Ezekiel 13

• 1. Then this message came to me from the LORD:
• 2. "Son of man, speak against the false prophets of Israel who are inventing their own prophecies. Tell them to listen to the word of the LORD.
• 3. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Destruction is certain for the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!
• 4. "O people of Israel, these prophets of yours are like jackals digging around in the ruins.
• 5. They have done nothing to strengthen the breaks in the walls around the nation. They have not helped it to stand firm in battle on the day of the LORD.
• 6. Instead, they have lied and said, `My message is from the LORD,' even though the LORD never sent them. And yet they expect him to fulfill their prophecies!
• 7. Can your visions be anything but false if you claim, `This message is from the LORD,' when I have not even spoken to you?
• 8. "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because what you say is false and your visions are a lie, I will stand against you, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 9. I will raise my fist against all the lying prophets, and they will be banished from the community of Israel. I will blot their names from Israel's record books, and they will never again see their own land. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD!
• 10. "These evil prophets deceive my people by saying, `All is peaceful!' when there is no peace at all! It's as if the people have built a flimsy wall, and these prophets are trying to hold it together by covering it with whitewash!
• 11. Tell these whitewashers that their wall will soon fall down. A heavy rainstorm will undermine it; great hailstones and mighty winds will knock it down.
• 12. And when the wall falls, the people will cry out, `Where is the whitewash you applied?'
• 13. "Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will sweep away your whitewashed wall with a storm of indignation, with a great flood of anger, and with hailstones of fury.
• 14. I will break down your wall right to the foundation, and when it falls, it will crush you. Then you will know that I am the LORD!
• 15. At last my anger against the wall and those who covered it with whitewash will be satisfied. Then I will say to you: `The wall and those who whitewashed it are both gone.
• 16. They were lying prophets who claimed peace would come to Jerusalem when there was no peace. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!'
• 17. "Now, son of man, also speak out against the women who prophesy from their own imaginations.
• 18. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Destruction is certain for you women who are ensnaring the souls of my people, both young and old alike. You tie magic charms on their wrists and furnish them with magic veils. Do you think you can trap others without bringing destruction on yourselves?
• 19. You turn my people away from me for a few handfuls of barley or a piece of bread. By lying to my people who love to listen to lies, you kill those who should not die, and you promise life to those who should not live.
• 20. "And so the Sovereign LORD says: I am against all your magic charms, which you use to ensnare my people like birds. I will tear them from your arms, setting my people free like birds set free from a cage.
• 21. I will tear off the magic veils and save my people from your grasp. They will no longer be your victims. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
• 22. You have discouraged the righteous with your lies, when I didn't want them to suffer grief. And you have encouraged the wicked by promising them life, even though they continue in their sins.
• 23. But you will no longer talk of seeing visions that you never saw, nor will you practice your magic. For I will rescue my people from your grasp. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

Ezekiel 14

• 1. Then some of the leaders of Israel visited me, and while they were there,
• 2. this message came to me from the LORD:
• 3. "Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. They have embraced things that lead them into sin. Why should I let them ask me anything?
• 4. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: I, the LORD, will punish the people of Israel who set up idols in their hearts so they fall into sin and then come to a prophet asking for help.
• 5. I will do this to capture the minds and hearts of all my people who have turned from me to worship their detestable idols.
• 6. "Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and stop all your loathsome practices.
• 7. I, the LORD, will punish all those, both Israelites and foreigners, who reject me and set up idols in their hearts so they fall into sin, and who then come to a prophet asking for my advice.
• 8. I will turn against such people and make a terrible example of them, destroying them. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
• 9. And if a prophet is deceived and gives a message anyway, it is because I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet. I will stand against such prophets and cut them off from the community of Israel.
• 10. False prophets and hypocrites--evil people who claim to want my advice--will all be punished for their sins.
• 11. In this way, the people of Israel will learn not to stray from me, polluting themselves with sin. They will be my people, and I will be their God, says the Sovereign LORD."
• 12. Then this message came to me from the LORD:
• 13. "Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals alike.
• 14. Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, their righteousness would save no one but themselves, declares the Sovereign LORD.
• 15. "Or suppose I were to send an invasion of dangerous wild animals to devastate the land and kill the people.
• 16. Even if these three men were there, the Sovereign LORD swears that it would do no good--it wouldn't save the people from destruction. Those three alone would be saved, but the land would be devastated.
• 17. "Or suppose I were to bring war against the land, and I told enemy armies to come and destroy everything.
• 18. Even if these three men were in the land, the Sovereign LORD swears that they could not save the people. They alone would be saved.
• 19. "Or suppose I were to pour out my fury by sending an epidemic of disease into the land, and the plague killed people and animals alike.
• 20. Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living there, the Sovereign LORD swears that they could not save the people. They alone would be saved by their righteousness.
• 21. "Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: How terrible it will be when all four of these fearsome punishments fall upon Jerusalem--war, famine, beasts, and plague--destroying all her people and animals.
• 22. Yet there will be survivors, and they will come here to join you as exiles in Babylon. You will see with your own eyes how wicked they are, and then you will feel better about what I have done to Jerusalem.
• 23. When you meet them and see their behavior, you will agree that these things are not being done to Israel without cause, says the Sovereign LORD."

Ezekiel 15

• 1. Then this message came to me from the LORD:
• 2. "Son of man, how does a grapevine compare to a tree? Is a vine's wood as useful as the wood of a tree?
• 3. Can its wood be used for making things, like pegs to hang up pots and pans?
• 4. No, it can only be used for fuel, and even as fuel, it burns too quickly.
• 5. Vine branches are useless both before and after being put into the fire!
• 6. "And this is what the Sovereign LORD says: The people of Jerusalem are like grapevines growing among the trees of the forest. Since they are useless, I have set them aside to be burned!
• 7. And I will see to it that if they escape from one fire, they will fall into another. When this happens, you will know that I am the LORD.
• 8. And I will make the land desolate because my people have been unfaithful to me, says the Sovereign LORD."

New Living Translation: 283 of 324 days.