1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 ^bEarly in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and ^che sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now ^din the Law, Moses commanded us ^eto stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said ^fto test him, ^gthat they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ^h“Let him who is without sin among you ⁱbe the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, ^j“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on ^ksin no more.”]]

False Prophets and Teachers

1 But ^mfalse prophets also arose among the people, ⁿjust as there will be false teachers among you, who will ^osecretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master ^pwho bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth ^qwill be blasphemed. 3 And ^rin their greed they will exploit you ^swith false words. ^tTheir condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

4 For if God did not spare ^uangels when they sinned, but ^vcast them into hell¹ and committed them to chains² of gloomy darkness ^wto be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but ^xpreserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought ^ya flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by ^zturning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, ^amaking them an example of ^bwhat is going to happen to the ungodly;³ 7 and ^cif he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, ^dhe was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then ^ethe Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,⁴ and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

Job Laments His Birth

1 After this Job ^hopened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said:

Idolaters Killed

1 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, ^zeach with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 And behold, six men came from the direction of ^athe upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was ^ba man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside ^cthe bronze altar.

3 Now ^dthe glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to ^ethe threshold of the house. And he called to ^bthe man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and ^fput a mark on the foreheads of the men who ^gsigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to ^hthe others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. ⁱYour eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 ^jKill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but ^ktouch no one on whom is the mark. And ^lbegin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. 7 Then he said to them, ^m“Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. 8 And while they were striking, and I was left alone, ⁿI fell upon my face, and cried, ^o“Ah, Lord God! ^pWill you destroy all the remnant of Israel ^qin the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

9 Then he said to me, ^r“The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. ^sThe land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For ^tthey say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ 10 As for me, ^umy eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; ^vI will bring their deeds upon their heads.”

11 And behold, ^wthe man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.”

The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

1 Then I looked, and behold, ^xon the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^ylike a sapphire,¹ in appearance like a throne. 2 And he said to ^zthe man clothed in linen, “Go in among ^athe whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with ^bburning coals from between the cherubim, and ^cscatter them over the city.”

And he went in ^dbefore my eyes. 3 Now the cherubim were standing ^eon the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^fa cloud filled ^gthe inner court. 4 And ^hthe glory of the Lord ⁱwent up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house ^fwas filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with ^jthe brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And ^kthe sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^klike the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 And when he commanded ^lthe man clothed in linen, ^m“Take fire from between ⁿthe whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have ^othe form of a human hand under their wings.

9 ^pAnd I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and ^qthe appearance of the wheels was ^rlike sparkling ^sberyl. 10 And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. 11 ^tWhen they went, they went in any of their four directions^{2 u}without turning as they went, ^vbut in whatever direction the front wheel³ faced, the others followed without turning as they went. 12 ^wAnd their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,⁴ and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ⁿ“the whirling wheels.” 14 ^xAnd every one had four faces: ^ythe first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was ^za human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 ^aAnd the cherubim mounted up. These were ^bthe living creatures that I saw by ^cthe Chebar canal. 16 ^dAnd when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And ^dwhen the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. 17 ^eWhen they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures⁵ was in them.

18 ^fThen ^gthe glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 ^hAnd the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ⁱbefore my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the ^jeast gate of the house of the Lord, and ^kthe glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 ^lThese were the living creatures that I saw ^munderneath the God of Israel by ⁿthe Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 ^oEach had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings ^pthe likeness of human hands. 22 ^qAnd as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. ^rEach one of them went straight forward.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

1 ^sThe Spirit lifted me up and brought me to ^tthe east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were ^utwenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah ^vthe son of Azzur, and ^wPelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. 2 And he said to me, ^x“Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3 ^ywho say, ^z‘The time is not near⁶ to build houses. ^aThis city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.”

5 And ^bthe Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. ^cFor I know the things that come into your mind. 6 ^dYou have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^eYour slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, ^athey are the meat, and ^athis city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. 8 ^fYou have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and ^ggive you into the hands of foreigners, and ^hexecute judgments upon you. 10 ⁱYou shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, ^jand you shall know that I am the Lord. 11 ^kThis city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, 12 and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, ^lbut have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.”

13 And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, ^mthat ⁿPelatiah the son of Benaiah died. ^oThen I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, ^o“Ah, Lord God! ^pWill you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

Israel’s New Heart and Spirit

14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 ^q“Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen,⁷ the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ^r‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet ^sI have been a sanctuary to them for a while⁸ in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^tI will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, ^tand I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, ^uthey will remove from it all its ^vdetestable things and all its abominations. 19 ^wAnd I will give them one heart, and ^xa new spirit I will put within them. ^yI will remove the heart of stone from their flesh ^zand give them a heart of flesh, 20 ^athat they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. ^bAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 ^cBut as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, ^dI will⁹ bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.”

22 ^eThen the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, ^eand the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and ^fstood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city. 24 ^gAnd the Spirit lifted me up and brought me ^hin the vision by the Spirit of God ⁱinto Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

Judah’s Captivity Symbolized

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 ^j“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of ^ka rebellious house, ^lwho have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are ^ka rebellious house. 3 As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself ^man exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day ⁿin their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place ⁿin their sight. ^oPerhaps they will understand, though¹⁰ they are a rebellious house. 4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself ^pat evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. 5 In their sight ^qdig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. 6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you ^ra sign for the house of Israel.”

7 ^sAnd I did as I was commanded. ^tI brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: 9 ^u“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^vthe rebellious house, said to you, ^w‘What are you doing?’ 10 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns^{11 x}the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’¹² 11 Say, ^y‘I am a sign for you: ^zas I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ 12 ^aAnd the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. ^bThey shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. ^cHe shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. 13 ^dAnd I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And ^eI will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, ^eyet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. 14 ^fAnd I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, ^gand I will unsheathe the sword after them. 15 ^hAnd they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. 16 ⁱBut I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, ^jand may know that I am the Lord.”

17 And the word of the Lord came to me: 18 ^k“Son of man, ^leat your bread with quaking, and drink water with trembling and with anxiety. 19 And say to the people of the land, Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: ^mThey shall eat their bread with anxiety, ^mand drink water in dismay. In this way ⁿher land will be stripped of all it contains, ^oon account of the violence of all those who dwell in it. 20 ^pAnd the inhabited cities shall be laid waste, and the land shall become a desolation; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

21 And the word of the Lord came to me: 22 “Son of man, ^qwhat is this proverb that you¹³ have about the land of Israel, saying, ^r‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? 23 Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, ^sThe days are near, and the fulfillment¹⁴ of every vision. 24 ^tFor there shall be no more any ^ufalse vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord; I will speak ^vthe word that I will speak, and it will be performed. ^wIt will no longer be delayed, but in your days, ^xO rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.”

26 And the word of the Lord came to me: 27 “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ^y‘The vision that he sees is ^zfor many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ 28 Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: ^wNone of my words will be delayed any longer, ^vbut the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.”