WELS Through my Bible in Three Years

WELS Through my Bible in Three Years

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WELS Through my Bible in Three Years episodes

  • Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 31
    Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 31Ezekiel 20:45 – 21:32
    LISTEN HERE
    Through My Bible – May 31

    Ezekiel 20:45 – 21:32 (EHV)

    https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0531db.mp3
    See series: Through My Bible

    Ezekiel 20
    Prophecy Against the Southland

    45 The word of the Lord came to me. [1]

    46 Son of man, set your face toward Teman. Preach against the Southland, and prophesy against the scrubby forest in the Negev. 47 Say this to the scrub forest in the Negev. Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says. I am about to ignite a fire among you, and among you it will devour every green tree and every dry tree. The blazing flame will not be extinguished. Every face will be scorched by it, from south to north. 48 All flesh will see that I, the Lord, have ignited it. It will not be extinguished.

    49 Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, they are saying about me, ‘Doesn’t he just talk in puzzling parables?’”

    The Lord’s Punishing Sword Is Drawn
    Ezekiel 21

    1 The word of the Lord came to me. [2]

    2 Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem. Preach against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. 3 Say this to the land of Israel.

    This is what the Lord says. Hear this! I am against you, and I will draw my sword out of its scabbard, and I will cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I have resolved to cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword will come out of its scabbard against everyone from south to north. 5 Then all flesh will know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword from its scabbard. It will not return to its sheath again. 6 Now you, son of man, groan as though you were doubled up in pain. Groan in front of them as though in bitter anguish. 7 When they ask you, “Why are you groaning?” say, “Because of the news that is coming.” Then every heart will melt, all hands will hang limp, and all knees will run with water. [3] It is coming, and it will take place, declares the Lord God.

    8 The word of the Lord came to me.

    9 Son of man, prophesy and say that this is what the Lord says.

        A sword, a sword has been sharpened.
        It has also been polished.
    10 It has been made very sharp for slaughter.
        It has been polished to flash like lightning.

    So shall we rejoice in the scepter of my son?

    The sword despises every such stick of wood. [4]

    11 The sword has been set aside to be polished,

    to be grasped by the hand.

    It has been sharpened, and it has been polished,

    to be put into the hand of a killer.

    12 Cry out and wail, son of man,

    because the sword is against my people.

    It is against all the princes of Israel.

    They have been thrown to the sword together with my people.

    Therefore, slap your thigh. [5]

    13 Yes, testing is sure to come.

        What if the scepter, which the sword despises, is no more? [6]
        This is the declaration of the Lord God.
    14 Now you, son of man, prophesy.
        Clap your hands together. [7]
        Let the sword strike two times or even three.
        It is a sword for those who are to be slain,
        a sword for great slaughter, [8]
        a sword that pursues even to the inner room, [9]
    15 so that hearts melt,
        and those who stumble will be many.
        At all their gates I have placed the point [10] of the sword.
        Yes, it is made to flash like lightning,
            unsheathed for slaughter.
    16 Slash to the right. Thrust to the left—
        wherever your blade is directed.
    17 Then I myself will clap my hands. [11]
        I will bring my wrath to an end.
        I, the Lord, have spoken.

    Two Roads for the Sword

    18 The word of the Lord came to me.

    19 Now you, son of man, draw a map with two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to follow. Both of them should start from the same country. Make a signpost. Place it at the fork of the road to the city. 20 Draw a road for the sword to come either to Rabbah of the Ammonites or to Judah, to fortified Jerusalem, 21 because the king of Babylon will stand at the fork of the road, where the two roads branch off, in order to read the omens. He will shake the arrows, consult his family gods, [12] and examine animal livers for omens. 22 In his right hand he will receive the omen for Jerusalem—to set up battering rams, to shout the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to throw up a ramp, to build a siege wall. 23 But to the people of Jerusalem it will seem like a false omen. They swore solemn oaths to him, so he will remind them of their guilt, and they will be captured. 24 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you brought your guilt into the open by displaying your rebellious acts, so that your sins are revealed by all your deeds—because you have brought your guilt out into the open, you will be taken in hand.

    25 You corpse, you wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come for the time of final punishment, 26 this is what the Lord God says. Remove the turban. Take off the crown. Everything will be changed. Raise what is low. Bring down the high. 27 Ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This ruin will not end [13] until the one comes to whom judgment belongs, the one to whom I will give it.

    28 Now you, son of man, prophesy and say that this is what the Lord God says concerning the Ammonites and their taunts. Say this:

    Sword, O sword, unsheathed for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning! 29 Though empty visions were seen about you, [14] though omens made deceptive forecasts about you, you will be applied to the necks of the corpses of wicked men, whose day has come for the time of final punishment.

    30 Return, sword, to your scabbard. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 I will pour out my wrath on you. I will blow the fire of my fury upon you. I will deliver you into the hands of brutal men, expert destroyers. 32 You will be fuel for the fire. Your blood will flow all over the land, and you will no longer be remembered, for I, the Lord, have spoken.

    Footnotes
    1. Ezekiel 20:45 English verses 20:45-49 are 21:1-5 in Hebrew.
    2. Ezekiel 21:1 English verses 21:1-32 are 21:6-37 in Hebrew.
    3. Ezekiel 21:7 Terror will cause them to wet themselves.
    4. Ezekiel 21:10 This line seems to interrupt the Lord’s poem, which resumes in the next verse. The verse is difficult, and the meaning is uncertain. It seems to mean that no king of Judah can stand before the sword of Babylon. See verse 13.
    5. Ezekiel 21:12 Apparently an expression of grief
    6. Ezekiel 21:13 The verse is difficult, and the meaning is uncertain. It seems to be asking, “When the kings of Judah have been destroyed, how can the promise to David come true?” See verse 10 and verse 27.
    7. Ezekiel 21:14 Apparently a signal to begin the slaughter. Compare 21:17.
    8. Ezekiel 21:14 Or to slaughter the great
    9. Ezekiel 21:14 The meaning of this line is uncertain.
    10. Ezekiel 21:15 The meaning of this word is uncertain.
    11. Ezekiel 21:17 To signal the end of the slaughter
    12. Ezekiel 21:21 Hebrew teraphim
    13. Ezekiel 21:27 Or will not be completed. The expression is quite difficult, but this verse points to the Messiah who was foretold in Genesis 49:10 as the one to whom it belongs. This verse answers the question posed in verse 13. When the kings of Judah are gone, the Messiah will come and fulfill the promise to David. It is uncertain whether the point is that the depressed status of Israel will end only when the Messiah comes, or that even after the Messiah comes, in 70 ad Jerusalem will fall again.
    14. Ezekiel 21:29 The Hebrew construction is difficult. The word you, which is the subject of the whole statement, must refer to the sword. The same applies to the word you in the next paragraph.



    15. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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      8 min
    16. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 30
      Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 30Ezekiel 20:1-44
      LISTEN HERE
      Through My Bible – May 30

      Ezekiel 20:1-44 (EHV)

      https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0530db.mp3
      See series: Through My Bible

      Ezekiel 20
      A Review of the Old Covenant and a Promise of the New

      1 In the seventh year, [1] in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, men came from the elders of Israel to consult the Lord, and they sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and tell them this.”

