Ezekiel 12
Ezekiel Prepares for Exile
1 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,†
2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of wrongdoers who have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear; for they are a house of provocation.
3 As for you, son of man, prepare belongings for captivity, for captivity by daylight and in their sight. You will be taken into captivity from your place to a different place, a place in their sight; so they may see they are a house of provocation.
4 You will carry out your belongings as baggage for captivity by day before their eyes; and you shall go out in the evening as a captive goes out.
5 Dig through the wall for yourself, and you shall go out through it in their sight.
6 You shall be carried on men’s shoulders and go forth in secret. You shall cover your face and not see the ground, because I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”
7 So I did this according to all He commanded me. I brought out my belongings as baggage for captivity by day, dug through the wall for myself in the evening, and went out in secret. I was borne upon men’s shoulders before them.
8 Then in the morning, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
9 “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, the house that provokes, said to you, ‘What are you doing?’
10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the Master, the Ruler and the Leader in Jerusalem and over all the house of Israel in their midst.
11 Say, “I am performing signs in her midst. As I have done, so shall it be to them, and they shall go into deportation and captivity.”
13 I will spread out My net over him, and he shall be caught in My enclosure. I will lead him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, though he shall die there.
14 I will scatter to every wind all his assistants around him, and all his auxiliaries; and I will unsheathe a sword after them.
15 Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them in the countries.
16 But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, famine, and pestilence so they may declare all their lawlessness among the nations where they go. They shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”
17 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
18 “Son of man, you shall eat your bread in sorrow and drink your water with torment and affliction.†
19 You shall say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the land of Israel: “They shall eat their bread in poverty and drink their water in desolation, that the land may be destroyed with its fullness; for all who dwell in it are ungodly.
20 Their inhabited cities shall be utterly wasted and their land destroyed. You shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
21 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,†
22 “Son of man, what is your parable about the land of Israel which says, ‘The days are far off; the vision has perished’?
23 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I shall remove this parable, and no longer shall the house of Israel repeat this parable.” For you shall say to them, “The days are at hand, and the word of every vision.
24 For there shall no longer be any false vision or favorable prophesying in the midst of the children of Israel.
25 For I, the Lord, shall speak my words; I will speak and perform them. I shall delay no longer, because in your days, O house which provokes, I will speak the word and perform it,” says the Lord.’ ”†
26 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
27 “Son of man, behold, the house of Israel which provokes is surely saying, ‘The vision this man sees is many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’
28 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “All My words I speak shall no longer be delayed. I will speak and do,” says the Lord.’ ”
Psalms 117
1 Alleluia. †Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His mercy endures forever.
2 Let the house of Israel say that He is good, For His mercy endures forever.
3 Let the house of Aaron say that He is good, For His mercy endures forever.
4 Let all who fear the Lord say that He is good, For His mercy endures forever.
5 In affliction I called upon the Lord, And He heard me in a broad place.
6 The Lord is my helper; I shall not be afraid of what man will do to me.
7 The Lord is my helper; I shall look upon my enemies.
8 It is good to trust in the Lord Rather than to trust in man;
9 It is good to hope in the Lord Rather than to hope in rulers.
10 All the nations surrounded me, But in the name of the Lord I defended myself against them;
11 They circled and surrounded me, But in the name of the Lord I defended myself against them;
12 They surrounded me like bees around a honeycomb, And they were inflamed like fire in a thorn bush; But in the name of the Lord I defended myself against them.
13 I was shoved and disheartened, that I might fall, But the Lord took hold of me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song, And He became my salvation.
15 The sound of exceeding joy and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the Lord worked its power;
16 The right hand of the Lord exalted me; The right hand of the Lord worked its power.
Proverbs of Solomon 25
6 Do not brag on yourself in the presence of the king, Neither stand in the places of princes;†
7 For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up to me,” Than for you to be humbled in the presence of a prince.
8 Speak the things your eyes see.†
9 Do not enter into a quarrel quickly, That you may not be sorry in the end.
10 When your friend reproaches you, Retreat and do not despise him,
11 Lest your friend continue to reproach you, And your quarrel and enmity shall not depart, But be equal to death for you.
James 2
The Law of Love
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.†
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?†
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?
7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;†
9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith that Works
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?†
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!†
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God.
24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.†