Idolatrous Elders Condemned
1 Then certain of the eelders of Israel came to me eand sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 f“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set gthe stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. hShould I indeed let myself be consulted by them? 4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, iI the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, 5 jthat I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, kwho are all estranged from me through their idols.
6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: lRepent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, kwho separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, mI the Lord will answer him myself. 8 And nI will set my face against that man; I owill make him a sign and a byword nand cut him off from the midst of my people, pand you shall know that I am the Lord. 9 And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, qI, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their punishment1—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike— 11 that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor rdefile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, sbut that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.”
Jerusalem Will Not Be Spared
12 And the word of the Lord came to me: 13 t“Son of man, when a land sins against me uby acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and vbreak its supply2 of bread and send famine upon it, and wcut off from it man and beast, 14 xeven if these three men, yNoah, zDaniel, and aJob, were in it, bthey would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.
15 c“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they ravage it, dand it be made desolate, so that no one may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even if these three men were in it, eas I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters. They alone would be delivered, but fthe land would be desolate.
17 “Or gif I bring a sword upon that land and say, Let a sword pass through the land, hand I cut off from it man and beast, 18 xthough these three men were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they alone would be delivered.
19 “Or iif I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.
21 “For thus says the Lord God: How much more jwhen I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, ksword, lfamine, mwild beasts, and npestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! 22 But behold, osome survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and pyou see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. 23 They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.”
Jerusalem, a Useless Vine
1 And the word of the Lord came to me: 2 q“Son of man, how does rthe wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest? 3 Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take sa peg from it to hang any vessel on it? 4 tBehold, it is given to the fire for fuel. When the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? 5 uBehold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! 6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: vLike the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, twhich I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 wAnd I will set my face against them. Though xthey escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, yand you will know that I am the Lord, wwhen I set my face against them. 8 zAnd I will make the land desolate, because athey have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.”
Greeting
1 Paul, aan apostle of Christ Jesus bby the will of God according to cthe promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, dmy beloved child:
eGrace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You
3 fI thank God gwhom I serve, as did my ancestors, hwith a clear conscience, as I remember you iconstantly in my prayers night and day. 4 jAs I remember your tears, kI long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of lyour sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and myour mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you nto fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us oa spirit not of fear but pof power and love and self-control.
8 Therefore qdo not be ashamed of rthe testimony about our Lord, nor of sme his prisoner, but tshare in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 uwho saved us and vcalled us to1 a holy calling, wnot because of our works but because of vhis own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus xbefore the ages began,2 10 and which now has ybeen manifested through zthe appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, awho abolished death and bbrought life and cimmortality to light through the gospel, 11 dfor which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 ewhich is why I suffer as I do. But fI am not ashamed, for gI know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until hthat day iwhat has been entrusted to me.3 13 jFollow kthe pattern of lthe sound4 words mthat you have heard from me, in nthe faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit owho dwells within us, guard ithe good deposit entrusted to you.
15 You are aware that pall who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to qthe household of Onesiphorus, for he often rrefreshed me and was not ashamed of smy chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome the searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on uthat day!—and you well know all the service he vrendered at Ephesus.