      This is what the Lord God says to them:

      Are you really coming to consult me? As I live, I will not let myself be consulted by you, declares the Lord God.

      4 Will you put them on trial? [2] Will you put them on trial, son of man? Remind them of the abominable practices of their fathers. 5 You are to tell them the following.

      This is what the Lord God says. On the day when I chose Israel, when I swore with an uplifted hand to the descendants [3] of the house of Jacob, when I made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, then I lifted up my hand to them in an oath. I said, “I am the Lord, your God.” 6 On that day I swore to them with an uplifted hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt to a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey. It was the most glorious of all the lands. 7 I said to them, “Each man must throw away the loathsome things he sets his eyes on. You must not defile yourselves with the filthy idols [4] of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.”

      8 But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. Not one of them threw away the loathsome things which they set their eyes on. They did not forsake the filthy idols of Egypt, so I resolved to pour out my wrath on them and to exhaust my anger against them in the middle of the land of Egypt. 9 I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations that were around them, the nations in whose sight I had made myself known by bringing the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

      10 So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them my statutes, and I made my ordinances known to them, ordinances by which a man will live if he observes them. 12 I also gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, so that they could know that I, the Lord, am the one who sanctifies them.

      13 But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances (ordinances by which a man will live if he observes them), and they profaned my Sabbaths completely. So I threatened to pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness in order to annihilate them. 14 I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out from Egypt. 15 I also swore to them with an uplifted hand in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given to them, a land flowing with milk and honey—it is the most glorious of all the lands— 16 because they rejected my ordinances and did not walk in my statutes. Instead, they profaned my Sabbaths. This happened because their hearts chase after their filthy idols. 17 Nevertheless, my eye had pity on them so that I did not destroy them, and I did not completely destroy them in the wilderness.

      18 Then I said to their children in the wilderness: “Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers. Do not observe their ordinances, and do not defile yourselves with their filthy idols. 19 I, the Lord, am your God. Walk in my statutes, and observe my ordinances and practice them. 20 Keep my Sabbaths holy so that they may be a sign between me and you, so that you may know that I, the Lord, am your God.”

      21 But the children too rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes. They did not observe my ordinances by practicing them, statutes by which a person will live if he observes them. They profaned my Sabbaths, so I resolved to pour out my wrath on them and to exhaust my anger on them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless, I held back my hand and acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out from Egypt. 23 However, I raised my hand in an oath to them in the wilderness and swore that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the countries 24 because they had not observed my ordinances. They despised my statutes. They profaned my Sabbaths, and they fixed their eyes on the filthy idols of their fathers. 25 So I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. [5] 26 I defiled them through their sacrificial gifts—when they made all their firstborn pass through the fire—in order to devastate them, so that they would know that I am the Lord.

      27 Therefore, speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and tell them this.

      This is what the Lord God says. In this too your fathers blasphemed me by committing infidelity after infidelity against me. 28 When I brought them to the land which I had sworn with an uplifted hand to give to them, whenever they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, they offered their sacrifices there. There they placed their offerings that provoke me. There they offered their fragrant sacrifices. There they poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, “What is the high place to which you are going?” So it is called Bamah [6] to this day.

      30 Therefore, say this to the house of Israel.

      This is what the Lord God says. Are you continuing to defile yourselves in the way your fathers did? Are you still whoring after their loathsome idolatries? 31 When you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you continue to defile yourselves by all your filthy idols to this day. So should I let myself be consulted by you, house of Israel? As I live, says the Lord God, I will not let myself be consulted by you.

      32 What you have in mind will definitely never take place. You are saying, “Let us become like the nations, like the clans in other countries, by worshipping wood and stone.” 33 As I live, says the Lord God, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath outpoured, I will rule over you! 34 I will bring you out from the nations, and I will gather you from the countries among which you have been scattered. With a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath outpoured, 35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples. There I will enter into judgment with you face-to-face. 36 As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. 37 I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you under the binding terms of the covenant. 38 I will purge out from among you those who revolt and rebel against me. From the land where they are staying I will bring them out, but they shall not come into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

      39 But to you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says. Let each man go and worship his filthy idols, but after that, even if you will not listen to me, you will no longer profane my holy name with your gifts and with your filthy idols. 40 For on my holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord God, the whole house of Israel will worship me there—the whole nation in its homeland. There I will accept them. There I will request your offerings and your special gifts together with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you as a fragrant sacrifice when I bring you out from the nations and when I gather you from the lands among which you were scattered. Then through you, I will show that I am holy in the sight of the nations. 42 You will know that I am the Lord when I bring you back to the soil of Israel, to the land that I swore with an upraised hand to give to your fathers. 43 There you will remember your ways and all your deeds by which you defiled yourselves, and you will despise yourselves for all your evil deeds which you have done. 44 Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for the sake of my name and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.

      Footnotes
      1. Ezekiel 20:1 591 bc
      2. Ezekiel 20:4 Or judge them
      3. Ezekiel 20:5 Literally seed
      4. Ezekiel 20:7 More literally manure gods. See the note at 6:4.
      5. Ezekiel 20:25 There was nothing wrong with the statutes themselves, but Israel twisted them or misused them as a way of earning salvation rather than as a way of showing gratitude.
      6. Ezekiel 20:29 Bamah means High Place.



      7. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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        10 min
      8. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 29
        Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 29Ezekiel 18 – 19
        LISTEN HERE
        Through My Bible – May 29

        Ezekiel 18 – 19 (EHV)

        https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0529db.mp3
        See series: Through My Bible

        The Wicked Will Die; The Righteous Will Live
        Ezekiel 18

        1 The word of the Lord came to me.

        2 What do you mean, you who keep repeating this proverb concerning the soil of Israel, “Fathers eat sour grapes, and their sons’ teeth are set on edge”? 3 As surely as I live, declares the Lord God, you will never again use this proverb in Israel. 4 Indeed, all souls are mine. The soul of the father is mine just like the soul of the son. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

        5 If a man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, 6 if he does not eat on the mountains and does not lift up his eyes to the filthy idols [1] of the house of Israel, if he does not defile his neighbor’s wife and does not approach a woman during her period, 7 if he does not exploit anyone but returns the collateral given to him for a loan, if he does not seize another person’s property by force but gives his own food to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, 8 if he does not deduct a fee from the money he lends to someone and he does not demand that people repay more than he lent them, if he holds back his hand from unrighteousness and administers impartial justice between two parties, 9 that is, if he walks in my statutes and keeps my ordinances by acting faithfully, that man is righteous and he will surely live, declares the Lord God.

        10 Now if he fathers a violent son, who sheds blood or who does any one of these evil things to a brother [2] 11 (although the father did not do all these things), but the son goes so far as to eat on the mountains and even defiles his neighbor’s wife, 12 exploits the poor and the needy, seizes other people’s property by force, does not return the collateral on a loan, lifts up his eyes to the filthy idols, commits abominations, 13 and deducts a fee from the money he lends to someone and demands that people repay more than he lent them—will he live? He will not live! He committed all these abominations, so he will surely be put to death. His blood will be upon him.

