Sep 15 - Ezekiel 33-35
Ezekiel
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying2"Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and you shall say to them: Concerning the land, when I will have led the sword over it: if the people of the land take a man, one of their least, and appoint him over themselves as a watchman3and if he sees the sword approaching over the land, and he sounds the trumpet, and he announces to the people4then, having heard the sound of the trumpet, whoever he is, if he also does not take care of himself, and the sword arrives and takes him: his blood will be upon his own head5He heard the sound of the trumpet, and he did not take care of himself, so his blood will be upon him. But if he guards himself, he will save his own life6And if the watchman sees the sword approaching, and he does not sound the trumpet, and so the people do not guard themselves, and the sword arrives and takes some of their lives, certainly these have been taken due to their own iniquity. But I will attribute their blood to the hand of the watchman7And as for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman to the house of Israel. Therefore, having heard the word from my mouth, you shall announce it to them from me8When I say to the impious, ‘O impious man, you will die a death,’ if you have not spoken so that the impious man will keep himself from his way, then that impious man will die in his iniquity. But I will attribute his blood to your hand9But if you have announced to the impious man, so that he may be converted from his ways, and he has not converted from his way, then he will die in his iniquity. Yet you will have freed your own soul10You, therefore, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: You have spoken in this way, saying: ‘Our iniquities and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them. So then, how would we be able to live?11Say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I do not desire the death of the impious, but that the impious should convert from his way and live. Be converted, be converted from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel12And as for you then, son of man, say to the sons of your people: The justice of the just man will not deliver him, on whatever day he will have sinned. And the impiety of the impius man will not harm him, on whatever day he will have been converted from his impiety. And the just man will not be able to live by his justice, on whatever day he will have sinned13Even now, if I say to the just man that he shall certainly live, and so, with confidence in his justice, he commits iniquity, all his justices will be delivered into oblivion, and by his iniquity, which he has done, by this he shall die14And if I say to the impious man, ‘You shall certainly die,’ and yet he repents from his sin, and he does judgment and justice15and if that impious man returns the collateral, and repays what he has taken by force, and if he walks in the commandments of life, and does not do anything unjust, then he shall certainly live, and he shall not die16None of his sins, which he has committed, will be imputed to him. He has done judgment and justice, so he shall certainly live17And the sons of your people have said, ‘The way of the Lord is not a fair balance,’ even while their own way is unjust18For when the just man will have withdrawn from his justice, and committed iniquities, he shall die by these19And when the impious man will have withdrawn from his impiety, and have done judgment and justice, he shall live by these20And yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ But I shall judge each one of you according to his own ways, O house of Israel.21And it happened that, in the twelfth year of our transmigration, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, one who had fled from Jerusalem arrived saying, "The city has been laid waste.22But the hand of the Lord had been upon me in the evening, before the one who had fled arrived. And he opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning. And since my mouth had been opened, I was no longer silent23And the word of the Lord came to me, saying24"Son of man, as for those who live in these ruinous ways on the soil of Israel, when speaking, they say: ‘Abraham was one man, and he possessed the land as an inheritance. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.25Therefore, you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: You who eat even the blood, and who lift up your eyes to your uncleannesses, and who shed blood: will you possess the land as an inheritance26You stood by your swords, you committed abominations, and each one has defiled his neighbor’s wife. And will you possess the land as an inheritance27You shall say these things to them: So says the Lord God: As I live, those who live in ruinous ways will fall by the sword. And whoever is in the field will be delivered over to wild beasts to be devoured. But those who are in fortresses and in caves will die of the pestilence28And I will make the land into a wilderness and a desert. And its arrogant strength will fail. And the mountains of Israel will be desolate; for there will be no one who crosses through them29And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have made their land desolate and deserted, because of all their abominations, which they have worked30And as for you, O son of man: the sons of your people speak about you beside the walls and in the doorways of houses. And they speak to one another, each man to his neighbor, saying: ‘Come, and let us hear what may be the word going forth from the Lord.31And they come to you, as if the people were entering, and my people sit before you. And they listen to your words, but they do not do them. For they turn them into a song for their mouth, but their heart pursues their own avarice32And you are to them like a verse set to music, which is sung with a sweet and pleasing voice. And they hear your words, but they do not do them33And when what has been predicted occurs, for behold it is approaching, then they shall know that a prophet was among them.
