Judgment on Wicked Counselors

1 ^sThe Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^tthe east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were ^utwenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah ^vthe son of Azzur, and ^wPelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And he said to me, ^x“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3 ^ywho say, ^z‘The time is not near¹ to build houses. ^aThis city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

5 And ^bthe Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. ^cFor I know the things that come into your mind. 6 ^dYou have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^eYour slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, ^athey are the meat, and ^athis city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. 8 ^fYou have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ^ggive you into the hands of foreigners, and ^hexecute judgments upon you. 10 ⁱYou shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ^jand you shall know that I am the Lord. 11 ^kThis city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, 12 and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ^lbut have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ^mthat ⁿPelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ^oThen I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ^o“Ah, Lord God! ^pWill you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel’s New Heart and Spirit

14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 ^q“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,² the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^r‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^sI have been a sanctuary to them for a while³ in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^tI will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^tand I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, ^uthey will remove from it all its ^vdetestable things and all its abominations. 19 ^wAnd I will give them one heart, and ^xa new spirit I will put within them. ^yI will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^zand give them a heart of flesh, 20 ^athat they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^bAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 ^cBut as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^dI will⁴ bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

22 ^eThen the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^eand the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^fstood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. 24 ^gAnd the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^hin the vision by the Spirit of God ⁱinto Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

Judah’s Captivity Symbolized

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^j“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ^ka rebellious house, ^lwho have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are ^ka rebellious house. 3 As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself ^man exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day ⁿin their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place ⁿin their sight. ^oPerhaps they will understand, though⁵ they are a rebellious house. 4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself ^pat evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. 5 In their sight ^qdig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. 6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you ^ra sign for the house of Israel.”

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

8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9 ^u“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^vthe rebellious house, said to you, ^w‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns^{6 x}the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’⁷ 11 Say, ^y‘I am a sign for you: ^zas I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ 12 ^aAnd the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. ^bThey shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. ^cHe shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13 ^dAnd I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And ^eI will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, ^eyet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. 14 ^fAnd I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, ^gand I will unsheathe the sword after them. 15 ^hAnd they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. 16 ⁱBut I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, ^jand may know that I am the Lord.”

17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 ^k“Son of man, ^leat your bread with quaking, and drink 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: ^mThey shall eat their bread with anxiety, ^mand drink water in dismay. In this way ⁿher land will be stripped of all it contains, ^oon account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 ^pAnd the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

21 And the word of the Lord came to me: 22 “Son of man, ^qwhat is this proverb that you⁸ have about the land of Israel, saying, ^r‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? 23 Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, ^sThe days are near, and the fulfillment⁹ of every vision. 24 ^tFor there shall be no more any ^ufalse vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord; I will speak ^vthe word that I will speak, and it will be performed. ^wIt will no longer be delayed, but in your days, ^xO rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”

26 And the word of the Lord came to me: 27 “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ^y‘The vision that he sees is ^zfor many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^wNone of my words will be delayed any longer, ^vbut the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”

The Earthly Holy Place

1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and ^man earthly place of holiness. 2 For ⁿa tent¹ was prepared, the first section, in which were ^othe lampstand and ^pthe table and ^qthe bread of the Presence.² It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind ^rthe second curtain was a second section³ called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden ^saltar of incense and ^tthe ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was ^ua golden urn holding the manna, and ^vAaron’s staff that budded, and ^wthe tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were ^xthe cherubim of glory overshadowing ^ythe mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6 These preparations having thus been made, ^zthe priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only ^athe high priest goes, and he but ^aonce a year, and not without taking blood, ^bwhich he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that ^cthe way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age).⁴ According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered ^dthat cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with ^efood and drink and ^fvarious washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

Redemption Through the Blood of Christ

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest ^gof the good things that have come,⁵ then through ^hthe greater and more perfect tent (ⁱnot made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he ^jentered ^konce for all into the holy places, not by means of ^lthe blood of goats and calves but ^mby means of his own blood, ⁿthus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if ^othe blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with ^pthe ashes of a heifer, sanctify⁶ for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will ^qthe blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit ^roffered himself without blemish to God, ^spurify our⁷ conscience ^tfrom dead works ^uto serve the living God.

15 Therefore he is ^vthe mediator of a new covenant, so that ^wthose who are called may ^xreceive the promised eternal inheritance, ^ysince a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.⁸ 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For ^za will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated ^awithout blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took ^bthe blood of calves and goats, ^cwith water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, ^d“This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both ^ethe tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and ^fwithout the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

23 Thus it was necessary for ^gthe copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places ^hmade with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God ⁱon our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as ^jthe high priest enters ^kthe holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, ^lhe has appeared ^monce for all ⁿat the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as ^oit is appointed for man to die once, and ^pafter that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once ^qto bear the sins of ^rmany, will appear ^sa second time, ^tnot to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly ^uwaiting for him.

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^mAscents.