Day 348 – December 14, 2022

Ezekiel 24-26

​¹ Again the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, saying, ² “Son of man, record for yourself daily, from this day, the day on which the king of Babylon laid siege against Jerusalem. ³ Speak a parable to the house which provokes, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Stand over a basin and pour water into it. ⁴ Put pieces of meat in it, every good piece, the thigh and shoulder full of meat, ⁵ taken from the choice cattle. Also pile fuel-bones under it, make it boil well, and let the cuts simmer.”
⁶ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord: “O bloody city, the basin in which there is scum, and the scum has not gone out of it. She brought forth the cuts, piece by piece, but no portion was selected. ⁷ For her blood is in her midst; I set it upon a smooth rock; I did not pour it on the ground, that the dirt may cover it, ⁸ that My wrath may come forth and take vengeance. I set her blood upon a smooth rock, so as not to cover it.”
⁹ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord: “I will also make a great display of fire. ¹⁰ I shall heap the wood on and kindle the fire, to consume the meat and boil away the sauce. ¹¹ I will set the basin on the coals, so its copper may become thoroughly heated and melted in the midst of her uncleanness, so her scum may be consumed, ¹² and her abundant scum may not come forth from her. ¹³ Her scum shall be shameful, because you defiled yourself, and what if you will not be cleansed any more, until I have satisfied my wrath? ¹⁴ I, the Lord, have spoken it, and it will come to pass; and I shall do it. I will not hold back nor show mercy. According to your ways and your inventions, I shall judge you,” says the Lord. “Therefore I shall judge you according to your bloodshed and inventions, you unclean, notorious, and provoking one.” ’ ”
Death of Ezekiel’s Wife
¹⁵ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁶ “Son of man, behold, I will take away your inventions before your eyes in the line of battle, but you shall neither mourn nor weep. ¹⁷ There shall be groaning over bloodshed and mourning on bended knee. There shall be no braided hair on your head or sandals on your feet. You shall not be comforted by their lips, nor shall you eat the bread of men.” ¹⁸ So I spoke to the people in the morning in the manner He commanded me, and that evening my wife died. The next morning I did as He commanded me.
¹⁹ Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean that you are doing?” ²⁰ So I answered them, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²¹ ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I shall desecrate My sanctuary, the boast of your strength, the object of your desire, over which your souls spare nothing; and your sons and daughters whom you left will fall by the sword. ²² You will do as I have done. You will not be comforted by their mouth, nor eat the bread of men. ²³ Your hair will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will neither mourn nor weep. You will sink deep in your wrongdoings, and each of you will comfort one another. ²⁴ Thus Ezekiel shall be a sign to you; according to all he does, you will do. When these things come, you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
²⁵ ‘As for you, son of man, it shall not be as in the day when I take their strength from them, the arrogance of their boasting, the objects of their desire, and the arrogance of their souls, their sons and their daughters. ²⁶ In that day, he who is rescued will come to you, so you will hear of it with your own ears. ²⁷ In that day, your mouth will open before him who is rescued. You will speak and no longer be silent. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”
Judgment on the Gentile Nations: Ammon
​¹ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against the children of Ammon and prophesy against them. ³ You shall say to the children of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: “Because you rejoiced against My sanctuary when it was desecrated, and against the land of Israel when it was destroyed, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity; ⁴ therefore, behold, I shall deliver you over to the children of Kedem as an inheritance. They will dwell among you with their goods and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink your drinks. ⁵ I shall make the city of Ammon a pasturage for camels, and Rabbah a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” ⁶ For thus says the Lord: “Because you clapped your hands, and applauded with your feet, and rejoiced in your soul against the land of Israel; ⁷ therefore, I shall stretch out My hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I shall utterly destroy you from among the peoples and cause you to perish from the countries. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
  Moab
⁸ ‘Thus says the Lord: “Because Moab said, ‘Behold, the house of Israel and Judah is like all the nations,’ ⁹ therefore, behold, I shall weaken the shoulder of Moab from its prominent cities—its choice land—as is the house of Beth Jeshimoth, above the spring of the seaside city. ¹⁰ I have given these cities, as well as the children of Ammon, as an inheritance to the sons of Kedem, so there may be no memory of the sons of Ammon. ¹¹ Thus I shall take vengeance upon Moab, and they will know that I am the Lord.”
Edom
¹² ‘Thus says the Lord: “Because of what Edom did when it took revenge on the house of Judah, and because they remembered wrongs and exacted punishment,” ¹³ therefore, thus says the Lord: “I shall also stretch out My hand against Edom, and destroy man and cattle from it, and make it a desert. They will be pursued from Teman and fall by the sword. ¹⁴ I shall execute My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will do in Edom according to My wrath and anger. Then they will know My vengeance,” says the Lord.
Cretans
¹⁵ ‘Therefore thus says the Lord: “Because the foreigners exacted vengeance and raised up vengeance, rejoicing in their souls to destroy My people forever,” ¹⁶ therefore, thus says the Lord: “Behold, I shall stretch out My hand against the foreigners, and I shall utterly destroy the Cretans. I shall also destroy those who dwell on the seacoast. ¹⁷ I shall execute great vengeance, and they will know that I am the Lord, when I bring My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”
Judgment on Tyre
​¹ Again it came to pass in the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, because Tyre spoke against Jerusalem, saying, ‘Good, well done!’ she is crushed; the nations destroyed her; she is turned to Me; she who was full is made desolate! ³ Therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to crash the shore. ⁴ They will knock down your walls, O Tyre, and break down your towers. I shall scrape her dust from her and make her like a smooth rock. ⁵ It will be a drying-place for fishing nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord. ‘It shall be as a place of plunder for the nations. ⁶ Also her daughters which are on the plain will be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’
⁷ “For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, from the north I will bring Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon against you, O Tyre. He is king of kings, with horses, chariots, horsemen, and an army of very many nations. ⁸ He will kill your daughters with the sword in the plain; he will establish outposts and build forts around you. He will establish a barricade and warlike works against you all around, and array his spears against you. ⁹ Your walls and towers will be struck down with his swords. ¹⁰ Because of the great number of his horses, their dust clouds will cover you, and because of the sound of his horsemen and the wheels of his chariots, your walls will shake when he enters your gates, like one who enters a city from the plain. ¹¹ With the hooves of his horses, they will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and bring down to the ground the substance of your strength. ¹² He will plunder your army and strip your possessions. He will break down your walls and pull down your desirable houses. He will throw your stones, your timber, and your soil into the sea. ¹³ He will destroy the multitude of your musicians, and the sound of your harps will be heard no more. ¹⁴ I shall make you bare like the top of a rock, a place for spreading nets; you will never be rebuilt, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord.
¹⁵ “For thus says the Lord and Master to Tyre: ‘Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the sword is unsheathed in your midst? ¹⁶ Then all the rulers of the nations along the seacoast will step down from their thrones, lay aside their crowns, and take off their embroidered garments. They will be beside themselves as they sit on the ground. They will tremble with fear at their destruction and groan over you. ¹⁷ They will take up a lamentation for you and say to you, “How were you destroyed from out of the sea, O renowned city that caused her fear to be on all her inhabitants?” ¹⁸ From the day of your fall, the coastlands will also be afraid.’
¹⁹ “For thus says the Lord and Master: ‘When I make you a wasted city, like cities not to be inhabited, and when I bring the abyss upon you, and much water covers you, ²⁰ then I shall bring you down to those who descend into the pit, to the people of old, and I shall make you dwell in the depths of the earth, like an eternal desert, with those who go down into the pit, that you may never be inhabited, nor raised up to the land of the living. ²¹ I shall give you over to destruction, and you will never exist again,’ says the Lord and Master.”

