Ezekiel 33
Ezekiel Made the Watchman
1 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,†
2 “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and you will say to them, ‘On whatever land I bring the sword, take one man from among the people of the land and make him their watchman.
3 When he sees the sword coming upon the land, he shall blow the trumpet and warn the people.
4 Then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet but does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.
5 For he heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning. So his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.
6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his transgressions; but his blood I shall require at the watchman’s hand.’
7 “As for you, son of man, I made you a watchman for the house of Israel, and you shall hear a word from My mouth.
8 When I say to the sinner, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the ungodly man to change his way, that lawless man will die in his lawlessness; but his blood I shall require at your hand.
9 But if you warn the ungodly man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his ungodliness; but you have delivered your own soul.
10 “As for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you spoke, saying, “Our errors and our lawlessness are upon us, and we waste away in them. So how can we then live?’ ”†
11 Say to them, ‘As I live, thus says the Lord: “I do not will the death of the ungodly man. So the ungodly man should turn from his way and live. Turn heartily from your way, for why should you die, O house of Israel?’ ”
12 “Say to the sons of your people, ‘The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day he goes astray. As for the lawlessness of the ungodly man, it will not harm him in the day he turns from his lawlessness, but a righteous man who goes astray cannot save himself.”
13 When I say regarding the righteous man, this man puts his trust in his righteousness but commits lawlessness, then none of his righteousness will be remembered, for he shall die in the wrongdoing he commits.
14 Again when I say to the ungodly man, “You will surely die,” and he turns from his sin, does judgment and righteousness,
15 restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the ordinances of life without committing wrongdoing, he will surely live. Thus he will not die.
16 None of his sins he committed will be remembered, for he does judgment and righteousness. By doing these things, he shall live.’
17 “Yet the sons of your people will say, ‘The way of the Lord is not upright.’ But it is their way that is not upright.
18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits lawlessness, he will die because of it.
19 But when the sinner turns from his lawlessness and does judgment and righteousness, he shall live because of it.
20 Yet this is what you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not upright.’ O house of Israel, I shall judge every one of you according to his ways.”
The Capture of Jerusalem
21 Again it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the twelfth month, on the fifth day of the month, that one who escaped from Jerusalem came to me, saying, “The city is taken.”†
22 Then the hand of the Lord came upon me the evening before the man came, and opened my mouth. So when He came to me in the morning, my mouth was opened, and it was no longer closed.
23 Thus the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
24 “Son of man, those who inhabit the desolate places in the land of Israel say, ‘Abraham was one man, and he inherited the land. But we are many, and the land was given to us as a possession.’
25 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord and Master: “As I live, truly those in the desolate places shall fall by the sword, and those in the open plain shall be given to the wild animals as food; and those in the strongholds and caves I will surely kill.
26 For I shall make the land a desert, and the insolence of her strength will perish; and the mountains of Israel will be desolate by reason of no one passing through.
27 Then they will know that I am the Lord. I shall make their land a desert, and it will be laid waste because of all the abominations they committed.’ ”
Hearing, but Not Heeding
28 “As for you, son of man, the sons of your people are talking about you by the walls and at the gateways of the houses. They speak as a man speaks to his brother, saying, ‘Let us gather and hear the words that proceed from the Lord.’
29 So they come together before you as people do, and they sit before you to hear your words, but they will not do them, because a lie is in their mouth, and their heart pursues their own defilements.
30 For you are to them as a sweet, well-tuned song, and they will hear your words, but will not do them.
31 So when it comes to pass, they will say, ‘Behold, it has come.’ Then they will know a prophet was among them.”
Psalms 132
1 An ode of ascents; by David. Behold now, what is so good or so pleasant As for brothers to dwell together in unity?
2 It is like fragrant oil running down upon the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down upon the border of his garment;
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, running down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing And life forever.
Psalms 133
1 An ode of ascents. Behold now, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, Who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God.
2 In the nights, lift up your hands to the holy of holies And bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.
Proverbs of Solomon 28
16 A hungry lion and a thirsty wolf Is he who, being poor, tyrannizes over poor people.
17 A king in need of revenues is a great oppressor, But he who hates unrighteousness shall live a long time.
18 He who becomes surety for a man charged with murder Shall be a fugitive and unsafe.
19 Instruct your son, and he shall love you; And he shall give honor to your soul, Lest he follow a lawless people.
20 He who walks righteously shall be helped, But he who walks in crooked ways shall be entangled therein.†
Revelation 1
Introduction and Blessing
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,†
2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.†
3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.†
Greeting to the Seven Churches
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,†
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,†
6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.†
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”†
Vision and Commission of Christ
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,†
11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”†
12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.†
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;†
15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;†
16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.†
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.†
18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.†
20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.†