        14 But if that son himself fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has committed, and though he sees, he does not do likewise— 15 he does not eat on the mountains, he does not lift up his eyes to the filthy idols of the house of Israel, he does not defile his neighbor’s wife, 16 he does not exploit anyone, he does not require collateral for a loan, he does not seize another person’s property by force, he gives his own food to the hungry and he covers the naked with clothing, 17 he takes care not to harm the poor, [3] he does not deduct a fee from the money he lends someone or demand that people repay more than he lent them, but he keeps my ordinances and walks according to my statutes—that man will not die because of his father’s guilt. He will surely live. 18 But his father, if he practices extortion, seizes his brother’s goods by force, and does what was not good among his own people, he will surely die because of his own guilt.

        19 But you ask, “Why doesn’t the son share in the guilt of the father?” Because the son did what was just and right. He kept all my statutes and carried them out, so he will surely live. 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share in the guilt of the father, and the father will not share in the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous person will be credited to him alone, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be charged against him alone.

        21 A wicked man, if he turns away from [4] all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and carries out justice and righteousness, he will surely live. He will not die. 22 All of the rebellious acts that he had committed will not be remembered against him. Because of his righteousness that he has practiced, he will live. 23 Do I really find any pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Don’t I want him to turn from his ways and live?

        24 But if a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and does what is unrighteous—namely, all the abominations that the wicked man practices—will he live? All the righteous deeds that he did will not be remembered. Because he added one infidelity to another and because of the sins that he has committed, because of them, he will die.

        25 But you say, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Listen now, house of Israel. Is it my way that is not fair? Is it not your ways that are not fair? 26 If a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and practices unrighteousness, he will die because of it. Because of the unrighteousness that he has practiced, he will die.

        27 But if a wicked man turns from his wickedness that he has done and practices justice and righteousness, he will preserve his life. 28 Because he has seen and turned away from [5] all the rebellious acts that he had committed, he will surely live, and he will not die. 29 But the house of Israel says, “The Lord’s way is not fair.” Is it really my ways that are not fair, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are not fair?

        30 Therefore, I will judge each one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn away from all your rebellious acts, so that you will not set out a stumbling block that makes you guilty. 31 Throw off from yourselves all your rebellious actions by which you have rebelled, and obtain a new heart and a new spirit for yourselves. Why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God. So repent and live!

        A Parable About Israel’s Princes
        Ezekiel 19

        1 Now you are to take up a lament for the princes of Israel. 2 This is what you are to say:

            What a lioness your mother was!

            She crouched among the lions.
            Among the young lions she reared her cubs.
        3 She raised up one of her cubs. [6]
            When he became a young lion,
                he learned to tear his prey.
            He even ate humans.
        4 When the nations heard about him,
                he was trapped in their pit.
            With hooks they led him to the land of Egypt.

        5 When she saw that she was waiting in vain,

            that her hope was lost,
                she took another of her cubs
                and made him a young lion.
        6 He prowled around among the lions,
            because he too had become a young lion.
            He learned to tear prey.
            He even ate humans.
        7 He knew how many widows he made [7]
                as he ravaged their cities.
            The land and everyone in it were stunned
                by the noise of his roaring.
        8 Nations set upon him from the surrounding provinces.
            They spread their net over him,
            and he was trapped in their pit.
        9 With hooks they put him in a wooden cage, [8]
            and they brought him [9] to the king of Babylon.
            They brought him into prison
                so that his roar would no longer be heard
                on the mountains of Israel.
        10 Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, [10]
            planted by water, fruitful and full of branches
            because of plentiful waters.
        11 Its strong branches [11] became scepters for rulers.
            It towered high, among the clouds.
            It was outstanding because of its height,
            and because of the abundance of its branches.
        12 But the vine was uprooted in wrath,
            and it was hurled to the ground.
            The east wind dried up its fruit.
            Its strong branch was torn off so that it dried up,
            and fire devoured it.
        13 Now it is planted in the wilderness,
            in a dry and thirsty land.
        14 Fire has come out from its main branch
            and consumed its fruit,
            so that it no longer has a strong branch,
            no scepter fit for ruling.

        This is a lament, and it was used as a lament.

        Footnotes
        1. Ezekiel 18:6 More literally manure gods. See the note at 6:4.
        2. Ezekiel 18:10 Some manuscripts omit the phrase to a brother.
        3. Ezekiel 18:17 Or, following the Greek text, he withholds his hand from unrighteousness. See verse 8.
        4. Ezekiel 18:21 Or repents of
        5. Ezekiel 18:28 Or repented of
        6. Ezekiel 19:3 King Jehoahaz of Judah
        7. Ezekiel 19:7 The translation follows the Hebrew. Other ancient versions read he devastated their strongholds, which seems to fit the parallelism with ravaging cities.
        8. Ezekiel 19:9 Or a collar
        9. Ezekiel 19:9 King Jehoiachin of Judah
        10. Ezekiel 19:10 A few Hebrew manuscripts read vineyard. Most Hebrew manuscripts read blood, but the context supports vineyard.
        11. Ezekiel 19:11 The word translated strong branches also means rulers’ staffs. Also in verses 12 and 14.



        12. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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          9 min
        13. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 28
          Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 28Ezekiel 17
          LISTEN HERE
          Through My Bible – May 28

          Ezekiel 17 (EHV)

          https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0528db.mp3
          See series: Through My Bible

          The Parable About the Cedar Sprig

          1 The word of the Lord came to me. 2 Son of man, present a challenging parable to the house of Israel. 3 Tell the Israelites that this is what the Lord God says.

          A great eagle with powerful wings, with long feathers, and covered with multicolored plumes, came to Lebanon. He took the tip of a cedar. 4 He plucked off the newest shoot at the very top of the tree, and he carried it to a land of merchants. In a city of traders he planted it.

          5 Then he took seed from the land and planted it in a fertile field, like a new plant beside plentiful water. He set it out like a willow twig, 6 so that it would sprout and become a spreading vine, low to the ground, so that its branches would turn toward the one who planted it [1] and its roots would remain under him. So it became a vine and produced shoots and leaves and branches.

          7 But there was another great eagle with powerful wings and many plumes. Look at how this vine bent its roots toward him! From the bed where it had been planted, it stretched out its branches toward him, so that he could water it. 8 It had been planted in good soil beside plentiful water to grow branches, to bear fruit, and to become a magnificent vine.

          9 Tell them this is what the Lord God says. Will it thrive? Won’t he pull up its roots and strip off its fruit so that it dries up? Won’t all its new growth dry up? No strong arm or mighty army will be needed to pluck it by its roots. 10 Although it has been planted, will it thrive? When the east wind touches it, won’t it shrivel up completely? On the very bed where it had sprouted, it will wither away.