Psalm 135:1–15

​¹ Alleluia.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His mercy endures forever;
² Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His mercy endures forever;
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His mercy endures forever;
⁴ To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
⁵ To Him who made the heavens with understanding,
For His mercy endures forever;
⁶ To Him who made firm the earth on the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;
⁷ To Him who alone made the great lights,
For His mercy endures forever,
⁸ The sun for authority over the day,
For His mercy endures forever,
⁹ The moon and stars for authority over the night,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹⁰ To Him who struck down Egypt with their firstborn,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹¹ To Him who led Israel out of their midst,
For His mercy endures forever,
¹² With a strong hand and an upraised arm,
For His mercy endures forever;
¹³ To Him who divided the Red Sea into parts,
For His mercy endures forever,
¹⁴ And led Israel through the midst of it,
For His mercy endures forever,
¹⁵ And who overthrew Pharaoh and all his host in the Red Sea,
For His mercy endures forever;

Proverbs 29:1–6

​¹ A reproving man is better than an obstinate man,
For when the latter is suddenly consumed, there shall be no remedy.
² When the righteous are praised, the people shall rejoice,
But when the ungodly rule, men lament.
³ When a man loves wisdom, his father rejoices,
But he who keeps prostitutes shall destroy his wealth.
⁴ A righteous king will establish a country,
But a lawless man razes it to the ground.
⁵ He who prepares a net for the presence of his own friend
Casts it around his own feet.
⁶ It is a great snare to a man when he sins,
But a righteous man shall be in joy and gladness.

Revelation 4, 5

​¹ After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
² Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
³ And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
⁴ Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
⁵ And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
⁶ Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
⁷ The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
⁸ The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:
  “Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”
⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
¹¹ “You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
The Lamb Takes the Scroll
​¹ And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
² Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”
³ And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
⁴ So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.
⁵ But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
⁶ And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
⁷ Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Worthy Is the Lamb
⁸ Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
¹⁰ And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”
¹¹ Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
¹² saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
¹³ And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
  Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
¹⁴ Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.