The Siege of Jerusalem

1 ^lIn the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^m“Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. 3 And ⁿutter a parable to ^othe rebellious house and say to them, Thus says the Lord God:

6 “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^rWoe to the bloody city, to ^pthe pot whose corrosion is in it, and whose corrosion has not gone out of it! Take out of it piece after piece, without making any choice.² 7 For the blood she has shed is in her midst; she put it on ^sthe bare rock; ^tshe did not pour it out on the ground to cover it with dust. 8 To rouse my wrath, to take vengeance, I have set on the bare rock the blood she has shed, that it may not be covered. 9 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city! ^uI also will make the pile great. 10 Heap on the logs, kindle the fire, boil the meat well, mix in the spices,³ and let the bones be burned up. 11 Then set it empty upon the coals, that it may become hot, and its copper may burn, ^vthat its uncleanness may be melted in it, its corrosion consumed. 12 ^wShe has wearied herself with toil;⁴ its abundant corrosion does not go out of it. Into the fire with its corrosion! 13 On account of your unclean lewdness, because I would have cleansed you and you were not cleansed from your uncleanness, ^xyou shall not be cleansed anymore till ^yI have satisfied my fury upon you. 14 ^zI am the Lord. I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; ^aI will not spare; ^bI will not relent; ^caccording to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

15 The word of the Lord came to me: 16 ^d“Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. 17 Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. ^eBind on your turban, and ^fput your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, ^gnor eat the bread of men.” 18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and ^hat evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did ⁱas I was commanded.

19 And ^jthe people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” 20 Then I said to them, “The word of the Lord came to me: 21 ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: ^kBehold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and ^lyour sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. 22 And ^myou shall do as I have done; ^myou shall not cover your lips, ^gnor eat the bread of men. 23 ^mYour turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but ⁿyou shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. 24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you ^oa sign; ^maccording to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then ^pyou will know that I am the Lord God.’

25 “As for you, ^qson of man, surely on the day when I take from them ^rtheir stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul’s desire, and also their sons and daughters, 26 ^son that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. 27 On that day your mouth ^twill be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. ^uSo you will be a sign to them, and ^vthey will know that I am the Lord.”

Prophecy Against Ammon

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^w“Son of man, ^xset your face toward ^ythe Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: ^zThus says the Lord God, Because you said, ^a‘Aha!’ over my ^bsanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore behold, I am handing you over to ^cthe people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. 5 I will make ^dRabbah a ^epasture for camels and Ammon^{5 e}a fold for flocks. ^vThen you will know that I am the Lord. 6 For thus says the Lord God: Because ^fyou have clapped your hands ^gand stamped your feet and ^hrejoiced with all the ⁱmalice within your soul against the land of Israel, 7 therefore, behold, ^jI have stretched out my hand against you, and ^kwill hand you over as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy Against Moab and Seir

8 “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^lMoab and ^mSeir⁶ said, ‘Behold, the ⁿhouse of Judah is like all the other nations,’ 9 therefore ^lI will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, ^oBeth-jeshimoth, ^pBaal-meon, and ^qKiriathaim. 10 I will give it ^ralong with the Ammonites ^sto the people of the East as a possession, ^tthat the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations, 11 ^land I will execute judgments upon Moab. ^uThen they will know that I am the Lord.

Prophecy Against Edom

12 “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^vEdom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended ^win taking vengeance on them, 13 therefore thus says the Lord God, ^xI will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from ^yTeman even to ^zDedan they shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom ^aby the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and ^bthey shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God.

Prophecy Against Philistia

15 “Thus says the Lord God: Because ^cthe Philistines ^dacted revengefully and took vengeance ^ewith malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, 16 therefore thus says the Lord God, ^xBehold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off ^fthe Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. 17 I will execute great vengeance on them ^gwith wrathful rebukes. ^hThen they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”

Prophecy Against Tyre

1 ⁱIn the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^j“Son of man, because ^kTyre said concerning Jerusalem, ^l‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ 3 therefore thus says the Lord God: ^mBehold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up ⁿmany nations against you, ^oas the sea brings up its waves. 4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and ^pmake her a bare rock. 5 She ^qshall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, ^rfor I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. ^sThen they will know that I am the Lord.

