Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^c“Son of man, ^dpropound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord God: ^eA great eagle ^fwith great wings and long pinions, ^frich in plumage of many colors, came ^gto Lebanon ^hand took the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land ⁱand planted it in fertile soil.¹ He placed it beside abundant waters. ^jHe set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a ^klow ^lspreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs.

7 ^m“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, ^mand behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from ⁿthe bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 ⁱIt had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.

9 “Say, Thus says the Lord God: ^mWill it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? ^oWill it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?”

11 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Say now to ^pthe rebellious house, ^qDo you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, ^rthe king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 ^sAnd he took one of the royal offspring^{2 t}and made a covenant with him, ^uputting him under oath (^vthe chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 ^wBut he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors ^xto Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. ^yWill he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he ^zbreak the covenant and yet escape?

16 ^a“As I live, declares the Lord God, surely ^bin the place where the king dwells ^cwho made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 ^dPharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, ^ewhen mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 ^fI will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon ^gand enter into judgment with him there ^hfor the treachery he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick³ of his troops shall fall by the sword, ⁱand the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that ^jI am the Lord; I have spoken.”

22 Thus says the Lord God: ^k“I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. ^lI will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and ^mI myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 ⁿOn the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. ^oAnd under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; ^pI bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up ^qthe green tree, and make ^qthe dry tree flourish. ^rI am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you⁴ mean ^sby repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ^t‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 ^uAs I live, declares the Lord God, ^vthis proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: ^wthe soul who sins shall die.

5 “If a man is righteous and does ^xwhat is just and right— 6 if he ^ydoes not eat upon the mountains or ^zlift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, ^adoes not defile his neighbor’s wife ^bor approach ^ca woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 ^ddoes not oppress anyone, but ^erestores to the debtor his pledge, ^fcommits no robbery, ^ggives his bread to the hungry ^gand covers the naked with a garment, 8 ^hdoes not lend at interest ^hor take any profit,⁵ withholds his hand from injustice, ⁱexecutes true justice between man and man, 9 ^jwalks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; ^khe shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

10 “If he fathers a son who is violent, ^la shedder of blood, who does any of these things 11 (though he himself did none of these things), ^mwho even eats upon the mountains, ⁿdefiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, ^ocommits robbery, ^odoes not restore the pledge, ^plifts up his eyes to the idols, ^qcommits abomination, 13 ^rlends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; ^shis blood shall be upon himself.

14 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: 15 he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 does not oppress anyone, ^texacts no pledge, ^ucommits no robbery, ^vbut gives his bread to the hungry ^vand covers the naked with a garment, 17 withholds his hand from iniquity,⁶ takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, ^wand walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; ^xhe shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, ^ybehold, he shall die for his iniquity.

19 “Yet you say, ^z‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done ^awhat is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, ^bhe shall surely live. 20 ^cThe soul who sins shall die. ^dThe son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. ^eThe righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, ^fand the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

21 ^g“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does ^hwhat is just and right, ⁱhe shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 ^jNone of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 ^kHave I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 ^lBut when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? ^mNone of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for ⁿthe treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

25 ^o“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 ^lWhen a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, ^pwhen a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?

30 “Therefore ^qI will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. ^rRepent and turn from all your transgressions, ^slest iniquity be your ruin.⁷ 31 ^tCast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and ^umake yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ^vWhy will you die, O house of Israel? 32 ^wFor I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; ^rso turn, and live.”

By Faith

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of ^ethings not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by ^fthe word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of ^gthings that are visible.

4 By faith ^hAbel offered to God ⁱa more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And ^jthrough his faith, though he died, he ^kstill speaks. 5 By faith ^lEnoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God ^mmust believe that he exists and ^mthat he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith ⁿNoah, being warned by God concerning ^oevents as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of ^pthe righteousness that comes by faith.

8 By faith ^qAbraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place ^rthat he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in ^sthe land of promise, as in a foreign land, ^tliving in tents ^uwith Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to ^vthe city that has ^wfoundations, ^xwhose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith ^ySarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered ^zhim faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and ^ahim as good as dead, were born descendants ^bas many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

13 These all died in faith, ^cnot having received the things promised, but ^dhaving seen them and greeted them from afar, and ^ehaving acknowledged that they were ^fstrangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, ^gthey would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed ^hto be called their God, for ⁱhe has prepared for them a city.

17 By faith ^jAbraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,

Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord

A Song of ^mAscents.