          11 The word of the Lord came to me. 12 Tell this to the rebellious house.

          Don’t you know what these things mean? Tell them this. You saw how the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem. He took its king and its officials and brought them back to Babylon with him.

          13 Then he took a member from the seed of the royal family, made a covenant [2] with him, and put him under an oath. He took away the leading men of the land 14 so that it would be a lowly kingdom, so that it would not rebel but would keep the covenant with him, so that it could survive. 15 But the prince [3] rebelled against that king by sending his envoys to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can someone who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and still escape? 16 As I live, says the Lord God, in the land of the king who made him king, [4] whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke, in his presence in Babylon, he shall die. 17 He will not be joined by a mighty army or a great force during the war, because Pharaoh will not come when the enemy heaps up ramps and builds siege walls in order to cut off many lives. 18 The king despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Even though he had given his hand to seal the covenant, he did all these things. He shall not escape!

          19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. As I live, because it was an oath taken in my name that the prince despised, I will bring down on his own head my covenant which he broke. 20 I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon, and I will enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against me. 21 All his fugitives together with all his troops will fall by the sword, and the rest will be scattered to every wind. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken.

          22 This is what the Lord God says. I myself will take part of the tip of the cedar and plant it. From the topmost of its shoots I will pluck off a tender sprig, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the high mountain of Israel I will plant it. It will produce branches, bear fruit, and become a magnificent cedar. Flying birds of every kind will live under it. In the shelter of its branches they will nest. 24 Then all the trees in the countryside will know that I, the Lord, bring down the high tree and raise up the low tree, that I make the green tree dry up, and I make the dried-up tree blossom. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will carry it out.

          Footnotes
          1. Ezekiel 17:6 Hebrew toward him. An antecedent is supplied for clarity, as also is done in some following verses.
          2. Ezekiel 17:13 Or treaty
          3. Ezekiel 17:15 The prince is Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. By calling Zedekiah a prince, Ezekiel seems to be suggesting that the exiled king Jehoiachin, through whom the Messianic line would be traced, was still the real king.
          4. Ezekiel 17:16 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whose treaty Zedekiah violated by allying with Egypt



          5. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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            6 min
          6. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 27
            Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 27Ezekiel 16
            LISTEN HERE
            Through My Bible – May 27

            Ezekiel 16 (EHV)

            https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0527db.mp3
            See series: Through My Bible

            Jerusalem, the Prostitute [1]

            1 The word of the Lord came to me.

            2 Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her abominations. 3 Tell them this is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem.

            Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 This is the way it was at your birth. On the day you were born, your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were not washed with water to clean you up. [2] You were not rubbed down with salt, nor were you tightly wrapped with cloths. 5 No eye looked at you with pity to do any of these things for you or to show compassion to you. On the day you were born, you were thrown out in the open field without regard for your life.

            6 I passed by, and I saw you squirming in your blood. I said to you, “You there, lying there in your blood, live!” and I said to you, “You there, lying there in your blood, live!” [3] 7 I made you grow like a sprout in the field. You grew up, you developed, and you became very beautiful. [4] Your breasts were formed and your hair had appeared, but you were completely naked. 8 I passed by and saw you, and I noticed that you were old enough for love. [5] So I spread the skirt of my robe over you and covered your nakedness. I swore an oath to you to enter into a covenant of marriage with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. 9 I washed you with water. I washed your blood off you. I anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you with the finest embroidered material and gave you sandals of luxurious leather. [6] I wrapped your head in the best linen and covered you with silk. 11 I adorned you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your wrists and a necklace around your neck. 12 I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears, and a glorious crown on your head. 13 So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of the best linen, with silk and the finest embroidered material. You ate fine flour, honey, and olive oil. You were extraordinarily beautiful, and you attained the status of a queen. 14 Your fame spread throughout the nations because of your beauty. In fact, it was perfect because of my splendor, which I had bestowed upon you, declares the Lord God.

            15 But you trusted in your beauty, and, relying on your fame, you acted like a prostitute. You lavished your lust on every man passing by—you became his. 16 You took some of your clothing and made colorful high places for yourself and acted like a prostitute on them. Such things should not happen. They should not be! 17 You took your glorious articles made from my gold and my silver, which I had given to you, and you made male idols for yourself, and you acted like a prostitute with them. 18 You took your clothing made of the finest embroidered material and covered the idols, and you set my oil and my incense in front of them. 19 Also my food which I gave you—the fine flour, oil, and honey which I fed you—you set in front of them as a fragrant sacrifice. This is what happened, declares the Lord God.

            20 You even took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore for me, and sacrificed them as food for the idols. Was your continual prostitution not enough? 21 Did you have to slaughter my children and offer them to the idols by making them pass through the fire? 22 With all your abominations and your prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were completely naked, when you were squirming about in your blood. 23 So after all your wickedness—woe, woe to you, says the Lord God!— 24 you built for yourself a platform, [7] and you made a pavilion [8] for yourself in every public square. 25 At the corner of every street you set up your pavilion and made your beauty into a disgusting thing. You spread your legs for every man passing by, and you multiplied your acts of prostitution. 26 You acted like a whore with the sons of Egypt, your neighbors with their enlarged flesh, [9] and you multiplied your acts of prostitution to enrage me!

            27 Look at how I stretched out my hand against you. I reduced your territory. I gave you up to the desire of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who were embarrassed by your lewd ways. 28 You acted like a whore with the sons of the Assyrians because you were insatiable. Even after your acts of prostitution with them, you were not satisfied. 29 So you extended your whoring ways to the land of merchants, to Chaldea, but even with this you were not satisfied. 30 How sick your heart is, says the Lord God, that you did all these things, the behavior of a woman who is a domineering whore! 31 When you built your platform at the corner of every street and you made your pavilion in every public square, you were not like an ordinary prostitute, because you refused payment. 32 You adulterous wife, who procures strange men instead of her husband, 33 to all prostitutes men pay a fee, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers. You bribed them to come to you from all around to join your whoring ways. 34 You were the opposite of the other women in your whoring ways. You were not solicited for prostitution, but you gave payment to your lovers. Instead of payment being given to you, you were the very opposite.

            35 Therefore, you whore, hear the word of the Lord! 36 This is what the Lord God says. Because your moisture [10] was poured out, and your nakedness was exposed during your whoring ways with your lovers, because of all your disgusting, filthy idols, and because of the blood of your children, whom you gave to them, 37 for all this, I am about to gather all your lovers to whom you were giving pleasure—all those you loved, as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around. I will expose your nakedness to them, and they will see your nakedness. 38 I will judge you with the judgments deserved by women who commit adultery and who shed blood. I will make you bloody in my wrath and jealousy. [11] 39 I will deliver you into their hands, and they will tear down your platform, demolish your pavilion, strip you of your clothing, take away your glorious jewelry, and leave you completely naked. 40 They will bring up a mob against you, and they will stone you and hack you to pieces with their swords. 41 They will burn down your houses with fire and carry out judgments against you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop being a whore, and you will never again give a payment. 42 Then I will lay to rest my wrath against you, and my jealousy will turn away from you. I will be calm and no longer be angry.

