Through the Bible – Day 331

₁₇On the fifteenth day of that same month, the LORD said:

₁₈Ezekiel, son of man, mourn for the Egyptians and condemn them to the world of the dead, where they will be buried beside the people of other powerful nations. ₁₉Say to them:

₂₀You cannot escape! The enemy's sword is ready to slaughter every one of you. ₂₁Brave military leaders killed in battle will gladly welcome you and your allies into the world of the dead.

_22-23The graves of soldiers from Assyria are there. They once terrified people, but they were killed in battle and now lie deep in the world of the dead.

_24-25The graves of soldiers from Elam are there. The very sight of those godless soldiers once terrified their enemies and made them panic. But now they are disgraced and ashamed as they lie in the world of the dead, beside others who were killed in battle.

₂₆The graves of soldiers from Meshech and Tubal are there. These godless soldiers who terrified people were all killed in battle. ₂₇They were not given a proper burial like the heroes of long ago, who were buried with their swords under their heads and with their shields over their bodies. These were the heroes who made their enemies panic.

₂₈You Egyptians will be cruelly defeated, and you will be buried beside these other godless soldiers who died in battle.

₂₉The graves of kings and leaders from Edom are there. They were powerful at one time. Now they are buried in the world of the dead with other godless soldiers killed in battle.

₃₀The graves of the rulers of the north are there, as well as those of the Sidonians. Their powerful armies once terrified enemies. Now they lie buried in the world of the dead, where they are disgraced like other soldiers killed in battle.

₃₁The LORD God says:

₁The LORD said:

₂Ezekiel, son of man, warn your people by saying:

₇Ezekiel, I have appointed you to stand watch for the people of Israel. So listen to what I say, then warn them for me. ₈When I tell wicked people they will die because of their sins, you must warn them to turn from their sinful ways. But if you refuse to warn them, you are responsible for their death. ₉If you do warn them, and they keep sinning, they will die because of their sins, and you will be innocent.

₁₀The LORD said:

Ezekiel, son of man, the people of Israel are complaining that the punishment for their sins is more than they can stand. They have lost all hope for survival, and they blame me. ₁₁Tell them that as surely as I am the living LORD God, I don't like to see wicked people die. I enjoy seeing them turn from their sins and live. So if the Israelites want to live, they must stop sinning and turn back to me.

₁₂Tell them that when good people start sinning, all the good they did in the past cannot save them from being punished. And remind them that when wicked people stop sinning, their past sins will be completely forgiven, and they won't be punished.

₁₃Suppose I promise good people that they will live, then later they start sinning and believe they will be saved by the good they did in the past. These people will certainly be put to death because of their sins. Their good deeds will be forgotten.

₁₄Suppose I warn wicked people that they will die because of their sins, and they stop sinning and start doing right. ₁₅For example, they need to return anything they have taken as security for a loan and anything they have stolen. Then if they stop doing evil and start obeying my Law, they will live. ₁₆Their past sins will be forgiven, and they will live because they have done right.

₁₇Ezekiel, your people accuse me of being unfair. But they are the ones who are unfair. ₁₈If good people start doing evil, they will be put to death, because they have sinned. ₁₉And if wicked people stop sinning and start doing right, they will save themselves from punishment. ₂₀But the Israelites still think I am unfair. So warn them that they will be punished for what they have done.

₂₁Twelve years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, a refugee who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me on the fifth day of the tenth month. He told me that the city had fallen.

₂₂The evening before this man arrived at my house, the LORD had taken control of me. So when the man came to me the next morning, I could once again speak.

₂₃Then the LORD said:

₂₄Ezekiel, son of man, the people living in the ruined cities of Israel are saying, “Abraham was just one man, and the LORD gave him this whole land of Israel. There are many of us, and so this land must be ours.”

₂₅So, Ezekiel, tell them I am saying:

₃₀Ezekiel, son of man, the people with you in Babylonia talk about you when they meet by the city walls or in the doorways of their houses. They say, “Let's ask Ezekiel what the LORD has said today.” ₃₁So they all come and listen to you, but they refuse to do what you tell them. They claim to be faithful, but they are for ever trying to cheat others out of their money. ₃₂They treat you as though you were merely singing love songs or playing music. They listen, but don't do anything you say.

₃₃Soon they will be punished, just as you warned, and they will know that a prophet has been among them.

₁The LORD God said:

₂Ezekiel, son of man, Israel's leaders are like shepherds taking care of my sheep, the people of Israel. But I want you to condemn these leaders and tell them:

₁From Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To everyone who shares with us in the privilege of believing that our God and Saviour Jesus Christ will do what is just and fair.

₂I pray that God will be kind to you and will let you live in perfect peace! May you keep learning more and more about God and our Lord Jesus.

₃We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God's own power, when we learnt that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. ₄God made great and marvellous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.

₅Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, ₆self-control, patience, devotion to God, ₇concern for others, and love. ₈If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful. ₉But if you don't grow, you are like someone who is nearsighted or blind, and you have forgotten that your past sins are forgiven.

₁₀My friends, you must do all you can to show that God has really chosen and selected you. If you keep on doing this, you won't stumble and fall. ₁₁Then our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will give you a glorious welcome into his kingdom that will last for ever.

₁₂You are holding firmly to the truth that you were given. But I am still going to remind you of these things. ₁₃In fact, I think I should keep on reminding you until I leave this body. ₁₄And our Lord Jesus Christ has already told me that I will soon leave it behind. ₁₅That is why I am doing my best to make sure that each of you remembers all this after I am gone.

₁₆When we told you about the power and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling clever stories that someone had made up. But with our own eyes we saw his true greatness. ₁₇God, our great and wonderful Father, truly honoured him by saying, “This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him.” ₁₈We were there with Jesus on the holy mountain and heard this voice speak from heaven.

₁₉All this makes us even more certain that what the prophets said is true. So you should pay close attention to their message, as you would to a lamp shining in some dark place. You must keep on paying attention until daylight comes and the morning star rises in your hearts. ₂₀But you need to realize that no one alone can understand any of the prophecies in the Scriptures. ₂₁The prophets did not think these things up on their own, but they were guided by the Spirit of God.