7 “For thus says the Lord God: ^tBehold, I will bring against Tyre ^ufrom the north Nebuchadnezzar⁷ king of Babylon, ^vking of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. 8 He will kill with the sword ^wyour daughters on the mainland. ^xHe will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise ^ya roof of shields against you. 9 ^zHe will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. 11 With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will plunder ^ayour riches and loot ^ayour merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and ^bsoil they will cast into the midst of the waters. 13 ^cAnd I will stop the music of your songs, and ^dthe sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 ^pI will make you a bare rock. ^qYou shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, ^rfor I am the Lord; I have spoken, declares the Lord God.

15 “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not ^ethe coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, ^fwhen the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? 16 Then all ^gthe princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and ^hremove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; ⁱthey will sit on the ground and ^jtremble every moment and ^kbe appalled at you. 17 And they will ^lraise a lamentation over you and say to you,

19 “For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, ^owhen I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, 20 then ^pI will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, ^pwith those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty ^qin the land of the living. 21 I will bring you ^rto a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. ^sThough you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”

Sin and Shin

1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing ^dto be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we ^esent Timothy, ^four brother and God’s coworker¹ in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that ^gwe are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, ^hjust as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, ⁱwhen I could bear it no longer, ⁱI sent to learn about your faith, ^jfor fear that somehow ^kthe tempter had tempted you and ^lour labor would be in vain.

Timothy’s Encouraging Report

6 But ^mnow that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of ⁿyour faith and love and reported ^othat you always remember us kindly and ^plong to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers,² in all our distress and affliction ^qwe have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you ^rare standing fast in the Lord. 9 For ^swhat thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly ^tnight and day ^uthat we may see you face to face and ^vsupply what is lacking in your faith?

11 Now may ^wour God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, ^xdirect our way to you, 12 and may the Lord ^ymake you increase and abound in love ^zfor one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may ^aestablish your hearts blameless in holiness before ^wour God and Father, at ^bthe coming of our Lord Jesus ^cwith all his saints.

A Life Pleasing to God

1 Finally, then, brothers,³ we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you ^dreceived from us ^ehow you ought to walk and ^fto please God, just as you are doing, that you ^gdo so more and more. 2 For ^hyou know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, ⁱyour sanctification:^{4 j}that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own ^kbody⁵ in holiness and ^lhonor, 5 not in ^mthe passion of lust ⁿlike the Gentiles ^owho do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and ^pwrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is ^qan avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For ^rGod has not called us for ^simpurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore ^twhoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, ^uwho gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 Now concerning ^vbrotherly love ^wyou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been ^xtaught by God ^yto love one another, 10 for that indeed is what ^zyou are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ^ado this more and more, 11 and to aspire ^bto live quietly, and ^cto mind your own affairs, and ^dto work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may ^ewalk properly before ^foutsiders and be dependent on no one.

The Coming of the Lord

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, ^gthat you may not grieve as others do ^hwho have no hope. 14 For ⁱsince we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him ^jthose who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you ^kby a word from the Lord,⁶ that ^lwe who are alive, who are left until ^mthe coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For ⁿthe Lord himself will descend ^ofrom heaven ^pwith a cry of command, with the voice of ^qan archangel, and ^rwith the sound of the trumpet of God. And ^sthe dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be ^tcaught up together with them ^uin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so ^vwe will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The Day of the Lord

1 Now concerning ^wthe times and the seasons, brothers,^{7 x}you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that ^ythe day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then ^zsudden destruction will come upon them ^aas labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you ^bare not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all ^cchildren⁸ of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then ^dlet us not sleep, as others do, but let us ^ekeep awake and ^fbe sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, ^gare drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, ^hhaving put on the breastplate of ⁱfaith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for ^jwrath, but ^kto obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 ^lwho died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Final Instructions and Benediction

12 We ask you, brothers, ^mto respect those who labor among you and ⁿare over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. ^oBe at peace among yourselves. 14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish ^pthe idle,^{9 q}encourage the fainthearted, ^rhelp the weak, ^sbe patient with them all. 15 See that ^tno one repays anyone evil for evil, but always ^useek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 ^vRejoice always, 17 ^wpray without ceasing, 18 ^xgive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 ^yDo not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise ^zprophecies, 21 but ^atest everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

23 Now may ^bthe God of peace himself ^csanctify you completely, and may your ^dwhole ^espirit and soul and body be kept blameless at ^fthe coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 ^gHe who calls you is faithful; ^hhe will surely do it.

25 ⁱBrothers, pray for us.

26 ^jGreet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have ^kthis letter read to all the brothers.

28 ^lThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.