Ezekiel 22

• 1. Now this message came to me from the LORD:
• 2. "Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Denounce her terrible deeds in public,
• 3. and give her this message from the Sovereign LORD: O city of murderers, doomed and damned--city of idols, filthy and foul--
• 4. you are guilty of both murder and idolatry. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world.
• 5. O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people both far and near.
• 6. "Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.
• 7. Fathers and mothers are contemptuously ignored. Resident foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed.
• 8. Inside your walls you despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.
• 9. People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who take part in lewd activities.
• 10. Men sleep with their fathers' wives and have intercourse with women who are menstruating.
• 11. Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors' wives, who defile their daughters-in-law or who rape their own sisters.
• 12. There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere! They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign LORD.
• 13. "But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.
• 14. How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the LORD, have spoken! I will do what I have said.
• 15. I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.
• 16. And when you have been dishonored among the nations, you will know that I am the LORD."
• 17. Then this message came to me from the LORD:
• 18. "Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over--a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.
• 19. So give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.
• 20. I will melt you down in the heat of my fury, just as copper, tin, iron, and lead are melted down in a furnace.
• 21. I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,
• 22. and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out my fury on you."
• 23. Again a message came to me from the LORD:
• 24. "Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: In the day of my indignation, you will become like an uncleared wilderness or a desert without rain.
• 25. Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They increase the number of widows in the land.
• 26. Your priests have violated my laws and defiled my holy things. To them there is no difference between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that my holy name is greatly dishonored among them.
• 27. Your leaders are like wolves, who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people's lives for profit!
• 28. And your prophets announce false visions and speak false messages. They say, `My message is from the Sovereign LORD,' when the LORD hasn't spoken a single word to them. They repair cracked walls with whitewash!
• 29. Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.
• 30. "I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one.
• 31. So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them in the fire of my anger. I will heap on them the full penalty for all their sins, says the Sovereign LORD."

Ezekiel 23

• 1. This message came to me from the LORD:
• 2. "Son of man, once there were two sisters who were daughters of the same mother.
• 3. They became prostitutes in Egypt. Even as young girls, they allowed themselves to be fondled and caressed.
• 4. The older girl was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. I married them, and they bore me sons and daughters. I am speaking of Samaria and Jerusalem, for Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.
• 5. "Then Oholah lusted after other lovers instead of me, and she gave her love to the Assyrians, her neighbors.
• 6. They were all attractive young men, captains and commanders dressed in handsome blue, dashing about on their horses.
• 7. And so she prostituted herself with the most desirable men of Assyria, worshiping their idols and defiling herself.
• 8. For when she left Egypt, she did not leave her spirit of prostitution behind. She was still as lewd as in her youth, when the Egyptians satisfied their lusts with her and robbed her of her virginity.
• 9. And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much.
• 10. They stripped her and killed her and took away her children as their slaves. Her name was known to every woman in the land as a sinner who had received what she deserved.
• 11. "Yet even though Oholibah saw what had happened to Oholah, her sister, she followed right in her footsteps. And she was even more depraved, abandoning herself to her lust and prostitution.
• 12. She fawned over her Assyrian neighbors, those handsome young men on fine horses, those captains and commanders in handsome uniforms--all of them desirable.
• 13. I saw the way she was going, defiling herself just like her older sister.
• 14. "Then she carried her prostitution even further. She fell in love with pictures that were painted on a wall--pictures of Babylonian military officers, outfitted in striking red uniforms.
• 15. Handsome belts encircled their waists, and flowing turbans crowned their heads. They were dressed like chariot officers from the land of Babylonia.
• 16. When she saw these paintings, she longed to give herself to them, so she sent messengers to Babylonia to invite them to come to her.
• 17. So they came and committed adultery with her, defiling her in the bed of love. But later, she became disgusted with them and broke off their relationship.
• 18. "So I became disgusted with Oholibah, just as I was with her sister, because she flaunted herself before them and gave herself to satisfy their lusts.
• 19. But that didn't bother her. She turned to even greater prostitution, remembering her youth when she was a prostitute in Egypt.
• 20. She lusted after lovers whose attentions were gross and bestial.
• 21. And so, Oholibah, you celebrated your former days as a young girl in Egypt, when you first allowed yourself to be fondled and caressed.
• 22. "Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will send your lovers against you--those very nations from which you turned away in disgust.
• 23. For the Babylonians will come with all the Chaldeans from Pekod and Shoa and Koa. And all the Assyrians will come with them--handsome young captains, commanders, chariot officers, and other high-ranking officers, riding their horses.
• 24. They will all come against you from the north with chariots, wagons, and a great army fully prepared for attack. They will take up positions on every side, surrounding you with men armed for battle. And I will hand you over to them so they can do with you as they please.
• 25. I will turn my jealous anger against you, and they will deal furiously with you. They will cut off your nose and ears, and any survivors will then be slaughtered by the sword. Your children will be taken away as captives, and everything that is left will be burned.
• 26. They will strip you of your beautiful clothes and jewels.
• 27. In this way, I will put a stop to the lewdness and prostitution you brought from Egypt. You will never again cast longing eyes on those things or fondly remember your time in Egypt.
• 28. "For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will surely hand you over to your enemies, to those you loathe.
• 29. They will deal with you in hatred and rob you of all you own, leaving you naked and bare. The shame of your prostitution will be exposed to all the world.
• 30. You brought all this on yourself by prostituting yourself to other nations, defiling yourself with all their idols.
• 31. Because you have followed in your sister's footsteps, I will punish you with the same terrors that destroyed her.
• 32. "Yes, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: You will drink from the same cup of terror as your sister--a cup that is large and deep. And all the world will mock and scorn you in your desolation.
• 33. You will reel like a drunkard beneath the awful blows of sorrow and distress, just as your sister Samaria did.
• 34. In deep anguish you will drain that cup of terror to the very bottom. Then you will smash it to pieces and beat your breast in anguish. For I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!
• 35. And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, says the Sovereign LORD, you must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution."
• 36. The LORD said to me, "Son of man, you must accuse Oholah and Oholibah of all their awful deeds.
• 37. They have committed both adultery and murder--adultery by worshiping idols and murder by burning their children as sacrifices on their altars.
• 38. Then after doing these terrible things, they defiled my Temple and violated my Sabbath day!
• 39. On the very day that they murdered their children in front of their idols, they boldly came into my Temple to worship! They came in and defiled my house!
• 40. "You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them.
• 41. You sat with them on a beautifully embroidered couch and put my incense and my oil on a table that was spread before you.
• 42. From your room came the sound of many men carousing. They were lustful men and drunkards from the wilderness, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your heads.
• 43. Then I said, `If they really want to sleep with worn-out, old prostitutes like these, let them!'
• 44. And that is what they did. They slept with Oholah and Oholibah, these shameless prostitutes, with all the zest of lustful young men.
• 45. But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are--adulteresses and murderers. They will sentence them to all the punishment they deserve.
• 46. "Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered.
• 47. For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes.
• 48. In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to others not to follow their wicked example.
• 49. You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution--your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty! Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD."

