Day 321 of 730

¹It happened in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me.

²The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

³"Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Is it to inquire of me that you have come? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you."'

⁴Will you judge them, son of man, will you judge them? Cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;

⁵and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "In the day when I chose Israel, and swore to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, 'I am the Lord your God';

⁶in that day I swore to them, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.

⁷I said to them, 'Cast away every man the abominations of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.'

⁸But they rebelled against me, and would not listen to me; they each didn't throw away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

⁹But I worked for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among which they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁰"'"So I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

¹¹I gave them my statutes, and showed them my ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them.

¹²Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

¹³But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they didn't walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keep, he shall live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

¹⁴But I worked for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out.

¹⁵"'"Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;

¹⁶because they rejected my ordinances, and didn't walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

¹⁷Nevertheless my eye spared them, and I didn't destroy them, neither did I make a full end of them in the wilderness.

¹⁸"'"I said to their children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols.

¹⁹I am the Lord your God: walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them;

²⁰and make my Sabbaths holy; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.'

²¹But the children rebelled against me; they didn't walk in my statutes, neither kept my ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; they profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

²²Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and worked for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them forth.

²³Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries;

²⁴because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.

²⁵Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances in which they should not live;

²⁶and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that opens the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord."'

²⁷"Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

²⁸For when I had brought them into the land, which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill, and every thick tree, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering; there also they made their pleasant aroma, and they poured out there their drink offerings.

²⁹Then I said to them, 'What does the high place where you go mean?' So its name is called Bamah to this day."'

³⁰"Therefore tell the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Do you pollute yourselves in the way of your fathers? And do you play the prostitute after their abominations?

³¹And when you offer your gifts, when you make your sons to pass through the fire, do you pollute yourselves with all your idols to this day? And shall I be inquired of by you, house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you;

³²and that which comes into your mind shall not be at all, in that you say, 'We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.'

³³As I live," says the Lord God, "surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I be king over you:

³⁴and I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out;

³⁵and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I enter into judgment with you face to face.

³⁶Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you," says the Lord God.

³⁷"I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;

³⁸and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and those who disobey against me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they live, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and you shall know that I am the Lord."

³⁹"'As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord God: "Go, serve everyone his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to me; but my holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols.

⁴⁰For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel," says the Lord God, "there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things.

⁴¹As a pleasant aroma will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations.

⁴²You shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I swore to give to your fathers.

⁴³There you shall remember your ways, and all your doings, in which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have committed.

⁴⁴You shall know that I am the Lord, when I have dealt with you for my name's sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, you house of Israel," says the Lord God.'"

⁴⁵The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁴⁶"Son of man, set your face toward the south, and drop your word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field in the South;

⁴⁷and tell the forest of the South, 'Hear the word of the Lord: Thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it shall devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burnt thereby.

⁴⁸All flesh shall see that I, the Lord, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched."'"

⁴⁹Then I said, "Ah Lord God! They say of me, 'Isn't he a speaker of parables?'"

¹The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

²"Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop your word toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;

³and tell the land of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.

⁴Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:

⁵and all flesh shall know that I, the Lord, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more."'

⁶"Sigh therefore, you son of man; with the breaking of your thighs and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes.

⁷It shall be, when they tell you, 'Why do you sigh?' that you shall say, 'Because of the news, for it comes; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord God.'"

⁸The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁹"Son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord: Say, "A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;

¹⁰it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? The rod of my son, it condemns every tree.

¹¹It is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yes, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the killer."'

¹²Cry and wail, son of man; for it is on my people, it is on all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; strike therefore on your thigh.

¹³For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that condemns shall be no more?" says the Lord God.

¹⁴"You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one who is deadly wounded, which enters into their rooms.

¹⁵I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: Ah! It is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter.

¹⁶'Gather yourselves together, go to the right, set yourselves in array, go to the left, wherever your face is set.'

¹⁷I will also strike my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, the Lord, have spoken it."

¹⁸The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,

¹⁹"Also, you son of man, appoint two ways that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they both shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.

²⁰You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem, the fortified.

²¹For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows back and forth, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.

²²In his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.

²³It shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to memory, that they may be taken.

²⁴"Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because you have come to memory, you shall be taken with the hand.

²⁵"'You, deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,

²⁶thus says the Lord God: "Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high."

²⁷I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.'

²⁸"You, son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord God concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say, "A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;

²⁹while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.

³⁰Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, will I judge you.

³¹I will pour out my indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skillful to destroy.

³²You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be remembered no more: for I, the Lord, have spoken it."'"

¹The king rejoices in your strength, Lord! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!

²You have given him his heart's desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.

³For you meet him with the blessings of goodness. You set a crown of fine gold on his head.

⁴He asked life of you, you gave it to him, even length of days forever and ever.

⁵His glory is great in your salvation. You lay honor and majesty on him.

⁶For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence.

⁷For the king trusts in the Lord. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.

⁸Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you.

⁹You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.

¹⁰You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from among the children of men.

¹¹For they intended evil against you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.

¹²For you will make them turn their back, when you aim drawn bows at their face.

¹³Be exalted, Lord, in your strength, so we will sing and praise your power.

¹A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but accurate weights are his delight.

²When pride comes, then comes shame, but with humility comes wisdom.

³The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.

⁴Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

⁵The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way, but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

⁶The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them, but the unfaithful will be trapped by evil desires.

⁷When a wicked man dies, hope perishes, and expectation of power comes to nothing.

⁸A righteous person is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked takes his place.

⁹With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.

¹⁰When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.

¹¹By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

¹²One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.

¹³One who brings gossip betrays a confidence, but one who is of a trustworthy spirit is one who keeps a secret.

¹⁴Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.

¹⁵He who is collateral for a stranger will suffer for it, but he who refuses pledges of collateral is secure.

¹⁶A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.

¹⁷The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.

¹⁸Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

¹⁹He who is truly righteous gets life. He who pursues evil gets death.

²⁰Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.

²¹Most certainly, the evil man will not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous will be delivered.

²²Like a gold ring in a pig's snout, is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴There is one who scatters, and increases yet more. There is one who withholds more than is appropriate, but gains poverty.

²⁵The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.

²⁶People curse someone who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

²⁷He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.

²⁸He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.

²⁹He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind. The foolish shall be servant to the wise of heart.

³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.

³¹Behold, the righteous shall be repaid in the earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner!