Old/New Testament
The Siege of Jerusalem
24 And in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, write the name of the day, this same day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this same day. 3 Utter 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 into it.
4 Gather the pieces into it,
even every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder.
Fill it with the choice bones;
5 take the choicest of the flock,
and also pile the bones under it;
make it boil well,
also seethe its bones in it.
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the bloody city,
to the pot whose rust is in it,
and whose rust has not gone out of it!
Take out of it piece by piece
without choosing.
7 For her blood is in her midst;
she set it on the bare rock;
she did not pour it on the ground
to cover it with dust.
8 That it may cause fury to come up to take vengeance,
I have set her blood on the bare rock,
that it may not be covered.
9 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Woe to the bloody city!
I will also make the pile great.
10 Heap on wood,
kindle the fire;
boil the flesh,
and spice it well,
and let the bones be burned.
11 Then 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,
and its rust may be consumed.
12 She has wearied Me with toil,
and her great rust has not gone from her.
Let her rust be in the fire.
13 In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I would have purged you, yet you are not purged, you shall not be purged from your filthiness anymore until I have caused My fury to rest on you.
14 I the Lord have spoken. It shall come to pass and I will act. I will not go back, nor will I spare, nor will I be sorry. According to your ways and according to your deeds, I shall judge you, says the Lord God.
The Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
15 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 16 Son of man, I am about to take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke. Yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Groan 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.
18 So 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.
19 And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are behaving this way?”
20 Then I answered them: The word of the Lord came to me, saying: 21 Speak to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: I will profane My sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes and the delight of your soul. And your sons and your daughters whom you have left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 You shall do as I have done. You shall not cover your mustache, nor will you eat the bread of men. 23 Your turbans shall be on your heads, and your shoes on your feet. You shall not mourn or weep. But you shall pine away for your iniquities and groan toward one another. 24 Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you. According to all that he has done you shall do. And when it comes about, then you shall know that I am the Lord God.
25 As for you, son of man, shall it not be on the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 26 that on that day he who escapes shall come to you to cause you to hear it with your ears? 27 On that day your mouth shall be opened to him who escaped, and you shall speak and be mute no more. Thus you shall be a sign to them. And they shall know that I am the Lord.
A Prophecy Against Ammon
25 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: 2 Son of man, set your face against the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them, 3 and 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 captivity, 4 therefore, I will deliver you to the men of the East for a possession, and they shall set their camps among you and make their dwellings among you. They shall eat your fruit and drink your milk. 5 I will make Rabbah a meadow for camels, and the sons of Ammon a couching place for flocks. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord. 6 For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced in heart with all your spite against the land of Israel, 7 therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you and deliver you for destruction to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and cause you to perish from the countries. I will destroy you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
A Prophecy Against Moab
8 Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir say, Look, the house of Judah is like all the nations, 9 therefore, I will deprive the side of Moab of its cities, of its cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon, and Kiriathaim, 10 and I will give it for a possession with the Ammonites to the men of the East, so that the sons of Ammon may not be remembered among the nations. 11 I will execute judgments on Moab. And they shall know that I am the Lord.
A Prophecy Against Edom
12 Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance and has greatly offended and revenged themselves upon them, 13 therefore 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 make it desolate. From Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword. 14 I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel. And they shall do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury. And they shall know My vengeance, says the Lord God.
A Prophecy Against Philistia
15 Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge and have taken vengeance with a spiteful heart to destroy with everlasting hatred, 16 therefore thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines and will cut off the Kerethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes. And they shall know that I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon them.
A Prophecy Against Tyre
26 In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, “Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken. It has opened to me. I shall be filled now that she is laid waste,” 3 therefore thus says the Lord God: I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. 4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her and make her a bare rock. 5 She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken, says the Lord God, and she shall become destruction to the nations. 6 Her daughters who are on the mainland shall be slain by the sword. And they shall know that I am the Lord.
7 For thus says the Lord God: From the north I will bring upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, with horses and with chariots and with cavalry and a great army. 8 He shall slay your daughters on the mainland with the sword. And he shall set up a siege wall against you and cast up a mound against you and lift up the roof of shields against you. 9 He shall set engines of war against your walls, and with his axes he shall break down your towers. 10 By reason of the abundance of his horses, their dust shall cover you. Your walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen and of the wagons and of the chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. 11 With the hoofs of his horses he shall tread down all your streets. He shall slay your people by the sword, and your strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. 12 They shall make a spoil of your riches, and a prey of your merchandise. And they shall break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. And they shall lay your stones and your timber and your dust in the midst of the water. 13 I will cause the noise of your songs to cease. And the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place to spread nets upon. You shall be built no more, for I the Lord have spoken, says the Lord God.
15 Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Shall not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in your midst? 16 Then all the officials of the sea shall come down from their thrones and lay away their robes and take off their embroidered garments. They shall clothe themselves with trembling. They shall sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be astonished at you. 17 They shall take up a lamentation over you and say to you:
How you are destroyed, O inhabited one of the seas,
the renowned city,
which was strong in the sea,
she and her inhabitants,
who caused her terror
to be on all her inhabitants!
18 Now the coastlands shall tremble
on the day of your fall; indeed,
the coastlands that are by the sea
shall be troubled at your departure.
19 For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep upon you and great waters shall cover you, 20 then I shall bring you down with those who descend into the pit, to the people of old, and make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit so that you will not be inhabited. But I shall set glory in the land of the living. 21 I will bring terrors on you and you shall be no more. Though you will be sought, you shall never be found again, says the Lord God.
The Living Stone and the Holy Nation
2 Therefore put away all wickedness, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. 2 As newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow, 3 if it is true that you have experienced that the Lord is good.
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone who is rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house as a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For also it is contained in the Scripture,
“Look! I lay in Zion
a chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
and he who believes in Him
shall never be put to shame.”[a]
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious. But to those who are disobedient,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”[b]
8 and,
“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”[c]
They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, to which also they were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may declare the goodness of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 In times past, you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Live as Servants of God
11 Dearly beloved, I implore you as aliens and refugees, abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. 12 Live your lives honorably among the Gentiles, so that though they speak against you as evildoers, they shall see your good works and thereby glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Submit yourselves to every human authority for the Lord’s sake, whether it be to the king, as supreme, 14 or to governors, as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and to praise those who do right. 15 For it is the will of God that by doing right you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 As free people, do not use your liberty as a covering for evil, but live as servants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
The Example of Christ’s Suffering
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. 19 For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God a person endures grief, suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if when you are being beaten for your sins you patiently endure? But if when doing good and suffering for it, you patiently endure, this is favorable before God. 21 For to this you were called, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
22 “He committed no sin,
nor was deceit found in His mouth.”[d]
23 When He was reviled, He did not revile back; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but He entrusted Himself to Him who judges righteously. 24 He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. “By His wounds you were healed.”[e] 25 For you were as sheep going astray, but now have been returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.