Day 317 of 365

Ezek 17:1–19:14

17:1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

17:2 "Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel;

17:3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "A great eagle with great wings and long feathers, full of feathers, which had various colors, came to Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar:

17:4 he cropped off the topmost of the young twigs of it, and carried it to a land of traffic; he set it in a city of merchants.

17:5 He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters; he set it as a willow tree.

17:6 It grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and its roots were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.

17:7 '"There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it.

17:8 It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine."'

17:9 "Say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull up its roots, and cut off its fruit, that it may wither; that all its fresh springing leaves may wither? And not by a strong arm or many people can it be raised from its roots.

17:10 Yes, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? Shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind touches it? It shall wither in the beds where it grew."'"

17:11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

17:12 "Say now to the rebellious house, 'Do you not know what these things mean?' Tell them, 'Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took its king, and its princes, and brought them to him to Babylon:

17:13 and he took of the royal family, and made a covenant with him; he also brought him under an oath, and took away the mighty of the land;

17:14 that the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping his covenant it might stand.

17:15 But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and many people. Shall he prosper? Shall he escape who does such things? Shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?

17:16 "'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he broke, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.

17:17 Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons.

17:18 For he has despised the oath by breaking the covenant; and behold, he had given his hand, and yet has done all these things; he shall not escape.'

17:19 "Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'As I live, surely my oath that he has despised, and my covenant that he has broken, I will even bring it on his own head.

17:20 I will spread my net on him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will enter into judgment with him there for his trespass that he has trespassed against me.

17:21 All his fugitives in all his bands shall fall by the sword, and those who remain shall be scattered toward every wind: and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it.'

17:22 "Thus says the Lord God: 'I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it on a high and lofty mountain:

17:23 in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shade of its branches shall they dwell.

17:24 All the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.'"

18:1 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying,

18:2 "What do you mean, that you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?'

18:3 As I live, says the Lord God, you shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.

18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins, he shall die.

18:5 "But if a man is just, and does that which is lawful and right,

18:6 and has not eaten on the mountains, neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither has defiled his neighbor's wife, neither has come near to a woman in her impurity,

18:7 and has not wronged any, but has restored to the debtor his pledge, has taken nothing by robbery, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;

18:8 he who has not given forth on interest, neither has taken any increase, who has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true justice between man and man,

18:9 has walked in my statutes, and has kept my ordinances, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live," says the Lord God.

18:10 "If he fathers a son who is a robber, a shedder of blood, and who does any one of these things,

18:11 and who does not any of those duties, but even has eaten on the mountains, and defiled his neighbor's wife,

18:12 has wronged the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination,

18:13 has given forth on interest, and has taken increase; shall he then live? He shall not live: he has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be on him.

18:14 "Now, behold, if he fathers a son, who sees all his father's sins, which he has done, and fears, and does not such like;

18:15 who has not eaten on the mountains, neither has lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, has not defiled his neighbor's wife,

18:16 neither has wronged any, has not taken anything to pledge, neither has taken by robbery, but has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;

18:17 who has withdrawn his hand from the poor, who has not received interest nor increase, has executed my ordinances, has walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.

18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, robbed his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he shall die in his iniquity.

18:19 "Yet you say, 'Why doesn't the son bear the iniquity of the father?' When the son has done that which is lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes, and has done them, he shall surely live.

18:20 The soul who sins, he shall die: the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him.

18:21 "But if the wicked turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

18:22 None of his transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him: in his righteousness that he has done he shall live.

18:23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" says the Lord God; "and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?

18:24 But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.

18:25 "'Yet you say, "The way of the Lord is not equal." Hear now, house of Israel: "Is my way not equal? Aren't your ways unequal?"

18:26 When the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and dies therein; in his iniquity that he has done shall he die.

18:27 Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

18:28 Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

18:29 Yet the house of Israel says, "The way of the Lord is not fair." "House of Israel, aren't my ways fair? Aren't your ways unfair?"

18:30 "'Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,' says the Lord God. 'Return, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die, house of Israel?

18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies,' says the Lord God: 'therefore turn yourselves, and live.'"

19:1 "Moreover, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

19:2 and say, 'What was your mother? A lioness: she couched among lions, in the midst of the young lions she nourished her cubs.

19:3 She brought up one of her cubs: he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.

19:4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit; and they brought him with hooks to the land of Egypt.

19:5 "'Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her cubs, and made him a young lion.

19:6 He went up and down among the lions; he became a young lion, and he learned to catch the prey; he devoured men.

19:7 He knew their palaces, and laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and its fullness, because of the noise of his roaring.

19:8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces; and they spread their net over him; he was taken in their pit.

19:9 They put him in a cage with hooks, and brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him into strongholds, that his voice should no more be heard on the mountains of Israel.

19:10 "'Your mother was like a vine, in your blood, planted by the waters: it was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

19:11 It had strong rods for the scepters of those who bore rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches.

19:12 But it was plucked up in fury, it was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit: its strong rods were broken off and withered; the fire consumed them.

19:13 Now it is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty land.

19:14 Fire is gone out of the rods of its branches, it has devoured its fruit, so that there is in it no strong rod to be a scepter to rule.' This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation."

1 Tim 2:1–15

1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men:

2 for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence.

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;

4 who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.

5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6 who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;

7 to which I was appointed a proclaimer and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting.

9 In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing;

10 but (which becomes women professing godliness) with good works.

11 Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection.

12 But I do not permit a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man, but to be in quietness.

13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

14 Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into disobedience;

15 but she will be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and sanctification with sobriety.

Job 31:13–24

13 "If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me;

14 What then shall I do when God rises up? When he visits, what shall I answer him?

15 Did not he who made me in the womb make him? Did not the same one fashion us in the womb?

16 "If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

17 or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it

18 (no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, her have I guided from my mother's womb);

19 if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;

20 if his heart hasn't blessed me, if he hasn't been warmed with my sheep's fleece;

21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate,

22 then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.

23 For calamity from God is a terror to me. Because his majesty, I can do nothing.

24 "If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, 'You are my confidence;'