Through the Bible – Day 324

₄₄People will use this saying about you, Jerusalem: “If the mother is bad, so is her daughter.” ₄₅You are just like your mother, who hated her husband and her own children. You are also like your sisters, who hated their husbands and children. Your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite. ₄₆Your elder sister was Samaria, that city to your north with her nearby villages. Your younger sister was Sodom, that city to your south with her nearby villages. ₄₇You followed their way of life and their wicked customs, and soon you were more disgusting than they were.

₄₈As surely as I am the living LORD God, the people of Sodom and its nearby villages were never as sinful as you. ₄₉They were arrogant and spoilt; they had everything they needed and still refused to help the poor and needy. ₅₀They thought they were better than everyone else, and they did things I hate. And so I destroyed them.

₅₁You people of Jerusalem have sinned twice as much as the people of Samaria. In fact, your evil ways have made both Sodom and Samaria look innocent. ₅₂So their punishment will seem light compared to yours. You will be disgraced and put to shame because of your disgusting sins.

₅₃Some day I will bless Sodom and Samaria and their nearby villages. I will also bless you, Jerusalem. ₅₄Then you will be ashamed of how you've acted, and Sodom and Samaria will be relieved that they weren't as sinful as you. ₅₅When that day comes, you and Sodom and Samaria will once again be well off, and all nearby villages will be restored.

₅₆Jerusalem, you were so arrogant that you sneered at Sodom. ₅₇But now everyone has learnt how wicked you really are. The countries of Syria and Philistia, as well as your other neighbours, hate you and make insulting remarks. ₅₈You must pay for all the vulgar and disgusting things you have done. I, the LORD, have spoken.

₅₉Jerusalem, you deserve to be punished, because you broke your promises and ignored our agreement. ₆₀But I remember the agreement I made with you when you were young, and so I will make you a promise that will last for ever. ₆₁When you think about how you acted, you will be ashamed, especially when I return your sisters to you as daughters, even though this was not part of our agreement. ₆₂I will keep this solemn promise, and you will know that I am the LORD. ₆₃I will forgive you, but you will think about your sins and be too ashamed to say a word. I, the LORD God, have spoken.

₁The LORD said:

₂Ezekiel, son of man, tell the people of Israel the following story, ₃so they will understand what I am saying to them:

A large eagle with strong wings and beautiful feathers once flew to Lebanon. It broke the top branch off a cedar tree, ₄then carried it to a nation of merchants and left it in one of their cities. ₅The eagle also took seed from Israel and planted it in a fertile field with plenty of water, like a willow tree beside a stream. ₆The seed sprouted and grew into a grapevine that spread over the ground. It had lots of leaves and strong, deep roots, and its branches grew upward towards the eagle.

₇There was another eagle with strong wings and thick feathers. The roots and branches of the grapevine soon turned towards this eagle, hoping it would bring water for the soil. ₈But the vine was already growing in fertile soil, where there was plenty of water to produce healthy leaves and large grapes.

₉Now tell me, Ezekiel, do you think this grapevine will live? Or will the first eagle pull it up by its roots and pluck off the grapes and let its new leaves die? The eagle could easily kill it without the help of a large and powerful army. ₁₀The grapevine is strong and healthy, but as soon as the scorching desert wind blows, it will quickly wither.

₁₁The LORD said:

₁₂Ezekiel, ask the rebellious people of Israel if they know what this story means.

Tell them that the king of Babylonia came to Jerusalem, then he captured the king of Judah and his officials, and took them back to Babylon as prisoners. ₁₃He chose someone from the family of Judah's king and signed a treaty with him, then made him swear to be loyal. He also led away other important citizens, ₁₄so that the rest of the people of Judah would obey only him and never gain control of their own country again.

₁₅But this new king of Judah later rebelled against Babylonia and sent officials to Egypt to get horses and troops. Will this king be successful in breaking the treaty with Babylonia? Or will he be punished for what he's done?

₁₆As surely as I am the living LORD God, I swear that the king of Judah will die in Babylon, because he broke the treaty with the king of Babylonia, who appointed him king. ₁₇Even the king of Egypt and his powerful army will be useless to Judah when the Babylonians attack and build earth ramps to invade the cities of Judah and kill its people. ₁₈The king of Judah broke his own promises and ignored the treaty with Babylonia. And so he will be punished!

₁₉He made a promise in my name and swore to honour the treaty. And now that he has broken that promise, my name is disgraced. He must pay for what he's done. ₂₀I will spread out a net to trap him. Then I will drag him to Babylon and see that he is punished for his unfaithfulness to me. ₂₁His best troops will be killed in battle, and the survivors will be scattered in every direction. I, the LORD, have spoken.

₁The LORD said:

₂Ezekiel, I hear the people of Israel using the old saying,

₃Now tell them that I am the LORD God, and as surely as I live, that saying will no longer be used in Israel. ₄The lives of all people belong to me—parents as well as children. Only those who sin will be put to death.

₅Suppose there is a truly good man who always does what is fair and right. ₆He refuses to eat meat sacrificed to foreign gods at local shrines or to worship Israel's idols. He doesn't have sex with someone else's wife or with a woman having her monthly period. ₇He never cheats or robs anyone and always returns anything taken as security for a loan; he gives food and clothes to the poor ₈and doesn't charge interest when lending money. He refuses to do anything evil; he is fair to everyone ₉and faithfully obeys my laws and teachings. This man is good, and I promise he will live.

₁₀But suppose this good man has an evil son who is violent and commits sins ₁₁his father never did. He eats meat at local shrines, has sex with someone else's wife, ₁₂cheats the poor, and robs people. He keeps what is given to him as security for a loan. He worships idols, does disgusting things, ₁₃and charges high interest when lending money. An evil man like that will certainly not live. He is the one who has done these horrible sins, so it's his own fault that he will be put to death.

₁₄But suppose this evil man has a son who sees his father do these things and refuses to act like him. ₁₅He doesn't eat meat at local shrines or worship Israel's idols, and he doesn't have sex with someone else's wife. ₁₆He never cheats or robs anyone and doesn't even demand security for a loan. He gives food and clothes to the poor ₁₇and refuses to do anything evil or to charge interest. And he obeys all my laws and teachings. Such a man will live. His own father sinned, but this good man will not be put to death for the sins of his father. ₁₈It is his father who will die for cheating and robbing and doing evil.

₁₉You may wonder why a son isn't punished for the sins of his father. It is because the son does what is right and obeys my laws. ₂₀Only those who sin will be put to death. Children won't suffer for the sins of their parents, and parents won't suffer for the sins of their children. Good people will be rewarded for what they do, and evil people will be punished for what they do.

₂₁Suppose wicked people stop sinning and start obeying my laws and doing right. They won't be put to death. ₂₂All their sins will be forgiven, and they will live because they did right. ₂₃I, the LORD God, don't like to see wicked people die. I enjoy seeing them turn from their sins and live.

₂₄But when good people start sinning and doing disgusting things, will they live? No! All their good deeds will be forgotten, and they will be put to death because of their sins.

₂₅You people of Israel accuse me of being unfair! But listen—I'm not unfair; you are! ₂₆If good people start doing evil, they must be put to death, because they have sinned. ₂₇And if wicked people start doing right, they will save themselves from punishment. ₂₈They will think about what they've done and stop sinning, and so they won't be put to death. ₂₉But you still say that I am unfair. You are the ones who have done wrong and are unfair!

₃₀I will judge each of you for what you've done. So stop sinning, or else you will certainly be punished. ₃₁Give up your evil ways and start thinking pure thoughts. And be faithful to me! Do you really want to be put to death for your sins? ₃₂I, the LORD God, don't want to see that happen to anyone. So stop sinning and live!

₁From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To God's people who are scattered like foreigners in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

₂God the Father decided to choose you as his people, and his Spirit has made you holy. You have obeyed Jesus Christ and are sprinkled with his blood.

I pray that God will be kind to you and will keep on giving you peace!

₃Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. ₄God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.

₅You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. ₆On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. ₇Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honour and glory when Jesus Christ returns.

₈You have never seen Jesus, and you don't see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy ₉you are to be saved. That's why you have faith.

₁₀Some prophets told how kind God would be to you, and they searched hard to find out more about the way you would be saved. ₁₁The Spirit of Christ was in them and was telling them how Christ would suffer and would then be given great honour. So they searched to find out exactly who Christ would be and when this would happen. ₁₂But they were told that they were serving you and not themselves. They preached to you by the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven. And their message was only for you, even though angels would like to know more about it.