            43 Because you [12] did not remember the days of your youth, and you made me angry during all these actions, I myself will certainly bring your conduct down upon your head. That is the declaration of the Lord God! Haven’t you added lewdness to all your abominations? 44 Hear this! Everyone will speak this proverb about you: “Like mother, like daughter.” 45 You are a true daughter of your mother, who despises her husband and her children, and you are a true sister of your sisters, who despise their husbands and their children. The mother of all of you was a Hittite and your father was an Amorite. 46 Your older sister is Samaria, who along with her daughters [13] lives north of you, and your younger sister, who lives south of you along with her daughters, is Sodom. 47 You did not merely walk in their ways or act according to their abominations, since in a very short time you became more depraved in all your ways than they were. 48 As I live, says the Lord God, your sister Sodom along with her daughters has not done what you have done along with your daughters. 49 Look, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: Pride, overindulgence in food, and complacent ease were the way for her and her daughters, and she failed to strengthen the hands [14] of the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty, and they committed abominations in my presence, and so I removed them when I saw it. 51 Samaria did not sin half as much as you did. You multiplied your abominations more than they did. You made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations which you committed. 52 So you must bear your disgrace, because by your sins you appeared to plead your sisters’ case for them. Because of your sins—you acted more repulsively than they did—they appear more righteous than you. So you must be ashamed and bear your disgrace, because you made your sisters appear righteous. 53 I will bring about their restoration—the restoration of Sodom and her daughters, and the restoration of Samaria and her daughters, as well as your complete restoration in their midst, 54 so that you will bear your disgrace, and you will be ashamed of everything you did when you appeared to give them comfort. 55 Your sister Sodom and her daughters will return to their former state, and your sister Samaria and her daughters will return to their former state, and you and your daughters will return to your former state. 56 Wasn’t your sister Sodom a subject for gossip in your mouth during the days when you were so proud, 57 in the days before your own wickedness was exposed? So now in the same way you are subjected to scorn by the daughters of Edom [15] and by all those around her and by the daughters of the Philistines, who scorn you from all sides. 58 Your lewdness and your abominations, you must now bear, declares the Lord.

            59 So this is what the Lord God says. Shall I do with you just as you have done, you who despised your oath, thereby breaking the covenant? 60 No, just the opposite, I myself will remember my covenant I made with you during the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant for you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters who are older than you, in addition to those who are younger than you, and I will give them to you as daughters, and not outside your covenant. [16] 62 I myself will establish my covenant with you. Then you will know that I am the Lord, 63 so that you may remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, when I make atonement for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.

            Footnotes
            1. Ezekiel 16:1 Ezekiel 16 and 23 are shockingly graphic. Ezekiel uses ugly language to describe Israel’s ugly actions. These chapters dramatically proclaim how ugly sin is in the eyes of a holy God, a message we dare not soften in our crass and immoral age.
            2. Ezekiel 16:4 The meaning of this term is uncertain.
            3. Ezekiel 16:6 Greek and Syriac manuscripts omit the repetition of and I said to you, “You there, lying there in your blood, live!”
            4. Ezekiel 16:7 Or like the most beautiful jewelry
            5. Ezekiel 16:8 Or your time was the time for love
            6. Ezekiel 16:10 Literally the hides of sea cows. This type of leather was used in the Dwelling, which was constructed in the wilderness.
            7. Ezekiel 16:24 The meaning of the word is uncertain. The ancient versions interpret it as a brothel.
            8. Ezekiel 16:24 The meaning of the word is uncertain. The ancient versions interpret it as a brothel.
            9. Ezekiel 16:26 Literally large flesh. Flesh here refers to genitals.
            10. Ezekiel 16:36 Or secretion. This is a Hebrew word of uncertain meaning, which occurs only here in the Bible. Perhaps it refers to vaginal fluid.
            11. Ezekiel 16:38 In God, jealousy is a demand for exclusive loyalty. He can tolerate no other gods.
            12. Ezekiel 16:43 You follows a reading in the margin of the Hebrew text. The reading in the main text is I.
            13. Ezekiel 16:46 A city’s daughters are its suburbs and surrounding villages with their citizens.
            14. Ezekiel 16:49 Or come to the aid
            15. Ezekiel 16:57 A variant reading which occurs in Hebrew and in other versions is Aram.
            16. Ezekiel 16:61 Or not on account of your covenant



            17. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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              13 min
            18. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 26
              Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 26Ezekiel 14 – 15
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              Through My Bible – May 26

              Ezekiel 14 – 15 (EHV)

              https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0526db.mp3
              See series: Through My Bible

              Rulings About Prophecy
              Ezekiel 14

              1 Some men from the elders of Israel came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me.

              3 Son of man, these men have set up their filthy idols [1] in their hearts, and they have placed a stumbling block that makes them guilty in front of their faces. So should I really let them consult me? 4 Therefore, speak with them and tell them this is what the Lord God says.

              Whenever anyone from the house of Israel sets up his filthy idols in his heart or sets the stumbling block that makes him guilty in front of his face and he then comes to a prophet, I, the Lord, will give him an answer appropriate to the multitude of his filthy idols, 5 so that I may capture the hearts of the house of Israel, for all of them have alienated themselves from me with their filthy idols. 6 Therefore, tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord God says. Repent and turn away from your filthy idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

              7 Certainly, anyone from the house of Israel or an alien who is residing in Israel, if he alienates himself from me and sets up his filthy idols in his heart and puts the stumbling block that makes him guilty in front of his face, and he then comes to a prophet to seek my guidance for himself, I myself, the Lord, will give him an answer. 8 I will set my face against that man, and I will make him into a sign and a notorious example, and I will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

              9 If a prophet acts like a fool [2] and speaks a message, I, the Lord, have made a fool of that prophet. [3] I will stretch out my hand against him, and I will destroy him from among my people Israel. 10 They will bear their guilt. The guilt of the one who seeks guidance will be the same as the guilt of the prophet, 11 so that the house of Israel will no longer stray from following me, and they will never again defile themselves by all their rebellious acts. They will be my people, and I will be their God, declares the Lord God.

              Four Judgments

              12 The word of the Lord came to me.

              13 Son of man, when a land sins against me by adding one act of infidelity to another, so that I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its bread supply, [4] to send famine against it, and to cut off man and beast from it, 14 even if these three men were in its midst—Noah, Daniel, and Job—by their righteousness they would save only their own lives, declares the Lord God.

              15 If I cause wild animals to pass through the land and they rob it of its children, so that it becomes desolate, and no one can pass through because of the wild animals, 16 and if these three men were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they would not save either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be devastated.

              17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land and say, “A sword shall pass through the land,” and I cut off from it man and beast, 18 and these three men were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they would not be able to save either their sons or their daughters, but they alone would be saved.

              19 Or if I send a plague on that land, and with bloodshed I pour out my wrath on it to cut off man and beast from it, 20 and if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in its midst, as I live, says the Lord God, they would not be able to save either their sons or their daughters. By their righteousness they would save only their own lives.

