The Lies We Believe: Beyond Quick Fixes to Real Freedom Part 2

Ruth | Chapter Summaries + Study Questions

Unapologetically Sold Out: 7 Days of Prayers for Millennials to Live Whole-Heartedly Committed to Jesus Christ

FruitFULL - Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control - the Mature Expression of Faith

Faith in Hard Times

Let Us Pray

Homesick for Heaven

Breath & Blueprint: Your Creative Awakening

Stormproof

Judges | Chapter Summaries + Study Questions

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEZK">
      <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="EZK.19">
         <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">A Lament Over Israel&#8217;s Princes</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EZK.19.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">&#8220;Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.19.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">and say:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.19.2"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;What a lioness was your mother</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.19.2"><span class="content">among the lions!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.19.2"><span class="content">She lay down among them</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.19.2"><span class="content">and reared her cubs.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.19.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.19.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">She brought up one of her cubs,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.19.3"><span class="content">and he became a strong lion.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.19.3"><span class="content">He learned to tear the prey</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.19.3"><span class="content">and he became a man-eater.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.19.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EZK.19.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">The nations heard about him,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EZK.19.4"><span class="content">and he was trapped in their pit.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EZK.19.4"><span class="content">They led him with hooks</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EZK.19.4"><span class="content">to the land of Egypt.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EZK.19.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.19.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;When she saw her hope unfulfilled,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.19.5"><span class="content">her expectation gone,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.19.5"><span class="content">she took another of her cubs</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.19.5"><span class="content">and made him a strong lion.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.19.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EZK.19.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">He prowled among the lions,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EZK.19.6"><span class="content">for he was now a strong lion.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EZK.19.6"><span class="content">He learned to tear the prey</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EZK.19.6"><span class="content">and he became a man-eater.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EZK.19.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.19.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">He broke down</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">19:7 </span><span class="ft">Targum (see Septuagint); Hebrew </span><span class="fqa">He knew</span></span></span><span class="content"> their strongholds</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.19.7"><span class="content">and devastated their towns.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.19.7"><span class="content">The land and all who were in it</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.19.7"><span class="content">were terrified by his roaring.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.19.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EZK.19.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Then the nations came against him,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EZK.19.8"><span class="content">those from regions round about.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EZK.19.8"><span class="content">They spread their net for him,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EZK.19.8"><span class="content">and he was trapped in their pit.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EZK.19.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.19.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">With hooks they pulled him into a cage</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.19.9"><span class="content">and brought him to the king of Babylon.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.19.9"><span class="content">They put him in prison,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.19.9"><span class="content">so his roar was heard no longer</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.19.9"><span class="content">on the mountains of Israel.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.19.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.19.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">19:10 </span><span class="ft">Two Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts </span><span class="fqa">your blood</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.19.10"><span class="content">planted by the water;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.19.10"><span class="content">it was fruitful and full of branches</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.19.10"><span class="content">because of abundant water.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.19.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.19.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Its branches were strong,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.19.11"><span class="content">fit for a ruler&#8217;s scepter.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.19.11"><span class="content">It towered high</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.19.11"><span class="content">above the thick foliage,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.19.11"><span class="content">conspicuous for its height</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.19.11"><span class="content">and for its many branches.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.19.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.19.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">But it was uprooted in fury</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.19.12"><span class="content">and thrown to the ground.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.19.12"><span class="content">The east wind made it shrivel,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.19.12"><span class="content">it was stripped of its fruit;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.19.12"><span class="content">its strong branches withered</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.19.12"><span class="content">and fire consumed them.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.19.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EZK.19.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Now it is planted in the desert,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EZK.19.13"><span class="content">in a dry and thirsty land.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EZK.19.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.19.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">Fire spread from one of its main</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">19:14 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">from under its</span></span></span><span class="content"> branches</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.19.14"><span class="content">and consumed its fruit.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.19.14"><span class="content">No strong branch is left on it</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.19.14"><span class="content">fit for a ruler&#8217;s scepter.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.19.14"><span class="content">&#8220;This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.&#8221;</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEZK">
      <div class="chapter ch20" data-usfm="EZK.20">
