Day 343 – December 9, 2022

Ezekiel 12-14

​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.” ¹² The ruler in their midst will be carried on men’s shoulders and will go out secretly through the wall. He shall dig through that he may pass through it. He shall cover his face so as to remain hidden from any eye; and he himself shall not see the ground. 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.’ ”
Woe to False Prophets
​¹ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel. You shall prophesy and say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord.
³ ‘Thus says the Lord: “Woe to those who prophesy from their hearts, but who see nothing at all! ⁴ O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. ⁵ They do not stand in a firm place, and they gather flocks in the house of Israel. They will not stand up who say, ‘In the day of the Lord.’ ⁶ They see lies and prophesy vain things. They say, ‘The Lord says,’ but the Lord did not send them; yet they begin to establish the word. ⁷ Have you not seen a false vision, and spoken worthless prophecies?’ ”
⁸ “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Because your words are lies and your prophecies are worthless, therefore I am against you,” says the Lord. ⁹ “I shall stretch out My hand against the prophets who see lies and utter worthless things. They will not exist for the instruction of My people, neither shall they be written down in the record of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. They shall know that I am the Lord. ¹⁰ Because they have deceived My people, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ and there is no peace; and one builds a wall, and they plaster it—it shall certainly fall. ¹¹ Say to those who plaster it, ‘It will fall,’ for there shall be flooding rain; and I will send hailstones against its joints, and it shall fall; and a wind will rise up and break it down. ¹² Behold, the wall has fallen, and will not they say to you, ‘Where is the mortar you used to plaster it?’ ” ¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord: “I will also bring forth a driving and furious wind, and there shall be a flooding rain in My anger. They shall be swept away in anger, and there shall be a flooding rain in My wrath; and I shall bring down hailstones in My anger for complete destruction. ¹⁴ So I will break down the wall you plastered, and it shall fall. I shall lay it on the ground, and its foundations will be revealed; and you will be consumed with rebukes. You shall know that I am the Lord. ¹⁵ Thus will I accomplish My anger on the wall and on those who plastered it—it shall fall.” So I said to you, “The wall is no more, nor those who plastered it; ¹⁶ even so are the prophets of Israel who prophesy over Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,” says the Lord.’
¹⁷ “As for you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy from their own heart, and prophesy against them. ¹⁸ You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Woe to the women who sew pillows under every elbow, and make coverings for every head of every age, to mislead souls! The souls of my people are turned aside, and they keep alive souls for themselves. ¹⁹ They desecrated My people for the sake of a handful of barley and for pieces of bread, so as to kill souls which should not die, and to keep souls alive which should not live, while you prophesy to a people who listen to worthless speeches.”
  ²⁰ ‘Therefore, thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am against your pillows whereby you conspire against souls. I will tear them from your arms and free their souls, which you turned aside so as to scatter them. ²¹ I will tear away your coverings and deliver My people out of your hand. They shall no longer be in your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord. ²² Because you have turned aside the heart of the righteous man unjustly—whom I did not turn aside—so as to strengthen the hands of the lawless man, that he should not completely turn from his evil way and live; ²³ therefore, you shall no longer see false visions, nor utter prophecies; for I will deliver My people out of your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
Woe to the Idolatrous Elders
​¹ Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. ² Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ “Son of man, these men devised inventions in their hearts, and placed before their face the stumbling block of their wrongdoings. Shall I indeed answer them? ⁴ Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Any man of the house of Israel who devises inventions in his heart, and places before his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and then comes to the prophet, I, the Lord, will answer him according to the things in which his mind is entangled, ⁵ so as to lead astray the house of Israel according to their hearts, which are completely alienated from Me in their inventions.’ ”
⁶ “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord and Master: “Be converted and turn away from your practices and all your ungodliness; then turn your faces back again. ⁷ For any man from the house of Israel, or the resident aliens who sojourn in Israel, who alienates himself from Me, and devises inventions in his heart, and places before his face the stumbling block of his wrongdoing, and comes to the prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, then I, the Lord, will answer him according to the things that entangle his mind. ⁸ I shall set My face against that man, and make him desolate and ruined, and remove him from the midst of My people. You shall know that I am the Lord. ⁹ If the prophet is led astray and speaks, I, the Lord, have led that prophet astray; and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from the midst of My people Israel. ¹⁰ So they shall bear their wrongdoing—the one who inquired shall bear his wrongdoing according to his wrong, and likewise it shall be for the prophet, ¹¹ so the house of Israel may not stray from Me, nor be defiled any longer with all their transgressions, but be My people and I their God,” says the Lord.’ ”
Four Punishments
¹² Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹³ “Son of man, if a land sins against Me by committing a trespass, I shall stretch out My hand against it. I shall cut off its supply of bread, send famine upon it, and remove man and cattle from it. ¹⁴ Even though these three men: Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord.
¹⁵ “If again I bring wild animals upon the land and punish it, and it becomes desolate because men fear the wild animals, ¹⁶ even though these three men were in the land, as I live,” says the Lord, “neither sons nor daughters would be saved. Instead, only they themselves would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.
¹⁷ “Or again, if I should bring a sword on that land and say, ‘Let a sword go through the land,’ and I removed man and cattle from it, ¹⁸ even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.
  ¹⁹ “Or if I should send death upon the land and pour out My anger upon it in blood, to destroy both man and cattle from it, ²⁰ and Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord, “neither sons nor daughters would be left. Only they by their righteousness would deliver their souls.”
²¹ Thus says the Lord: “But even if I send upon Jerusalem My four evil punishments—sword, famine, wild animals, and death—to destroy from it both man and cattle, ²² yet behold, the remnant in it, those of it who are saved, who bring out sons and daughters from it, behold, these shall go forth to you. You will see their ways and inventions and be sorry over the evils I brought upon Jerusalem, even all the evils I brought upon it. ²³ Then they will console you, because you will see their ways and their inventions; and you will know I have not done in vain whatever I did in it,” says the Lord.

