God's Sovereign Choice

9 ^(A)I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For ^(B)I could wish that I myself were ^(C)accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,^[a] my kinsmen ^(D)according to the flesh. ⁴ They are ^(E)Israelites, and to them belong ^(F)the adoption, ^(G)the glory, ^(H)the covenants, ^(I)the giving of the law, ^(J)the worship, and ^(K)the promises. ⁵ To them belong ^(L)the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, ^(M)who is God over all, ^(N)blessed forever. Amen.

⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷ and not all are children of Abraham ^(O)because they are his offspring, but ^(P)“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but ^(Q)the children of the promise are counted as offspring. ⁹ For this is what the promise said: ^(R)“About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁰ And not only so, but ^(S)also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, ¹¹ though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of ^(T)him who calls— ¹² she was told, ^(U)“The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ As it is written, ^(V)“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

¹⁴ What shall we say then? ^(W)Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses, ^(X)“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it depends not on human will or exertion,^[b] but on God, who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ^(Y)“For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

¹⁹ You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For ^(Z)who can resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, O man, ^(AA)to answer back to God? ^(AB)Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ^21 (AC)Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump ^(AD)one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? ²² What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience ^(AE)vessels of wrath ^(AF)prepared for destruction, ²³ in order to make known ^(AG)the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he ^(AH)has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴ even us whom he ^(AI)has called, ^(AJ)not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As indeed he says in Hosea,

²⁷ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ^(AN)“Though the number of the sons of Israel^[c] be as the sand of the sea, ^(AO)only a remnant of them will be saved, ²⁸ for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” ²⁹ And as Isaiah predicted,

Israel's Unbelief

³⁰ What shall we say, then? ^(AS)That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, ^(AT)a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but that Israel ^(AU)who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^{[d] (AV)}did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the ^(AW)stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written,

Help Me, O Lord My God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Ezekiel Is Israel's Watchman

33 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (A)“Son of man, speak to ^(B)your people and say to them, If ^(C)I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their ^(D)watchman, ³ and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and ^(E)blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴ then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, ^(F)his blood shall be upon his own head. ^5 (G)He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. ^6 (H)But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, ^(I)that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.

^7 (J)“So you, ^(K)son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. ^(L)Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ^8 (M)If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, ^(N)and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, ^(O)that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ^9 (P)But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, ^(Q)that person shall die in his iniquity, ^(R)but you will have delivered your soul.

Why Will You Die, Israel?

¹⁰ “And you, ^(S)son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and ^(T)we rot away because of them. ^(U)How then can we live?’ ¹¹ Say to them, ^(V)As I live, declares the Lord God, ^(W)I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; ^(X)turn back, turn back from your evil ways, ^(Y)for why will you die, O house of Israel?

^12 (Z)“And you, son of man, say to ^(AA)your people, ^(AB)The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses, ^(AC)and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, ^(AD)and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness^[a] when he sins. ¹³ Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet ^(AE)if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. ¹⁴ Again, ^(AF)though I say to the wicked, ^(AG)‘You shall surely die,’ yet ^(AH)if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, ¹⁵ if the wicked ^(AI)restores the pledge, ^(AJ)gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks ^(AK)in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. ^16 (AL)None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.

¹⁷ “Yet ^(AM)your people say, ^(AN)‘The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way that is not just. ^18 (AO)When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. ¹⁹ And ^(AP)when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. ²⁰ Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, ^(AQ)I will judge each of you according to his ways.”

Jerusalem Struck Down

²¹ In the ^(AR)twelfth year ^(AS)of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(AT)a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and said, ^(AU)“The city has been struck down.” ^22 (AV)Now ^(AW)the hand of the Lord had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.

²³ The word of the Lord came to me: ^24 (AX)“Son of man, the inhabitants of these ^(AY)waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, ^(AZ)‘Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but ^(BA)we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.’ ²⁵ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(BB)You eat flesh with the blood and ^(BC)lift up your eyes to your idols and ^(BD)shed blood; shall you then possess the land? ^26 (BE)You rely on the sword, ^(BF)you commit abominations, and ^(BG)each of you defiles his neighbor's wife; shall you then possess the land? ²⁷ Say this to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^(BH)As I live, surely those who are in ^(BI)the waste places shall fall by ^(BJ)the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to ^(BK)the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in ^(BL)strongholds and in caves shall die by ^(BM)pestilence. ^28 (BN)And I will make the land a desolation and a waste, and ^(BO)her proud might shall come to an end, and ^(BP)the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that none will pass through. ^29 (BQ)Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations that they have committed.