              21 For this is what the Lord God says. How much worse it will be when I send my four terrible judgments—sword, famine, wild animals, and plague—upon Jerusalem to cut off man and beast from it!

              22 But wait! A group of survivors will be left in it, those sons and daughters who will be brought out. Look! They are coming out to you, and you shall see their ways and their actions. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem, everything that I brought upon it. 23 And they will comfort you, because you will see their ways and their actions. Then you will know that it was not without cause that I did everything that I did against the city, declares the Lord God.

              Jerusalem Is a Useless Vine
              Ezekiel 15

              1 The word of the Lord came to me.

              2 Son of man, what can be done with the wood of a grapevine compared to the wood from the branches of all the other trees in the forest? 3 Can its wood be used to make something useful? Can people make a peg from it to hang things on? 4 No, it is fed into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned up. Is it useful for any purpose then? 5 Since it could not be used for any purpose when it was undamaged, how much less can it be used to make anything useful after the fire has devoured it and it has been burned! 6 Therefore, this is what the Lord says. Like the wood of the grapevine from among the trees of the forest, which I have fed into the fire for fuel, in the same way I will feed the inhabitants of Jerusalem into the fire. 7 I will set my face against them. They have come out from the fire, but the fire will still devour them. Then you will know that I am the Lord when I set my face against them. 8 I will make the land desolate because they added one infidelity to another, declares the Lord God.

              Footnotes
              1. Ezekiel 14:3 Gillulim, one of Ezekiel’s favorite names for Israel’s idols, is a harsh word. Gillulim means idols made from round things. The round things are dung balls; hence the term could be rendered dung-ball deities or horse-apple gods, but even these terms may be too gentle. One of the four-letter words for excrement may be closer to the mark.
              2. Ezekiel 14:9 Or is persuaded or lets himself be persuaded
              3. Ezekiel 14:9 Or have persuaded that prophet. The line is difficult. God is not the source of sin, but God does allow a false prophet to go his own way in order to use him as an instrument of judgment. Examples include the false prophets who led Ahab to his death and the witch of Endor, who drove Saul to his death.
              4. Ezekiel 14:13 Literally break its staff of bread



              5. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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                7 min
              6. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 25
                Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 25Ezekiel 12 – 13
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                Through My Bible – May 25

                Ezekiel 12 – 13 (EHV)

                https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0525db.mp3
                See series: Through My Bible

                An Action Prophecy About the Prince’s Exile
                Ezekiel 12

                1 The word of the Lord came to me.

                2 Son of man, you are living in the middle of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see, but they do not see, and they have ears to hear, but they do not hear, because they are a rebellious house. 3 Therefore, you, son of man, pack your baggage for exile, and depart into exile during the daytime, while they are watching. You are to depart into exile from your place to another place, while they are watching. Perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house. 4 You are to bring out your baggage, packed for exile, during the daytime, while they are watching. Then in the evening, while they are watching, you are to go out like someone going into exile. 5 While they are watching, dig through the wall, and bring out your baggage through it. 6 While they are watching, lift it up on your shoulder, and carry it out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the ground, for I have made you a warning sign to the house of Israel.

                7 I did that, exactly as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage, packed for exile, during the daytime, and then in the evening I dug through the wall by hand. When it was getting dark, I brought my baggage out. I carried it on my shoulder while they were watching.

                8 In the morning the word of the Lord came to me. 9 “Son of man, hasn’t the house of Israel, that rebellious house, asked you, ‘What are you doing?’ 10 You are to tell them that this is what the Lord God says.”

                This burdensome prophecy is about the burdensome prince in Jerusalem, [1] together with the whole house of Israel who are in its midst.

                11 Say to them, “I am a warning sign for you.”

                Exactly what I have done will be done to them. Into exile, into captivity, they will go. 12 The prince who is in their midst will carry his baggage on his shoulder at dusk and go out. They will dig through the wall to bring him out through it. He will cover his face, so he will not see the ground with his own eyes. 13 I will spread out my net for him, and he will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die. 14 All those who are around him, his aides and all his troops, I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe my sword against them. 15 Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them across many countries. 16 But from among them I will let a small number survive the sword, famine, and plague, in order that they may tell about all their abominations among the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

                17 The word of the Lord came to me.

                18 Son of man, you are to eat your food with trembling, and you are to drink your water with shuddering and anxiety. 19 You are to say to the people of the land: This is what the Lord God says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem on the soil of Israel. They will eat their food with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because everything that filled the land will be devastated because of the violence of all its inhabitants. 20 The inhabited cities will be laid waste, and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

                Two Sayings About Prophecy

                21 The word of the Lord came to me.

                22 Son of man, what is this saying that you have about the homeland of Israel: “The days keep going by, and every vision fails”?

                23 Therefore say this to them. This is what the Lord God says. I will put an end to this saying, and they will no longer use it as a saying in Israel. On the contrary, say to them, “The days are near when every vision will be fulfilled.” 24 For no longer will there be any empty, unreliable visions or slippery, misleading omens within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord. Whatever word I speak will be fulfilled. It will be delayed no longer. For in your own days, you rebellious house, I will speak a word and fulfill it, declares the Lord God.

                26 The word of the Lord came to me.

                27 Son of man, listen to what the house of Israel is saying: “The vision that he is seeing is for many days in the future, and he is prophesying for distant times.” 28 Therefore, tell the Israelites this is what the Lord God says. None of my words will be delayed any longer, because I will speak a word and it will be fulfilled, declares the Lord God.

                False Prophets and Prophetesses
                Ezekiel 13

                1 The word of the Lord came to me.

                2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are prophesying. You are to say to the prophets who prophesy from their own heart: Hear the word of the Lord.

                3 This is what the Lord God says. Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and prophesy things which they have not seen. 4 Israel, your prophets are like jackals among the ruins. 5 You have not stepped up into the breaks in the wall, nor have you repaired the wall for the house of Israel, so that it could stand up in battle on the Day of the Lord. 6 They see empty visions and their omens predict lies—those who say, “The declaration of the Lord,” when the Lord has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. 7 Have you not, in fact, seen an empty vision and predicted lies when you say, “The declaration of the Lord,” when, in fact, I have not spoken? 8 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have spoken empty words and have seen a lying vision, therefore, I am surely against you, declares the Lord God. 9 My hand will come upon the prophets who see empty visions and predict a lie. They will not remain in the council of my people. They will not be recorded in the register of the house of Israel, and they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord God.

                10 This will happen precisely because they have misled my people by saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace. When someone builds a flimsy wall, look how the false prophets daub it with a coat of mud plaster. [2] 11 Tell those who are daubing with plaster that the wall will fall. There will be driving rain, large hailstones will fall, [3] and a violent wind will break out, 12 and suddenly the wall will fall. Won’t they say to you, “Where is the mud plaster you daubed on now?”

