13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 qNow it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 rSo the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not sfrom God, tfor he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, u“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And vthere was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, w“He is a prophet.”
18 xThe Jews1 did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things ybecause they feared the Jews, for zthe Jews had already agreed that if anyone should aconfess Jesus2 to be Christ, bhe was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, c“He is of age; ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, d“Give glory to God. We know that ethis man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I fwas blind, now I see.”
Walking in the Light
5 lThis is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that mGod is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 nIf we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and odo not practice the truth. 7 But pif we walk in the light, qas he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and rthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 sIf we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and tthe truth is not in us. 9 uIf we confess our sins, he is vfaithful and just to forgive us our sins and rto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, wwe make him a liar, and xhis word is not in us.
Job Replies: There Is No Arbiter
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Truly I know that it is so:
But how can a man be zin the right before God?
3 If one wished to acontend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4 He is bwise in heart and mighty in strength
—who has chardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
when he overturns them in his anger,
6 who dshakes the earth out of its place,
and eits pillars tremble;
7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
8 who alone fstretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the sea;
9 who gmade hthe Bear and iOrion,
the Pleiades jand the chambers of the south;
10 who does kgreat things beyond searching out,
and marvelous things beyond number.
11 Behold, he passes by me, and I lsee him not;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12 Behold, he snatches away; mwho can turn him back?
nWho will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 “God will not turn back his anger;
beneath him bowed the helpers of oRahab.
14 pHow then can I qanswer him,
choosing my words with him?
15 rThough I am in the right, I cannot answer him;
I must sappeal for mercy to my accuser.1
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17 For he crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds twithout cause;
18 he will not let me get my breath,
but fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a contest of ustrength, behold, he is mighty!
If it is a matter of justice, who can vsummon him?2
20 Though I am in the right, wmy own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
The Siege of Jerusalem
1 lIn the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 m“Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3 And nutter a parable to othe rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God:
“Set on pthe pot, set it on;
pour in water also;
4 put in it the pieces of meat,
all the good pieces, qthe thigh and the shoulder;
fill it with choice bones.
5 Take the choicest one of the flock;
pile the logs1 under it;
boil it well;
seethe also its bones in it.
6 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: rWoe to the bloody city, to pthe pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.2 7 For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on sthe bare rock; tshe did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. 8 To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. 9 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! uI also will make the pile great. 10 Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices,3 and let the bones be burned up. 11 Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, vthat its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed. 12 wShe has wearied herself with toil;4 its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion! 13 On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, xyou shall not be cleansed anymore till yI have satisfied my fury upon you. 14 zI am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; aI will not spare; bI will not relent; caccording to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.”
Ezekiel’s Wife Dies
15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 d“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. eBind on your turban, and fput your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, gnor eat the bread of men.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and hat evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did ias I was commanded.
19 And jthe people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” 20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: kBehold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and lyour sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And myou shall do as I have done; myou shall not cover your lips, gnor eat the bread of men. 23 mYour turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but nyou shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. 24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you oa sign; maccording to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then pyou will know that I am the Lord God.’
25 “As for you, qson of man, surely on the day when I take from them rtheir stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul’s desire, and also their sons and daughters, 26 son that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. 27 On that day your mouth twill be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. uSo you will be a sign to them, and vthey will know that I am the Lord.”
Prophecy Against Ammon
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 w“Son of man, xset your face toward ythe Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: zThus says the Lord God, Because you said, a‘Aha!’ over my bsanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore behold, I am handing you over to cthe people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5 I will make dRabbah a epasture for camels and Ammon5 ea fold for flocks. vThen you will know that I am the Lord. 6 For thus says the Lord God: Because fyou have clapped your hands gand stamped your feet and hrejoiced with all the imalice within your soul against the land of Israel, 7 therefore, behold, jI have stretched out my hand against you, and kwill hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Prophecy Against Moab and Seir
8 “Thus says the Lord God: Because lMoab and mSeir6 said, ‘Behold, the nhouse of Judah is like all the other nations,’ 9 therefore lI will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, oBeth-jeshimoth, pBaal-meon, and qKiriathaim. 10 I will give it ralong with the Ammonites sto the people of the East as a possession, tthat the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations, 11 land I will execute judgments upon Moab. uThen they will know that I am the Lord.
Prophecy Against Edom
12 “Thus says the Lord God: Because vEdom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended win taking vengeance on them, 13 therefore thus says the Lord God, xI will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from yTeman even to zDedan they shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom aby the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and bthey shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.
Prophecy Against Philistia
15 “Thus says the Lord God: Because cthe Philistines dacted revengefully and took vengeance ewith malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, 16 therefore thus says the Lord God, xBehold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off fthe Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance on them gwith wrathful rebukes. hThen they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”
Prophecy Against Tyre
1 iIn the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 j“Son of man, because kTyre said concerning Jerusalem, l‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ 3 therefore thus says the Lord God: mBehold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up nmany nations against you, oas the sea brings up its waves. 4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and pmake her a bare rock. 5 She qshall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, rfor I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. sThen they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “For thus says the Lord God: tBehold, I will bring against Tyre ufrom the north Nebuchadnezzar7 king of Babylon, vking of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. 8 He will kill with the sword wyour daughters on the mainland. xHe will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise ya roof of shields against you. 9 zHe will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. 11 With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will plunder ayour riches and loot ayour merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and bsoil they will cast into the midst of the waters. 13 cAnd I will stop the music of your songs, and dthe sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 pI will make you a bare rock. qYou shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, rfor I am the Lord; I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
15 “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not ethe coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, fwhen the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? 16 Then all gthe princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and hremove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; ithey will sit on the ground and jtremble every moment and kbe appalled at you. 17 And they will lraise a lamentation over you and say to you,
“‘How you have perished,
you who were inhabited from the seas,
O city renowned,
mwho was mighty on the sea;
she and her inhabitants nimposed their terror
on all her inhabitants!
18 Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your fall,
and the coastlands that are on the sea
are dismayed at your passing.’
19 “For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, owhen I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, 20 then pI will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, pwith those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty qin the land of the living. 21 I will bring you rto a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. sThough you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”