Psalm 129

​¹ An ode of ascents.
Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
² O Lord, hear my voice;
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplication.
³ If You, O Lord, should mark transgression,
O Lord, who would stand?
⁴ For there is forgiveness with You.
⁵ Because of Your law, O Lord, I waited for You;
My soul waited for Your word.
⁶ My soul hopes in the Lord,
From the morning watch until night;
From the morning watch until night,
Let Israel hope in the Lord.
⁷ For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption;
⁸ And He shall redeem Israel
From all his transgressions.
​

Psalm 130

¹ An ode of ascents, by David.
O Lord, My heart is not exalted,
Neither are my eyes raised up;
Neither am I carried along in great things,
Nor in things too marvelous for me.
² If I were not humble-minded,
But exalted my soul,
Like a child weaned from his mother,
So You would reward my soul.
³ Let Israel hope in the Lord
From this present time and unto the ages.

Proverbs 28:6–11

⁶ A poor man walking in the truth is better than a rich liar.
⁷ A wise son keeps the law,
But he who cherishes luxury dishonors his father.
⁸ He who increases his wealth with usury and unjust gains
Gathers it for him who shows mercy to the poor.
⁹ He who turns away his ear so as not to hear the law,
He also makes his prayer repulsive.
¹⁰ He who leads upright men astray in an evil way,
He shall fall into destruction;
¹¹ And lawless men shall pass by good things,
But they shall not enter into them.

3 John

¹ The Elder,
To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:
² Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
³ For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.
⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Gaius Commended for Generosity
⁵ Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers,
⁶ who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well,
⁷ because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles.
⁸ We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.
Diotrephes and Demetrius
⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.
¹⁰ Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.
¹¹ Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.
¹² Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.
Farewell Greeting
¹³ I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink;
¹⁴ but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.