                13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. In my wrath I will make a violent wind break out, and there will be driving rain because of my anger. In my wrath I will send large hailstones that bring destruction. 14 I will demolish the wall that you have daubed with mud plaster. I will level it to the ground, so that its foundation will be exposed. It will fall, and you will perish within the city. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 15 In this way I will exhaust my wrath against the wall and against those who daubed it with mud plaster, and I will say to you, “Gone is the wall, and gone are those who daubed on it— 16 those prophets of Israel who are prophesying about Jerusalem and who proclaim a vision of peace about her when there is no peace, declares the Lord God.”

                17 You, son of man, are to set your face against the daughters of your people, who are prophesying ecstatically from their own hearts. You are to prophesy against them. 18 You are to say that this is what the Lord God says.

                Woe to those women who sew magic bands for all their [4] wrists and who make veils of every size for people’s heads in order to trap souls. [5] Will you women trap the souls of my people, but preserve your own souls? 19 You women profane me among my people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread, killing people [6] who should not die and keeping people alive who should not live. You do this by your lying to my people—those who listen to lies. 20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says.

                Listen. I am against your magic bands, with which you women trap souls like birds. I will tear them from your arms, and I will set free the souls that you trap like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and rescue my people from your hand. They will no longer be in your hand like prey. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

                22 Because you have disheartened the righteous man with delusions, even though I have not intended to grieve him, and you have strengthened the hands of [7] the wicked man, so that he does not repent of his evil way, and so he does not save his life, 23 therefore, you women will no longer proclaim empty words, and you will no longer deceive with false omens. I will rescue my people from your hand. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

                Footnotes
                1. Ezekiel 12:10 The Hebrew reads the prince [is] this burden in Jerusalem. The word for burden can sometimes refer to a warning prophecy, so there is a play on words in this prophecy—the prince carries a burden and he is a burden.
                2. Ezekiel 13:10 Or whitewash
                3. Ezekiel 13:11 The Hebrew text reads O you (feminine plural) large hailstones will fall. Alternate versions read I will give large hailstones that will fall.
                4. Ezekiel 13:18 The translation follows an alternate Hebrew reading. The main reading is my wrists.
                5. Ezekiel 13:18 Or lives
                6. Ezekiel 13:19 Literally souls
                7. Ezekiel 13:22 Or have encouraged



                8. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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                  10 min
                9. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 24
                  Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 24Ezekiel 11
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                  Through My Bible – May 24

                  Ezekiel 11 (EHV)

                  https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0524db.mp3
                  See series: Through My Bible

                  Warning of Judgment

                  1 Then the Spirit [1] lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the temple of the Lord, which faces east. There, at the entrance to the gateway, were twenty-five men, and among them I saw Ja’azaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people. 2 He said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city, 3 who are saying, ‘We will not have to build houses anytime soon. [2] The city is the pot, and we are the meat.’ 4 Therefore, prophesy against them. Prophesy, son of man.”

                  5 Then the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he told me to say this.

                  This is what the Lord says. This is what you are saying, house of Israel. I know what you have in mind. 6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the slain. 7 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Your slain, which you have placed within the city, are the meat, and the city is the pot. But I will drive you out of it. 8 The sword is what you have feared, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. 9 I [3] will drive you out from it, hand you over to foreigners, and execute judgments on you. 10 By the sword you will fall, and at the border of Israel I will judge you. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 11 This city will not be a pot for you, and you will not be the meat inside it. At the border of Israel I will judge you. 12 Then you will know that I am the Lord, in whose statutes you have not walked and whose ordinances you have not obeyed, but instead you have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.

                  13 While I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice. I said, “Oh no, Lord God, you are making a complete destruction of the remaining survivors of Israel!”

                  Promise of One Heart and a New Spirit

                  14 Then the word of the Lord came to me.

                  15 Son of man, your brothers, your brothers who have the right to redeem your property, [4] and the whole house of Israel—all of it—to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem are saying, “Stay far away from the Lord! This land has been given to us as a possession.” 16 Tell them that this is what the Lord God says.

                  Although I have removed them far away among the nations, and I have indeed scattered them among the lands, I will be a sanctuary for them for a little while in the lands to which they have gone.

                  17 Therefore say, “This is what the Lord God says.” I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the lands where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 When they arrive back there, they will remove from it all its loathsome things and all its abominations. 19 I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from their body and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so that they will walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and carry them out. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their disgusting things and their abominations, I will bring down their conduct on their own heads, declares the Lord God.

                  The Glory Departs

                  22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings. The wheels were beside them, and the Glory of the God of Israel was positioned above them. 23 The Glory of the Lord went up from the middle of the city and stood on the mountain east of the city. 24 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Chaldea, in the vision from the Spirit of God. Then the vision I had seen departed from me, and I told the exiles all the things from the Lord that he had shown to me.

                  Footnotes
                  1. Ezekiel 11:1 Or wind
                  2. Ezekiel 11:3 The Hebrew sentence reads to build houses is not near. The context requires a confident assertion, but it is not clear what type of action this comment refers to. Some suggest that the rulers feel no need to build houses because they have expropriated the property of the people in exile and of other defenseless residents of the city. Others suggest that they were mocking Jeremiah’s letter and talking about building houses in Babylon.
                  3. Ezekiel 11:9 A variant supported by some Hebrew manuscripts is he.
                  4. Ezekiel 11:15 See Leviticus 25:24-52 for a description of this practice. A variant is your fellow exiles.



                  5. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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                    5 min
                  6. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 23
                    Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 23Ezekial 9 – 10
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                    Through My Bible – May 23

                    Ezekial 9 – 10 (EHV)

                    https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0523db.mp3
                    See series: Through My Bible

                    Those Without the Mark Are Put to Death
                    Ezekial 9

                    1 Then he called out with a loud voice in my hearing, “Bring the supervisors of the city here, each one of them with his weapon of destruction in his hand.” 2 Then I noticed six men coming from the direction of the upper gate that faces north, each with his weapon, a war club, in his hand. There was also one man in the middle, dressed in linen, with a scribe’s kit at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.

                    3 Now the Glory of the God of Israel ascended from above the cherub, over whom it had been standing, and moved to the threshold of the temple building. He called out to the man who was dressed in linen, who had the scribe’s kit at his waist. 4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a cross mark [1] on the foreheads of those who moan and lament over the abominations being committed in her.” 5 To the others he said in my hearing, “Follow him through the city and strike the people down. Do not let your eye show pity, and do not have compassion. 6 Old men and young men, virgins, little children, and women—you are to keep killing until you wipe them out completely. But do not go near anyone who has been marked with the cross. You are to begin at my sanctuary.”

                    So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple. 7 Then he said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go!” So they went and struck them down throughout the city.

                    8 While they were striking them down, I was left alone and I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord God! Are you going to destroy everyone who is left in Israel, as you pour out your wrath upon Jerusalem?” 9 He said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is very, very great. The land is filled with bloodshed, and the city is full of injustice, because they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land’ and ‘The Lord does not see.’ 10 But I am determined that my eye will show no pity, and I will have no compassion. I will bring down their conduct on their own heads.” 11 Just then, I saw the man dressed in linen, who had the scribe’s kit at his waist. He was reporting, “I have done just as you commanded me.”