³⁰ “As for you, ^(BR)son of man, ^(BS)your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ ^31 (BT)And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for ^(BU)with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. ³² And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and ^(BV)plays^[b] well on an instrument, for ^(BW)they hear what you say, but they will not do it. ^33 (BX)When this comes—and come it will!—^(BY)then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

34 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (BZ)“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: ^(CA)Ah, shepherds of Israel ^(CB)who have been feeding yourselves! ^(CC)Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ^3 (CD)You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, ^(CE)you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. ^4 (CF)The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, ^(CG)the injured you have not bound up, ^(CH)the strayed you have not brought back, ^(CI)the lost you have not sought, and with force and ^(CJ)harshness you have ruled them. ^5 (CK)So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ^(CL)they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; ⁶ they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, ^(CM)with none to search or seek for them.

⁷ “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ^8 (CN)As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because ^(CO)my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God, ^(CP)Behold, I am against the shepherds, and ^(CQ)I will require my sheep at their hand and ^(CR)put a stop to their feeding the sheep. ^(CS)No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. ^(CT)I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

¹¹ “For thus says the Lord God: ^(CU)Behold, I, I ^(CV)myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on ^(CW)a day of clouds and ^(CX)thick darkness. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples ^(CY)and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on ^(CZ)the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. ^14 (DA)I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. ^(DB)There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. ^15 (DC)I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, ^(DD)and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. ^16 (DE)I will seek the lost, ^(DF)and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and ^(DG)the fat and the strong I will destroy.^[c] I will feed them in justice.

¹⁷ “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: ^(DH)Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and ^(DI)male goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of ^(DJ)clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? ¹⁹ And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰ “Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you push with side and shoulder, and ^(DK)thrust at all the ^(DL)weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, ²² I will rescue^[d] my flock; ^(DM)they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. ²³ And ^(DN)I will set up over them one shepherd, ^(DO)my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And ^(DP)I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. ^(DQ)I am the Lord; I have spoken.

The Lord's Covenant of Peace

^25 (DR)“I will make with them a covenant of peace and ^(DS)banish wild beasts from the land, ^(DT)so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. ²⁶ And I will make them and the places all around my hill ^(DU)a blessing, and ^(DV)I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be ^(DW)showers of blessing. ^27 (DX)And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, ^(DY)and they shall be secure in their land. And ^(DZ)they shall know that I am the Lord, when ^(EA)I break the bars of their yoke, and ^(EB)deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. ^28 (EC)They shall no more be a prey to the nations, ^(ED)nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. ^(EE)They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. ²⁹ And I will provide for them ^(EF)renowned plantations so that ^(EG)they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer ^(EH)suffer the reproach of the nations. ³⁰ And they shall know that ^(EI)I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. ³¹ And you are my sheep, ^(EJ)human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

Prophecy Against Mount Seir

35 The word of the Lord came to me: ^2 (EK)“Son of man, ^(EL)set your face ^(EM)against ^(EN)Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, ³ and say to it, Thus says the Lord God: ^(EO)Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, and ^(EP)I will stretch out my hand against you, ^(EQ)and I will make you a desolation and a waste. ^4 (ER)I will lay your cities waste, and you shall become a desolation, and you shall know that I am the Lord. ⁵ Because ^(ES)you cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword ^(ET)at the time of their calamity, ^(EU)at the time of their final punishment, ⁶ therefore, ^(EV)as I live, declares the Lord God, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; ^(EW)because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you. ^7 (EX)I will make Mount Seir a waste ^(EY)and a desolation, and I will cut off from it ^(EZ)all who come and go. ⁸ And I will fill ^(FA)its mountains with the slain. On your hills and in your valleys and in all ^(FB)your ravines ^(FC)those slain with the sword shall fall. ^9 (FD)I will make you a perpetual desolation, and ^(FE)your cities shall not be inhabited. Then ^(FF)you will know that I am the Lord.

¹⁰ “Because you said, ^(FG)‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and ^(FH)we will take possession of them’—although the ^(FI)Lord was there— ¹¹ therefore, ^(FJ)as I live, declares the Lord God, I will deal with you ^(FK)according to the anger and ^(FL)envy that you showed because of your hatred against them. And ^(FM)I will make myself known among them, when I judge you. ¹² And you shall know that I am the Lord.

^(FN)“I have heard all the revilings that you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are laid desolate; ^(FO)they are given us to devour.’ ¹³ And ^(FP)you magnified yourselves against me ^(FQ)with your mouth, and multiplied your words against me; I heard it. ¹⁴ Thus says the Lord God: ^(FR)While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. ¹⁵ As you ^(FS)rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so I will deal with you; you shall be desolate, ^(FT)Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then ^(FU)they will know that I am the Lord.