Bible-Reading.comEzekiel 31
1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his multitude: ‘Who can be compared to your greatness?
3Look at Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, with beautiful branches that shaded the forest. It towered on high; its top was among the clouds.
4The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.
5Therefore it towered higher than all the trees of the field. Its branches multiplied, and its boughs grew long as it spread them out because of the abundant waters.
6All the birds of the air nested in its branches, and all the beasts of the field gave birth beneath its boughs; all the great nations lived in its shade.
7It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its limbs, for its roots extended to abundant waters.
8The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it; the cypresses could not compare with its branches, nor the plane trees match its boughs. No tree in the garden of God could compare with its beauty.
9I made it beautiful with its many branches, the envy of all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God.’
10Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,
11I delivered it into the hand of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with it according to its wickedness. I have banished it.
12Foreigners, the most ruthless of the nations, cut it down and left it. Its branches have fallen on the mountains and in every valley; its boughs lay broken in all the earth’s ravines. And all the peoples of the earth left its shade and abandoned it.
13All the birds of the air nested on its fallen trunk, and all the beasts of the field lived among its boughs.
14This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.’
15This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘On the day it was brought down to Sheol, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it; I held back its rivers; its abundant waters were restrained. I made Lebanon mourn for it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.
16I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below.
17They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.
18Who then is like you in glory and greatness among the trees of Eden? You also will be brought down to the depths of the earth to be with the trees of Eden. You will lie among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, declares the Lord GOD.’”
Ezekiel 32
1In the twelfth year, on the first day of the twelfth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’
3This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will spread My net over you with a company of many peoples, and they will draw you up in My net.
4I will abandon you on the land and hurl you into the open field. I will cause all the birds of the air to settle upon you, and all the beasts of the earth to eat their fill of you.
5I will put your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your remains.
6I will drench the land with the flow of your blood, all the way to the mountains— the ravines will be filled.
7When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light.
8All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you, and I will bring darkness upon your land,’ declares the Lord GOD.
9‘I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring about your destruction among the nations, in countries you do not know.
10I will cause many peoples to be appalled over you, and their kings will shudder in horror because of you when I brandish My sword before them. On the day of your downfall each of them will tremble every moment for his life.’
11For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘The sword of the king of Babylon will come against you!
12I will make your hordes fall by the swords of the mighty, the most ruthless of all nations. They will ravage the pride of Egypt and all her multitudes will be destroyed.
13I will slaughter all her cattle beside the abundant waters. No human foot will muddy them again, and no cattle hooves will disturb them.
14Then I will let her waters settle and will make her rivers flow like oil,’ declares the Lord GOD.
15‘When I make the land of Egypt a desolation and empty it of all that filled it, when I strike down all who live there, then they will know that I am the LORD.’
16This is the lament they will chant for her; the daughters of the nations will chant it. Over Egypt and all her multitudes they will chant it, declares the Lord GOD.”
17In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18“Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:
19Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised!
20They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! Let them drag her away along with all her multitudes.
21Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: ‘They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.’
22Assyria is there with her whole company; her graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword.
23Her graves are set in the depths of the Pit, and her company is all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword— those who once spread terror in the land of the living.
24Elam is there with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword— those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.
25Among the slain they prepare a resting place for Elam with all her hordes, with her graves all around her. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword, although their terror was once spread in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit. They are placed among the slain.
26Meshech and Tubal are there with all their multitudes, with their graves all around them. All of them are uncircumcised, slain by the sword, because they spread their terror in the land of the living.
27They do not lie down with the fallen warriors of old, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads, whose shields rested on their bones, although the terror of the mighty was once in the land of the living.
28But you too will be shattered and lie down among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.
29Edom is there, and all her kings and princes, who despite their might are laid among those slain by the sword. They lie down with the uncircumcised, with those who descend to the Pit.
30All the leaders of the north and all the Sidonians are there; they went down in disgrace with the slain, despite the terror of their might. They lie uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bear their shame with those who descend to the Pit.
31Pharaoh will see them and be comforted over all his multitude— Pharaoh and all his army, slain by the sword, declares the Lord GOD.
32For I will spread My terror in the land of the living, so that Pharaoh and all his multitude will be laid to rest among the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword, declares the Lord GOD.”
Ezekiel 33
1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, speak to your people and tell them: ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land choose a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman,
3and he sees the sword coming against that land and blows the ram’s horn to warn the people.
4Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
5Since he heard the sound of the horn but failed to heed the warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had heeded the warning, he would have saved his life.
6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the horn to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes away a life, then that one will be taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’
7As for you, O son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word from My mouth and give them the warning from Me.
8If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood.
9But if you warn the wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from it, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.
10Now as for you, son of man, tell the house of Israel that this is what they have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins are heavy upon us, and we are wasting away because of them! How can we live?’
11Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
12Therefore, son of man, say to your people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression; neither will the wickedness of the wicked man cause him to stumble on the day he turns from his wickedness. Nor will the righteous man be able to survive by his righteousness on the day he sins.’
13If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.
14But if I tell the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right—
15if he restores a pledge, makes restitution for what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without practicing iniquity—then he will surely live; he will not die.
16None of the sins he has committed will be held against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.
17Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just.
18If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.
19But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live because of this.
20Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his ways, O house of Israel.”
21In the twelfth year of our exile, on the fifth day of the tenth month, a fugitive from Jerusalem came to me and reported, “The city has been taken!”
22Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.
23Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
24“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’
25Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?
26You have relied on your swords, you have committed detestable acts, and each of you has defiled his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’
27Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.
28I will make the land a desolate waste, and the pride of her strength will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will become desolate, so that no one will pass through.
29Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the abominations they have committed.’
30As for you, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD!’
31So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
32Indeed, you are to them like a singer of love songs with a beautiful voice, who skillfully plays an instrument. They hear your words but do not put them into practice.
33So when it comes to pass—and surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Ezekiel 34
1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
3You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
4You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.
5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.
6My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’
7Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,
9therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!’
10This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’
11For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.
12As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
13I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them into their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the settlements of the land.
14I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
15I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
16I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak; but the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice.’
17This is what the Lord GOD says to you, My flock: ‘I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the goats.
18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink the clear waters? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
19Why must My flock feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied?’
20Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
21Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,
22I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
23I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
24I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.
25I will make with them a covenant of peace and rid the land of wild animals, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest.
26I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing.
27The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.
28They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not consume them. They will dwell securely, and no one will frighten them.
29And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
30Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,’ declares the Lord GOD.
31‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
Ezekiel 35
1Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it,
3and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Mount Seir. I will stretch out My hand against you and make you a desolate waste.
4I will turn your cities into ruins, and you will become a desolation. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
5Because you harbored an ancient hatred and delivered the Israelites over to the sword in the time of their disaster at the final stage of their punishment,
6therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.
7I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and will cut off from it those who come and go.
8I will fill its mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.
9I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
10Because you have said, ‘These two nations and countries will be ours, and we will possess them,’ even though the LORD was there,
11therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will treat you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred against them, and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.
12Then you will know that I, the LORD, have heard every contemptuous word you uttered against the mountains of Israel when you said, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to devour!’
13You boasted against Me with your mouth and multiplied your words against Me. I heard it Myself!
14This is what the Lord GOD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate.
15As you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, so will I do to you. You will become a desolation, O Mount Seir, and so will all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 36
1“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.
2This is what the Lord GOD says: Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’
3therefore prophesy and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you on every side, so that you became a possession of the rest of the nations and were taken up in slander by the lips of their talkers,
4therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD. This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become a spoil and a mockery to the rest of the nations around you.
5Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Surely in My burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who took My land as their own possession with wholehearted joy and utter contempt, so that its pastureland became plunder.
6Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and tell the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I have spoken in My burning zeal because you have endured the reproach of the nations.
7Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I have sworn with an uplifted hand that surely the nations around you will endure reproach of their own.
8But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and bear fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home.
9For behold, I am on your side; I will turn toward you, and you will be tilled and sown.
10I will multiply the people upon you—the house of Israel in its entirety. The cities will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.
11I will fill you with people and animals, and they will multiply and be fruitful. I will make you as inhabited as you once were, and I will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
12Yes, I will cause My people Israel to walk upon you; they will possess you, and you will be their inheritance, and you will no longer deprive them of their children.
13For this is what the Lord GOD says: Because people say to you, ‘You devour men and deprive your nation of its children,’
14therefore you will no longer devour men or deprive your nation of its children, declares the Lord GOD.
15I will no longer allow the taunts of the nations to be heard against you, and you will no longer endure the reproach of the peoples or cause your nation to stumble, declares the Lord GOD.”
16Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
17“Son of man, when the people of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. Their behavior before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman’s impurity.
18So I poured out My wrath upon them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols.
19I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered throughout the lands. I judged them according to their ways and deeds.
20And wherever they went among the nations, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, yet they had to leave His land.’
21But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had gone.
22Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: It is not for your sake that I will act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations to which you went.
23I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.
24For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and I will bring you back into your own land.
25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.
28Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.
29I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will summon the grain and make it plentiful, and I will not bring famine upon you.
30I will also make the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field plentiful, so that you will no longer bear reproach among the nations on account of famine.
31Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and abominations.
32It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD—let it be known to you. Be ashamed and disgraced for your ways, O house of Israel!
33This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be resettled and the ruins to be rebuilt.
34The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through.
35Then they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden. The cities that were once ruined, desolate, and destroyed are now fortified and inhabited.’
36Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed, and I have replanted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do it.
37This is what the Lord GOD says: Once again I will hear the plea of the house of Israel and do for them this: I will multiply their people like a flock.
38Like the numerous flocks for sacrifices at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”