         <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Rebellious Israel Purged</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EZK.20.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">In the seventh year, in the fifth month on the tenth day, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, and they sat down in front of me.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EZK.20.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.20.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Then the word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> came to me: </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.20.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">&#8220;Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.20.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EZK.20.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">&#8220;Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.20.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">and say to them: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore with uplifted hand to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, &#8220;I am the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God.&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EZK.20.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.20.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">And I said to them, &#8220;Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.20.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EZK.20.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me; they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.20.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.20.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.20.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.20.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> made them holy.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.20.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EZK.20.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws&#8212;by which the person who obeys them will live&#8212;and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and destroy them in the wilderness. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.20.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.20.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them&#8212;a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands&#8212; </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.20.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">because they rejected my laws and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts were devoted to their idols. </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.20.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy them or put an end to them in the wilderness. </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="EZK.20.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">I said to their children in the wilderness, &#8220;Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols. </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="EZK.20.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">I am the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="EZK.20.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> your God.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="EZK.20.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="EZK.20.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws, of which I said, &#8220;The person who obeys them will live by them,&#8221; and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the wilderness. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="EZK.20.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="EZK.20.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries, </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="EZK.20.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents&#8217; idols. </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="EZK.20.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live; </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="EZK.20.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">I defiled them through their gifts&#8212;the sacrifice of every firstborn&#8212;that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="EZK.20.26"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="EZK.20.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">&#8220;Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me: </span></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.20.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings. </span></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.20.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; (It is called Bamah</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">20:29 </span><span class="fq">Bamah </span><span class="ft">means </span><span class="fq">high place</span><span class="fqa">.</span></span></span><span class="content"> to this day.)</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Rebellious Israel Renewed</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.20.29"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.20.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">&#8220;Therefore say to the Israelites: &#8216;This is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? </span></span><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.20.31"><span class="label">31</span><span class="content">When you offer your gifts&#8212;the sacrifice of your children in the fire&#8212;you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, I will not let you inquire of me.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.20.31"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.20.32"><span class="label">32</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;You say, &#8220;We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.&#8221; But what you have in mind will never happen. </span></span><span class="verse v33" data-usfm="EZK.20.33"><span class="label">33</span><span class="content">As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, I will reign over you with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. </span></span><span class="verse v34" data-usfm="EZK.20.34"><span class="label">34</span><span class="content">I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered&#8212;with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath. </span></span><span class="verse v35" data-usfm="EZK.20.35"><span class="label">35</span><span class="content">I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations and there, face to face, I will execute judgment upon you. </span></span><span class="verse v36" data-usfm="EZK.20.36"><span class="label">36</span><span class="content">As I judged your ancestors in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">. </span></span><span class="verse v37" data-usfm="EZK.20.37"><span class="label">37</span><span class="content">I will take note of you as you pass under my rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. </span></span><span class="verse v38" data-usfm="EZK.20.38"><span class="label">38</span><span class="content">I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v38" data-usfm="EZK.20.38"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v39" data-usfm="EZK.20.39"><span class="label">39</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;As for you, people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you! But afterward you will surely listen to me and no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and idols. </span></span><span class="verse v40" data-usfm="EZK.20.40"><span class="label">40</span><span class="content">For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, there in the land all the people of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">20:40 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">and the gifts of your firstfruits</span></span></span><span class="content"> along with all your holy sacrifices. </span></span><span class="verse v41" data-usfm="EZK.20.41"><span class="label">41</span><span class="content">I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will be proved holy through you in the sight of the nations. </span></span><span class="verse v42" data-usfm="EZK.20.42"><span class="label">42</span><span class="content">Then you will know that I am the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, when I bring you into the land of Israel, the land I had sworn with uplifted hand to give to your ancestors. </span></span><span class="verse v43" data-usfm="EZK.20.43"><span class="label">43</span><span class="content">There you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done. </span></span><span class="verse v44" data-usfm="EZK.20.44"><span class="label">44</span><span class="content">You will know that I am the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, when I deal with you for my name&#8217;s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel, declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Prophecy Against the South</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v44" data-usfm="EZK.20.44"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v45" data-usfm="EZK.20.45"><span class="label">45</span><span class="content">The word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> came to me: </span></span><span class="verse v46" data-usfm="EZK.20.46"><span class="label">46</span><span class="content">&#8220;Son of man, set your face toward the south; preach against the south and prophesy against the forest of the southland. </span></span><span class="verse v47" data-usfm="EZK.20.47"><span class="label">47</span><span class="content">Say to the southern forest: &#8216;Hear the word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">. This is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it. </span></span><span class="verse v48" data-usfm="EZK.20.48"><span class="label">48</span><span class="content">Everyone will see that I the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> have kindled it; it will not be quenched.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v48" data-usfm="EZK.20.48"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v49" data-usfm="EZK.20.49"><span class="label">49</span><span class="content">Then I said, &#8220;Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">, they are saying of me, &#8216;Isn&#8217;t he just telling parables?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">20:49 </span><span class="ft">In Hebrew texts 20:45-49 is numbered 21:1-5.</span></span></span></span></div>
      </div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEZK">
      <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="EZK.21">