Ezekiel 24

• 1. On January 15, during the ninth year of King Jehoiachin's captivity, this message came to me from the LORD:
• 2. "Son of man, write down today's date, because on this very day the king of Babylon is beginning his attack against Jerusalem.
• 3. Then show these rebels an illustration; give them a message from the Sovereign LORD. Put a pot of water on the fire to boil.
• 4. Fill it with choice meat--the rump and the shoulder and all the most tender cuts.
• 5. Use only the best sheep from the flock and heap fuel on the fire beneath the pot. Bring the pot to a boil, and cook the bones along with the meat.
• 6. "Now this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Destruction is certain for Jerusalem, the city of murderers! She is a pot filled with corruption. So take the meat out chunk by chunk in whatever order it comes,
• 7. for her wickedness is evident to all. She murders boldly, leaving blood on the rocks for all to see. She doesn't even try to cover it!
• 8. So I will splash her blood on a rock as an open expression of my anger and vengeance against her.
• 9. "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Destruction is certain for Jerusalem, the city of murderers! I myself will pile up the fuel beneath her.
• 10. Yes, heap on the wood! Let the fire roar to make the pot boil. Cook the meat well with many spices. Then empty the pot and burn the bones.
• 11. Now set the empty pot on the coals to scorch away the filth and corruption.
• 12. But it's hopeless; the corruption remains. So throw it into the fire!
• 13. It is the filth and corruption of your lewdness and idolatry. And now, because I tried to cleanse you but you refused, you will remain filthy until my fury against you has been satisfied.
• 14. I, the LORD, have spoken! The time has come and I won't hold back; I will not change my mind. You will be judged on the basis of all your wicked actions, says the Sovereign LORD."
• 15. Then this message came to me from the LORD:
• 16. "Son of man, I am going to take away your dearest treasure. Suddenly she will die. Yet you must not show any sorrow. Do not weep; let there be no tears.
• 17. You may sigh but only quietly. Let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends."
• 18. So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do.
• 19. Then the people asked, "What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?"
• 20. So I said to them, "A message came to me from the LORD,
• 21. and I was told to give this message to the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will desecrate my Temple, the source of your security and pride. Your sons and daughters in Judea will be slaughtered by the sword.
• 22. Then you will do as Ezekiel has done. You will not mourn in public or console yourselves by eating the food brought to you by sympathetic friends.
• 23. Your heads must remain covered, and your sandals must not be taken off. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins. You will mourn privately for all the evil you have done.
• 24. Ezekiel is an example for you to follow; you will do as he has done. And when that time comes, you will know that I am the LORD."
• 25. Then the LORD said to me, "Son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold--their joy and glory, their heart's desire, their dearest treasure--I will also take away their sons and daughters.
• 26. And on that day a refugee from Jerusalem will come to you in Babylon and tell you what has happened.
• 27. And when he arrives, your voice will suddenly return so you can talk to him, and you will be a symbol for these people. Then they will know that I am the LORD."

New Living Translation: 286 of 324 days.