                    The Glory Is Seen Again
                    Ezekial 10

                    1 Then I looked, and there, above the vaulted ceiling [2] that was over the heads of the cherubim, there was something that looked like a sapphire, shaped like a throne. It could be seen above the cherubim. 2 The Lord [3] said to the man dressed in linen, “Reach into the structure for the wheels that is beneath the cherubim, fill your cupped hands with fiery coals from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” So he went in while I watched.

                    3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple while he, the man, approached, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 Then the Glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was full of the radiance of the Glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far away as the outer courtyard, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

                    6 When he commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim,” the man went and stood beside the wheel. 7 Then a cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim and reached into the fire that was between the cherubim. He lifted up some coals, and he put them into the cupped hands of the man dressed in linen, and the man took them and went out.

                    8 The cherubim had something that seemed like the form of a human hand under their wings.

                    9 Then I looked, and right there beside the cherubim were four wheels, one wheel beside each cherub, and the wheels looked like topaz. 10 The four of them all looked alike—there was a wheel inside each wheel. [4] 11 The cherubim could move in any of the four directions toward which one of them faced, without turning as they moved. They went straight ahead in the direction they faced, never turning from side to side. [5]

                    12 Their entire body, their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around. (I mean the wheels that belonged to the four of them.) 13 As for the wheels, they were called “wheelwork” [6] in my hearing.

                    14 Each one of the cherubim had four faces. One face was the face of a cherub. [7] The second face was the face of a man. The third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.

                    15 Then the cherubim rose. These were the living creatures that I had seen by the Kebar Canal. 16 Whenever the cherubim moved, the wheels moved alongside them, and whenever the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not turn away from their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels would stand still, and when the cherubim rose, the wheels would rise with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

                    18 Then the Glory of the Lord moved out from the threshold of the temple and took a position above the cherubim. 19 As I watched, the cherubim lifted up their wings and rose from the ground. As they went out, the wheels remained beside them. They [8] stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the House of the Lord, and the Glory of the God of Israel was above the cherubim. 20 These were the living creatures that I had seen beneath the God of Israel at the Kebar Canal, and I now knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces, and each had four wings, with something like the hands of a man underneath their wings. 22 The faces looked like the faces that I had seen by the Kebar Canal—exactly the same. Each one went straight ahead.

                    Footnotes
                    1. Ezekiel 9:4 The cross mark placed on the people was the Hebrew letter tav, which is the source of the English letter t lowercase (†). The significance of the similarity between the tav and the cross was not apparent, however, at this point, five hundred years before Calvary.
                    2. Ezekiel 10:1 Or platform
                    3. Ezekiel 10:2 The Hebrew reads he. The subject is provided for clarity.
                    4. Ezekiel 10:10 The inner wheel was apparently at right angles to the outer wheel, allowing the platform to move in any direction without the wheels turning from side to side.
                    5. Ezekiel 10:11 The expression is difficult. It apparently means that each one of the cherubim faced in one of the four directions of the compass. When the platform moved in any direction, the cherub facing that direction served as the driver. The other cherubim did not turn but remained facing their assigned direction.
                    6. Ezekiel 10:13 Or the whirling wheels or the spinning wheels
                    7. Ezekiel 10:14 In chapter 1 the corresponding face was called the face of an ox.
                    8. Ezekiel 10:19 The translation they is the reading of the Greek text. The Hebrew text reads the singular.



                    9. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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                      7 min
                    10. Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 22
                      Through My Bible Yr 02 – May 22Ezekiel 8
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                      Through My Bible – May 22

                      Ezekiel 8 (EHV)

                      https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/tmb-ehv/02-0522db.mp3
                      See series: Through My Bible

                      Abominations in the Temple

                      1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, [1] I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me. The hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. 2 I looked, and there I saw a figure that looked like a man. [2] From what appeared to be his waist down, he looked like fire, and from his waist up, he had the appearance of a dazzling light, something like glowing metal. [3] 3 He reached out with what looked like a hand and seized me by a lock of hair. Then the Spirit [4] lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me to Jerusalem, while I was experiencing visions from God. He brought me to the entrance of the north gate into the inner courtyard of the Temple, where the idolatrous image of jealousy, which provokes jealousy, was located. 4 Then I looked, and there was the Glory of the God of Israel, as it was in the vision that I had seen in the middle of the river valley.

                      5 He said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and what did I see! There, north of the altar gate, was this idolatrous image of jealousy beside the entrance. 6 He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—what great abominations the house of Israel is practicing here, to distance themselves [5] from my sanctuary! But you will see even greater abominations.”

                      7 Next, he brought me to the entrance to the courtyard, and I looked and saw that there was a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and there I saw a doorway. 9 He said to me, “Go in and observe the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 When I entered, I looked around, and what did I see! Every form of creeping creature and every kind of detestable animal and all the filthy idols of the house of Israel were engraved on the wall, all around. 11 Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel—with Ja’azaniah [6] son of Shaphan standing in the middle—were standing in front of the images, each with his censer in his hand, and the fragrance of the cloud of incense was ascending. 12 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each in his chamber for carved images? Listen! They are saying, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land.’”

                      13 Then he said to me, “You will see even greater abominations which they are practicing.”

                      14 Next, he brought me to the entrance of the gateway of the House of the Lord that is on the north side, and right there I saw women sitting and wailing for Tammuz. [7] 15 He said to me, “Do you see, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these.”

                      16 Finally, he brought me to the inner courtyard of the House of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the vestibule and the altar, were twenty-five men, showing their backsides to the temple of the Lord with their faces toward the east, and they were bowing down to the sun in the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it too trivial for the house of Judah to commit the abominations they are committing here? Do they also have to fill the land with violence, so that they provoke me more and more? They are even sticking the branch up my nose! [8] 18 But I also will act in wrath. My eye will not show pity, and I will have no compassion. They will call out to my ears with a loud cry, but I will not hear them.”

                      Footnotes
                      1. Ezekiel 8:1 During the autumn of 592 bc
                      2. Ezekiel 8:2 The translation like a man follows the Greek text. The Hebrew reads like fire. The two words look very similar in Hebrew.
                      3. Ezekiel 8:2 Or electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, or amber
                      4. Ezekiel 8:3 Or the wind. This may be an experience like Elijah’s experience with the whirlwind.
                      5. Ezekiel 8:6 Or me. The Hebrew has no object pronoun.
                      6. Ezekiel 8:11 The stop mark ′ shows that Ja-az should be pronounced as two syllables.
                      7. Ezekiel 8:14 Tammuz was a Babylonian god, who was believed to die at the beginning of the dry season, who then had to be brought back to life by mourning rituals, in order to bring back the rains.
                      8. Ezekiel 8:17 It is not clear what this offensive practice is. The translation follows the alternate Hebrew reading, known as a correction of the scribes. The standard Hebrew text reads putting the branch to their nose, a reference to smelling flowers to cover the stench of what they were doing. But the context requires that this be the ultimate insult to the Lord, so the more offensive reading is likely correct.



                      9. The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.



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                        5 min

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