         <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Babylon as God&#8217;s Sword of Judgment</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="ft">  </span><span class="ft">In Hebrew texts 21:1-32 is numbered 21:6-37.</span><span class="ft">  </span></span></span><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EZK.21.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">The word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> came to me: </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EZK.21.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">&#8220;Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy against the land of Israel </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EZK.21.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">and say to her: &#8216;This is what the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EZK.21.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Because I am going to cut off the righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.21.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Then all people will know that I the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> have drawn my sword from its sheath; it will not return again.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EZK.21.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EZK.21.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">&#8220;Therefore groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.21.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">And when they ask you, &#8216;Why are you groaning?&#8217; you shall say, &#8216;Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand go limp; every spirit will become faint and every leg will be wet with urine.&#8217; It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EZK.21.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EZK.21.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">The word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> came to me: </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.21.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">&#8220;Son of man, prophesy and say, &#8216;This is what the Lord says:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.21.9"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;A sword, a sword,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.21.9"><span class="content">sharpened and polished&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EZK.21.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.21.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">sharpened for the slaughter,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.21.10"><span class="content">polished to flash like lightning!</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.21.10"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Shall we rejoice in the scepter of my royal son? The sword despises every such stick.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EZK.21.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;The sword is appointed to be polished,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="content">to be grasped with the hand;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="content">it is sharpened and polished,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="content">made ready for the hand of the slayer.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EZK.21.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Cry out and wail, son of man,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">for it is against my people;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">it is against all the princes of Israel.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">They are thrown to the sword</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">along with my people.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">Therefore beat your breast.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EZK.21.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EZK.21.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Testing will surely come. And what if even the scepter, which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EZK.21.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">&#8220;So then, son of man, prophesy</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">and strike your hands together.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">Let the sword strike twice,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">even three times.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">It is a sword for slaughter&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">a sword for great slaughter,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">closing in on them from every side.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EZK.21.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">So that hearts may melt with fear</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">and the fallen be many,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">I have stationed the sword for slaughter</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">21:15 </span><span class="ft">Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">at all their gates.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">Look! It is forged to strike like lightning,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">it is grasped for slaughter.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EZK.21.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.21.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">Slash to the right, you sword,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.21.16"><span class="content">then to the left,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.21.16"><span class="content">wherever your blade is turned.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="EZK.21.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.21.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">I too will strike my hands together,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.21.17"><span class="content">and my wrath will subside.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.21.17"><span class="content">I the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> have spoken.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="EZK.21.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="EZK.21.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">The word of the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> came to me: </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="EZK.21.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">&#8220;Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to the city. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="EZK.21.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem. </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="EZK.21.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="EZK.21.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="EZK.21.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="EZK.21.23"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="EZK.21.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">&#8220;Therefore this is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: &#8216;Because you people have brought to mind your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you do&#8212;because you have done this, you will be taken captive.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="EZK.21.24"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="EZK.21.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;You profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of punishment has reached its climax, </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="EZK.21.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">this is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low. </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="EZK.21.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I will give it.&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="EZK.21.27"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">&#8220;And you, son of man, prophesy and say, &#8216;This is what the Sovereign </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> says about the Ammonites and their insults:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;A sword, a sword,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">drawn for the slaughter,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">polished to consume</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">and to flash like lightning!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="EZK.21.28"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">Despite false visions concerning you</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">and lying divinations about you,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">it will be laid on the necks</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">of the wicked who are to be slain,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">whose day has come,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">whose time of punishment has reached its climax.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="EZK.21.29"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;Let the sword return to its sheath.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="content">In the place where you were created,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="content">in the land of your ancestry,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="content">I will judge you.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="EZK.21.30"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="label">31</span><span class="content">I will pour out my wrath on you</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="content">and breathe out my fiery anger against you;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="content">I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="content">men skilled in destruction.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="EZK.21.31"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.21.32"><span class="label">32</span><span class="content">You will be fuel for the fire,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.21.32"><span class="content">your blood will be shed in your land,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.21.32"><span class="content">you will be remembered no more;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="EZK.21.32"><span class="content">for I the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content"> have spoken.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span></span></div>
      </div>
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