Parable of the Boiling Pot

1And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying, 2“Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3Speak a parable to the rebellious house and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Put on the pot, put it on and also pour water in it;

4Put in it the pieces,

Every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder;

Fill it with choice bones.

5Take the choicest of the flock,

And also pile wood under the pot.

Make it boil vigorously.

Also seethe its bones in it.”

6‘Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

“Woe to the bloody city,

To the pot in which there is rust

And whose rust has not gone out of it!

Take out of it piece after piece,

Without making a choice.

7For her blood is in her midst;

She placed it on the bare rock;

She did not pour it on the ground

To cover it with dust.

8That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance,

I have put her blood on the bare rock,

That it may not be covered.”

9Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

“Woe to the bloody city!

I also will make the pile great.

10Heap on the wood, kindle the fire,

Boil the flesh well

And mix in the spices,

And let the bones be burned.

11Then set it empty on its coals

So that it may be hot

And its bronze may glow

And its filthiness may be melted in it,

Its rust consumed.

12She has wearied Me with toil,

Yet her great rust has not gone from her;

Let her rust be in the fire!

13In your filthiness is lewdness.

Because I would have cleansed you,

Yet you are not clean,

You will not be cleansed from your filthiness again

Until I have spent My wrath on you.

14I, the Lord, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you,” declares the Lord God.’ ”

Death of Ezekiel’s Wife Is a Sign

15And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 16“Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come. 17Groan silently; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban and put your shoes on your feet, and do not cover your mustache and do not eat the bread of men.” 18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded. 19The people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?” 20Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me saying, 21‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind will fall by the sword. 22You will do as I have done; you will not cover your mustache and you will not eat the bread of men. 23Your turbans will be on your heads and your shoes on your feet. You will not mourn and you will not weep, but you will rot away in your iniquities and you will groan to one another. 24Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

25‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their pride, the desire of their eyes and their heart’s delight, their sons and their daughters, 26that on that day he who escapes will come to you with information for your ears? 27On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

Judgment on Gentile Nations—Ammon

1And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Son of man, set your face toward the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them, 3and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God, “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the sons of the east for a possession, and they will set their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and the sons of Ammon a resting place for flocks. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.” 6For thus says the Lord God, “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the scorn of your soul against the land of Israel, 7therefore, behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and I will give you for spoil to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands; I will destroy you. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.”

Moab

8‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,’ 9therefore, behold, I am going to deprive the flank of Moab of its cities, of its cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon and Kiriathaim, 10and I will give it for a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the sons of the east, so that the sons of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations. 11Thus I will execute judgments on Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

Edom

12‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has incurred grievous guilt, and avenged themselves upon them,” 13therefore thus says the Lord God, “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from it. And I will lay it waste; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword. 14I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; thus they will know My vengeance,” declares the Lord God.

Philistia

15‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because the Philistines have acted in revenge and have taken vengeance with scorn of soul to destroy with everlasting enmity,” 16therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, even cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. 17I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes; and they will know that I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance on them.” ’ ”

Judgment on Tyre

1Now in the eleventh year, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ 3therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. 5She will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ declares the Lord God, ‘and she will become spoil for the nations. 6Also her daughters who are on the mainland will be slain by the sword, and they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

7For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army. 8He will slay your daughters on the mainland with the sword; and he will make siege walls against you, cast up a ramp against you and raise up a large shield against you. 9The blow of his battering rams he will direct against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of cavalry and wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that is breached. 11With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will slay your people with the sword; and your strong pillars will come down to the ground. 12Also they will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water. 13So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more. 14I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place for the spreading of nets. You will be built no more, for I the Lord have spoken,” declares the Lord God.

15Thus says the Lord God to Tyre, “Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded groan, when the slaughter occurs in your midst? 16Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones, remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment and be appalled at you. 17They will take up a lamentation over you and say to you,

‘How you have perished, O inhabited one,

From the seas, O renowned city,

Which was mighty on the sea,

She and her inhabitants,

Who imposed her terror

On all her inhabitants!

18Now the coastlands will tremble

On the day of your fall;

Yes, the coastlands which are by the sea

Will be terrified at your passing.’ ”

19For thus says the Lord God, “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, 20then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory in the land of the living. 21I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more; though you will be sought, you will never be found again,” declares the Lord God.

The Triumphs of Faith

1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2For by it the men of old gained approval.

3By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. 4By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. 5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 7By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

8By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

13All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

PSALM 110

The Lord Gives Dominion to the King.

A Psalm of David.

1The Lord says to my Lord:

“Sit at My right hand

Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

2The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,

“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”

3Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;

In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,

Your youth are to You as the dew.

4The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,

“You are a priest forever

According to the order of Melchizedek.”

5The Lord is at Your right hand;

He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.

6He will judge among the nations,

He will fill them with corpses,

He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.

7He will drink from the brook by the wayside;

Therefore He will lift up His head.

14He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,

It will be reckoned a curse to him.