John 7:37-44
[37]
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried
out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever
believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow
rivers of living water.’” [39] Now this he said about the Spirit, whom
those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not
been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
[40]
When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is
the Prophet.” [41] Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is
the Christ to come from Galilee? [42] Has not the Scripture said that
the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem,
the village where David was?” [43] So there was a division among the
people over him. [44] Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid
hands on him.
2 Peter 1:1-11
[1] Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
[2] May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
[3]
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory
and excellence, [4] by which he has granted to us his precious and very
great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world
because of sinful desire. [5] For this very reason, make every effort to
supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, [6] and
knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and
steadfastness with godliness, [7] and godliness with brotherly
affection, and brotherly affection with love. [8] For if these qualities
are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] For whoever
lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having
forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. [10] Therefore,
brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election,
for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. [11] For in
this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the
eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Job 1
1
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was
blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
3
He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500
female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the
greatest of all the people of the east.
4
His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his
day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink
with them.
5
And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and
consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt
offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be
that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job
did continually.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
7
The LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the
LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up
and down on it."
8
And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that
there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who
fears God and turns away from evil?"
9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for no reason?
10
Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has,
on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his
possessions have increased in the land.
11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face."
12
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your hand.
Only against him do not stretch out your hand." So Satan went out from
the presence of the LORD.
13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,
14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,
15
and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the
servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell
you."
16
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "The fire of
God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and
consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you."
17
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "The Chaldeans
formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and
struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have
escaped to tell you."
18
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "Your sons and
daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,
19
and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four
corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are
dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you."
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
21
And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I
return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name
of the LORD."
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Ezekiel 1
[1]
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the
month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were
opened, and I saw visions of God. [2] On the fifth day of the month (it
was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), [3] the word of the
LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the
Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him
there.
[4]
As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great
cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually,
and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. [5] And from
the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was
their appearance: they had a human likeness, [6] but each had four
faces, and each of them had four wings. [7] Their legs were straight,
and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And
they sparkled like burnished bronze. [8] Under their wings on their four
sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their
wings thus: [9] their wings touched one another. Each one of them went
straight forward, without turning as they went. [10] As for the likeness
of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion
on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and
the four had the face of an eagle. [11] Such were their faces. And their
wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which
touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. [12] And
each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went,
without turning as they went. [13] As for the likeness of the living
creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the
appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And
the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. [14] And
the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash
of lightning.
[15]
Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth
beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. [16] As
for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their
appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same
likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel
within a wheel. [17] When they went, they went in any of their four
directions without turning as they went. [18] And their rims were tall
and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. [19]
And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and
when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. [20]
Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along
with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
[21] When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and
when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for
the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
[22]
Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an
expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their
heads. [23] And under the expanse their wings were stretched out
straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering
its body. [24] And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like
the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of
tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down
their wings. [25] And there came a voice from above the expanse over
their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.
[26]
And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a
throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a
throne was a likeness with a human appearance. [27] And upward from what
had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like
the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had
the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and
there was brightness around him. [28] Like the appearance of the bow
that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the
brightness all around.
Such
was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I
saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Ezekiel 2
[1]
And he said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak
with you.” [2] And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set
me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. [3] And he said to me,
“Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels,
who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed
against me to this very day. [4] The descendants also are impudent and
stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the
Lord GOD.’ [5] And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a
rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them. [6]
And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their
words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions.
Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they
are a rebellious house. [7] And you shall speak my words to them,
whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.
[8]
“But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like
that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” [9] And
when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a
scroll of a book was in it. [10] And he spread it before me. And it had
writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words
of lamentation and mourning and woe.
Ezekiel 3
[1]
And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this
scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” [2] So I opened my mouth,
and he gave me this scroll to eat. [3] And he said to me, “Son of man,
feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach
with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
[4]
And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak
with my words to them. [5] For you are not sent to a people of foreign
speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel—[6] not to many
peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot
understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. [7]
But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they
are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a
hard forehead and a stubborn heart. [8] Behold, I have made your face as
hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. [9]
Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not,
nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” [10]
Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to
you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. [11] And go to the
exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says
the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”
[12]
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a
great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!”
[13] It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they
touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the
sound of a great earthquake. [14] The Spirit lifted me up and took me
away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the
LORD being strong upon me. [15] And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib,
who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were
dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.
[16]
And at the end of seven days, the word of the LORD came to me: [17]
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel.
Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from
me. [18] If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give
him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in
order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity,
but his blood I will require at your hand. [19] But if you warn the
wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked
way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your
soul. [20] Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and
commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall
die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his
righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I
will require at your hand. [21] But if you warn the righteous person
not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took
warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”
[22]
And the hand of the LORD was upon me there. And he said to me, “Arise,
go out into the valley, and there I will speak with you.” [23] So I
arose and went out into the valley, and behold, the glory of the LORD
stood there, like the glory that I had seen by the Chebar canal, and I
fell on my face. [24] But the Spirit entered into me and set me on my
feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself within
your house. [25] And you, O son of man, behold, cords will be placed
upon you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go out
among the people. [26] And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of
your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for
they are a rebellious house. [27] But when I speak with you, I will open
your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who
will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him
refuse, for they are a rebellious house.
