Behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now have I not eaten of that which dies of itself, or is torn of animals; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth."

¹⁵Then he said to me, "Behold, I have given you cow's dung for man's dung, and you shall prepare your bread thereon."

¹⁶Moreover he said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay:

¹⁷that they may want bread and water, and be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.

¹"You, son of man, take a sharp sword; You shall take it as a barber's razor to you, and shall cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

²A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and you shall take a third part, and strike with the sword around it; and a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.

³You shall take of it a few in number, and bind them in your skirts.

⁴Of these again you shall take, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; from it shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel."

⁵"Thus says the Lord God: 'This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are around her.

⁶She has rebelled against my ordinances in doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries that are around her; for they have rejected my ordinances, and as for my statutes, they have not walked in them.'

⁷"Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you are turbulent more than the nations that are around you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my ordinances, neither have done after the ordinances of the nations that are around you';

⁸therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, I, even I, am against you; and I will execute judgments in the midst of you in the sight of the nations.

⁹I will do in you that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all your abominations.

¹⁰Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of you, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you; and the whole remnant of you will I scatter to all the winds.'

¹¹"'Therefore as I live,' says the Lord God, 'surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things, and with all your abominations, therefore will I also diminish you; neither shall my eye spare, and I also will have no pity.

¹²A third part of you shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of you; and a third part shall fall by the sword around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them.

¹³Thus shall my anger be accomplished, and I will cause my wrath toward them to rest, and I shall be comforted; and they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken in my zeal, when I have accomplished my wrath on them.

¹⁴Moreover I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are around you, in the sight of all that pass by.

¹⁵So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment, to the nations that are around you, when I shall execute judgments on you in anger and in wrath, and in wrathful rebukes; (I, the Lord, have spoken it;)

¹⁶when I shall send on them the evil arrows of famine, that are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine on you, and will break your staff of bread;

¹⁷and I will send on you famine and evil animals, and they shall bereave you; and pestilence and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword on you: I, the Lord, have spoken it.'"

¹How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

²How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me?

³Behold, and answer me, Lord, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

⁴Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed against him;" Lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall.

⁵But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation.

⁶I will sing to the Lord, because he has been good to me.

¹My son, do not forget my teaching; but let your heart keep my commandments:

²for length of days, and years of life, and peace, will they add to you.

³Do not let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴So you will find favor, and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

⁶In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

⁸It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.

⁹Honor the Lord with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase:

¹⁰so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, neither be weary of his reproof:

¹²for whom the Lord loves, he reproves; even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.

¹³Happy is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gets understanding.

¹⁴For her good profit is better than getting silver, and her return is better than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies. None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.

¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand. In her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness. All her paths are peace.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Happy is everyone who retains her.

¹⁹By wisdom the Lord founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens.

²⁰By his knowledge, the depths were broken up, and the skies drop down the dew.

²¹My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion:

²²so they will be life to your soul, and grace for your neck.

²³Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot won't stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes:

²⁶for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being taken.

²⁷Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.

²⁸Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again; tomorrow I will give it to you," when you have it by you.

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor, seeing he dwells securely by you.

³⁰Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.

³²For the perverse is an abomination to the Lord, but his friendship is with the upright.

³³The Lord's curse is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.

³⁴Surely he is scornful to scoffers, but he gives grace to the humble.

³⁵The wise will inherit glory, but shame will be the promotion of fools.