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying2"Son of man, prophesy about the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and you shall say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds3You consumed the milk, and you covered yourselves with the wool, and you killed what was fattened. But my flock you did not feed4What was weak, you have not strengthened, and what was sick, you have not healed. What was broken, you have not bound, and what was cast aside, you have not led back again, and what was lost, you have not sought. Instead, you ruled over them with severity and with power5And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd. And they became devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, and they were dispersed6My sheep have wandered to every mountain and to every exalted hill. And my flocks have been scattered across the face of the earth. And there was no one who sought them; there was no one, I say, who sought them7Because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord8As I live, says the Lord God, since my flocks have become a prey, and my sheep have been devoured by all the wild beasts of the field, since there was no shepherd, for my shepherds did not seek my flock, but instead the shepherds fed themselves, and they did not feed my flocks9because of this, O shepherds, listen to the word of the Lord10Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will be over the shepherds. I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease, so that they no longer refrain from feeding the flock. Neither will the shepherds feed themselves any more. And I will deliver my flock from their mouth; and it will no longer be food for them11For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will seek my sheep, and I myself will visit them12Just as a shepherd visits his flock, in the day when he will be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep. And I will deliver them from all the places to which they had been scattered in the day of gloom and darkness13And I will lead them away from the peoples, and I will gather them from the lands, and I will bring them into their own land. And I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the settlements of the land14I will feed them in very fertile pastures, and their pastures will be on the lofty mountains of Israel. There they will rest on the green grass, and they will be fed in the fat pastures, on the mountains of Israel15I will feed my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord God16I will seek what had been lost. And I will lead back again what had been cast aside. And I will bind up what had been broken. And I will strengthen what had been infirm. And I will preserve what was fat and strong. And I will feed them on judgment17But as for you, O my flocks, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, among rams and among he-goats18Was it not enough for you to feed upon good pastures? For you even trample with your feet upon the remainder of your pastures. And when you drank the purist water, you disturbed the remainder with your feet19And my sheep were pastured from what you had trampled with your feet, and they drank from what your feet had disturbed20Because of this, thus says the Lord God to you: Behold, I myself am judging between the fat cattle and the lean21For you have pushed with your sides and shoulders, and you have threatened all the weak cattle with your horns, until they were scattered abroad22I will save my flock, and it will be no longer be a prey, and I will judge between cattle and cattle23And I will raise up over them ONE SHEPHERD, who will feed them, my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he will be their shepherd24And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant David will be the leader in their midst. I, the Lord, have spoken25And I will make a covenant of peace with them. And I will cause the very harmful beasts to cease from the land. And those who are living in the desert will sleep securely in the forests26And I will make them a blessing all around my hill. And I will send the rain in due time; there will be showers of blessing27And the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the land will yield its crop. And they will be in their own land without fear. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have crushed the chains of their yoke, and when I will have rescued them from the hand of those who rule over them28And they will no longer be a prey to the Gentiles, nor will the wild beasts of the earth devour them. Instead, they will live in confidence without any terror29And I will raise up for them a renown branch. And they will be no longer be diminished by famine in the land, nor will they carry any longer the reproach of the Gentiles30And they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, says the Lord God31For you are my flocks; the flocks of my pasture are men. And I am the Lord your God, says the Lord God.
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying2"Son of man, set your face against mount Seir, and you shall prophesy about it, and you shall say to it3Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, mount Seir, and I will extend my hand over you, and I will make you desolate and deserted4I will tear down your cities, and you will be deserted. And you shall know that I am the Lord5For you have been a continual adversary, and you have enclosed the sons of Israel, by the hands of the sword, in the time of their affliction, in the time of extreme iniquity6Because of this, as I live, says the Lord God, I will hand you over to blood, and blood will pursue you. Even though you have hated blood, blood will pursue you7And I will make mount Seir desolate and deserted. And I will take away from it the one who departs and the one who returns8And I will fill up its mountains with its slain. In your hills, and in your valleys, as well as in your torrents, the slain will fall by the sword9I will hand you over to everlasting desolations, and your cities will not be inhabited. And you shall know that I am the Lord God10For you have said, ‘Two nations and two lands will be mine, and I will possess them as an inheritance,’ though the Lord was in that place11Because of this, as I live, says the Lord God, I will act in accord with your own wrath, and in accord with your own zeal, by which you have acted with hatred toward them. And I will be made known by them, when I will have judged you12And you shall know that I, the Lord, have heard all your disgraces, which you have spoken about the mountains of Israel, saying: ‘They are deserted. They have been given to us to devour.13And you rose up against me with your mouth, and you disparaged against me with your words. I have heard14Thus says the Lord God: When the whole earth will rejoice, I will reduce you to solitude15Just as you have rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel, when it was laid waste, so will I act toward you. You will be laid waste, O mount Seir, with all of Idumea. And they shall know that I am the Lord.