Old/New Testament

God’s Judgment on Wicked Counselors

11 Moreover the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord which faces eastward. And at the door of the gate were twenty-five men, among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azzur and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, officials of the people. ² Then He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise mischief and give wicked counsel in this city, ³ who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the flesh.’ ⁴ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, son of man!”

⁵ Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and He said to me, Say, Thus says the Lord: Thus you have said, O house of Israel, for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them. ⁶ You have multiplied your slain in this city, and you have filled the streets with them.

⁷ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh and this city is the cauldron. But I will bring you out of the midst of it. ⁸ You have feared the sword, so I will bring a sword upon you, says the Lord God. ⁹ I will bring you out of the midst of the city and deliver you into the hands of strangers and execute judgments against you. ¹⁰ You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you in the border of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹¹ This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the flesh in the midst of it, but I will judge you in the border of Israel. ¹² Thus you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in My statutes, or executed My judgments, but have done after the customs of the nations all around you.

¹³ Now while I was prophesying, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

The Exiles’ Return Promised

¹⁴ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹⁵ Son of man, your brothers, your kindred, your fellow captives, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, “Go far from the Lord. This land has been given to us as a possession.”

¹⁶ Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God: Although I have cast them far off among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I will be a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone.

¹⁷ Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

¹⁸ When they come there, they shall take away all the detestable things and all the abominations from it. ¹⁹ I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them. And I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ that they may walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances, and do them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God. ²¹ But as for those whose hearts walk after the hearts of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, says the Lord God.

²² Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them. And the glory of the God of Israel was over them. ²³ The glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city. ²⁴ Afterwards the Spirit took me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea to those of the captivity.

So the vision that I had seen went up from me. ²⁵ Then I spoke to those of the captivity all the things that the Lord had shown me.

Judah’s Captivity Symbolized

12 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying: ² Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear. For they are a rebellious house.

³ Therefore, son of man, prepare baggage for captivity and go into captivity by day in their sight. And you shall go into captivity from your place to another place in their sight. It may be that they understand, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ You shall bring out your belongings by day in their sight, as baggage for exile; and you shall go out at evening in their sight, as those who go into exile. ⁵ Dig a hole through the wall in their sight, and go out thereby. ⁶ In their sight you shall bear it on your shoulders and carry it out in the twilight. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel.

⁷ I did so as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day as baggage for captivity, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought it out at twilight, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ In the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ⁹ Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said to you, “What are you doing?”

¹⁰ Say to them, “Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.” ¹¹ Say, “I am your sign.

“As I have done, so it shall be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.”

¹² The prince who is among them shall bear his baggage on his shoulder in the twilight and go out. They shall dig through the wall to carry it out thereby. He shall cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. ¹³ My net also I will spread upon him, and he shall be taken in My snare. And I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans. Yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. ¹⁴ I will scatter toward every wind all who are about him, his helpers and all his troops. And I will draw out the sword after them.

¹⁵ Then they shall know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the countries. ¹⁶ But I will spare a few men of them from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, so that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go and know that I am the Lord.

¹⁷ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ¹⁸ Son of man, eat your bread with quaking, and drink your water with trembling and with anxiety. ¹⁹ And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They shall eat their bread with carefulness and drink their water with astonishment, because their land shall be desolate from all that is in it, because of the violence of all those who dwell in it. ²⁰ The cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

²¹ The word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²² Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have in the land of Israel, saying, “The days are prolonged, and every vision fails”? ²³ Tell them therefore, “Thus says the Lord God: I will make this proverb cease so that they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” But say to them, The days are at hand and the effect of every vision. ²⁴ For there shall be no more any vain vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. ²⁵ For I the Lord will speak, and the word that I speak shall come to pass. It shall be no more prolonged. For in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word, and will perform it, says the Lord God.

²⁶ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ²⁷ Son of man, look, the house of Israel says, “The vision that he sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of the times that are far off.”

²⁸ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: There shall none of My words be prolonged anymore, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, says the Lord God.

False Prophets Condemned

13 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ² Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own hearts, “Hear the word of the Lord!” ³ Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! ⁴ O Israel, your prophets are like the foxes in the ruins. ⁵ You have not gone up into the gaps, nor did you build up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord. ⁶ They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, “The Lord says,” when the Lord has not sent them. And they have made others to hope for the confirmation of their word. ⁷ Have you not seen a vain vision, and have you not spoken a lying divination when you say, “The Lord says,” yet it is not I who have spoken?

⁸ Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken vanity and seen lies, therefore I am against you, says the Lord God. ⁹ Thus My hand shall be against the prophets who see vanity and who divine lies. They shall not have a place in the council of My people, nor shall they be written in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel so that you may know that I am the Lord God.

¹⁰ It is surely because they have seduced My people, saying, “Peace,” when there was no peace. And when anyone builds up a wall, they daub it with whitewash. ¹¹ Say to those who daub it with whitewash that it shall fall. There shall be an overflowing shower, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall. And a stormy wind shall break it. ¹² When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, “Where is the whitewash with which you have daubed it?”

¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will make a violent wind break out in My fury. And there shall be an overflowing shower in My anger, and hailstones in My fury to consume it. ¹⁴ So I will break down the wall that you have daubed with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground so that its foundation is laid bare. And when it falls, you shall be consumed in its midst. And you shall know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ Thus I will accomplish My wrath upon the wall and upon those who have daubed it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who daubed it, ¹⁶ along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace, says the Lord God.

¹⁷ Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own heart and prophesy against them, ¹⁸ and say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils on the heads of persons of every stature to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people but save the souls alive of others for yourselves? ¹⁹ And you pollute Me among My people for handfuls of barley and pieces of bread to slay the souls of those who should not die and to save the souls alive of those who should not live by your lying to My people who hear your lies.

²⁰ Therefore thus says the Lord God: I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls there as birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that you hunt as birds. ²¹ Your veils also I will tear off and deliver My people out of your hands, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted. And you shall know that I am the Lord. ²² Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad, and strengthened the hands of the wicked that he should not turn from his wicked way and save his life, ²³ therefore you women shall no more see vanity or practice divinations, and I will deliver My people out of your hand. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.

Salutation

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:

Greetings.

Faith and Wisdom

² My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, ³ knowing that the trying of your faith develops patience. ⁴ But let patience perfect its work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and without criticism, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, without wavering. For he who wavers is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed with the wind. ⁷ Let not that man think that he will receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Poverty and Riches

⁹ Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, ¹⁰ but the rich in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with a burning heat and it withers the grass, and its flowers fall, and its beauty perishes. So will the rich man wither away in his ways.

Trial and Temptation

¹² Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

¹³ Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil; neither does He tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death.

¹⁶ Do not err, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no change or shadow of turning. ¹⁸ Of His own will He brought us forth with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

¹⁹ Therefore, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, ²⁰ for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore lay aside all filthiness and remaining wickedness and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

²² Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man viewing his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ He views himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in his deeds.

²⁶ If anyone among you seems to be religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.