John 8:31-47
[31]
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my
word, you are truly my disciples, [32] and you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you free.” [33] They answered him, “We are offspring
of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you
say, ‘You will become free’?”
[34]
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who
practices sin is a slave to sin. [35] The slave does not remain in the
house forever; the son remains forever. [36] So if the Son sets you
free, you will be free indeed. [37] I know that you are offspring of
Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
[38] I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you
have heard from your father.”
[39]
They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you
were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, [40]
but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I
heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. [41] You are doing the
works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual
immorality. We have one Father—even God.” [42] Jesus said to them, “If
God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am
here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. [43] Why do you not
understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
[44] You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your
father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not
stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he
speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of
lies. [45] But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. [46]
Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not
believe me? [47] Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason
why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
2 Peter 3:1-9
[1]
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In
both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, [2]
that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the
commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, [3] knowing
this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with
scoffing, following their own sinful desires. [4] They will say, “Where
is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep,
all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
[5] For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed
long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the
word of God, [6] and that by means of these the world that then existed
was deluged with water and perished. [7] But by the same word the
heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept
until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
[8]
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day
is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is
not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient
toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should
reach repentance.
Job 6
[1] Then Job answered and said:
[2] “Oh that my vexation were weighed,
and all my calamity laid in the balances!
[3] For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
[4] For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
[5] Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,
or the ox low over his fodder?
[6] Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?
[7] My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are as food that is loathsome to me.
[8] “Oh that I might have my request,
and that God would fulfill my hope,
[9] that it would please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
[10] This would be my comfort;
I would even exult in pain unsparing,
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
[11] What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?
[12] Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
[13] Have I any help in me,
when resource is driven from me?
[14] “He who withholds kindness from a friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
[15] My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,
as torrential streams that pass away,
[16] which are dark with ice,
and where the snow hides itself.
[17] When they melt, they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
[18] The caravans turn aside from their course;
they go up into the waste and perish.
[19] The caravans of Tema look,
the travelers of Sheba hope.
[20] They are ashamed because they were confident;
they come there and are disappointed.
[21] For you have now become nothing;
you see my calamity and are afraid.
[22] Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?
Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
[23] Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’?
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’?
[24] “Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone astray.
[25] How forceful are upright words!
But what does reproof from you reprove?
[26] Do you think that you can reprove words,
when the speech of a despairing man is wind?
[27] You would even cast lots over the fatherless,
and bargain over your friend.
[28] “But now, be pleased to look at me,
for I will not lie to your face.
[29] Please turn; let no injustice be done.
Turn now; my vindication is at stake.
[30] Is there any injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?
Ezekiel 17
[1]
The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, propound a riddle,
and speak a parable to the house of Israel; [3] say, Thus says the Lord
GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of
many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. [4] He
broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of
trade and set it in a city of merchants. [5] Then he took of the seed of
the land and planted it in fertile soil. He placed it beside abundant
waters. He set it like a willow twig, [6] and it sprouted and became a
low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots
remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and
put out boughs.
[7]
“And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage,
and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its
branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might
water it. [8] It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that
it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine.
[9]
“Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its
roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh
sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to
pull it from its roots. [10] Behold, it is planted; will it thrive?
Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on
the bed where it sprouted?”
[11]
Then the word of the LORD came to me: [12] “Say now to the rebellious
house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the
king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and
brought them to him to Babylon. [13] And he took one of the royal
offspring and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the
chief men of the land he had taken away), [14] that the kingdom might be
humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might
stand. [15] But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to
Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive?
Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet
escape?
[16]
“As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king
dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant
with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. [17] Pharaoh with his mighty
army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast
up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. [18] He despised the
oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all
these things; he shall not escape. [19] Therefore thus says the Lord
GOD: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant
that he broke. I will return it upon his head. [20] I will spread my net
over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to
Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has
committed against me. [21] And all the pick of his troops shall fall by
the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you
shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken.”
[22]
Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top
of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of
its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and
lofty mountain. [23] On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it,
that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar.
And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches
birds of every sort will nest. [24] And all the trees of the field
shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high
the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I
am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
Ezekiel 18
[1]
The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “What do you mean by repeating
this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour
grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? [3] As I live,
declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in
Israel. [4] Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well
as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.
[5]
“If a man is righteous and does what is just and right—[6] if he does
not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house
of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in
her time of menstrual impurity, [7] does not oppress anyone, but
restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread
to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, [8] does not lend at
interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes
true justice between man and man, [9] walks in my statutes, and keeps
my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live,
declares the Lord GOD.
[10]
“If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any
of these things [11] (though he himself did none of these things), who
even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, [12]
oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the
pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, [13] lends
at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He
has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall
be upon himself.
[14]
“Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his
father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: [15] he does not eat
upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of
Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, [16] does not oppress
anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the
hungry and covers the naked with a garment, [17] withholds his hand
from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in
my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall
surely live. [18] As for his father, because he practiced extortion,
robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold,
he shall die for his iniquity.
[19]
“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the
father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been
careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. [20] The soul
who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the
father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon himself.
[21]
“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has
committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he
shall surely live; he shall not die. [22] None of the transgressions
that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the
righteousness that he has done he shall live. [23] Have I any pleasure
in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that
he should turn from his way and live? [24] But when a righteous person
turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same
abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the
righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery
of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall
die.
[25]
“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of
Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? [26]
When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does
injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he
shall die. [27] Again, when a wicked person turns away from the
wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall
save his life. [28] Because he considered and turned away from all the
transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not
die. [29] Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not
just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that
are not just?
[30]
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to
his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your
transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. [31] Cast away from you all
the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new
heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? [32] For I
have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn,
and live.”
Ezekiel 19
[1] And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, [2] and say:
What was your mother? A lioness!
Among lions she crouched;
in the midst of young lions
she reared her cubs.
[3] And she brought up one of her cubs;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men.
[4] The nations heard about him;
he was caught in their pit,
and they brought him with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
[5] When she saw that she waited in vain,
that her hope was lost,
she took another of her cubs
and made him a young lion.
[6] He prowled among the lions;
he became a young lion,
and he learned to catch prey;
he devoured men,
[7] and seized their widows.
He laid waste their cities,
and the land was appalled and all who were in it
at the sound of his roaring.
[8] Then the nations set against him
from provinces on every side;
they spread their net over him;
he was taken in their pit.
[9] With hooks they put him in a cage
and brought him to the king of Babylon;
they brought him into custody,
that his voice should no more be heard
on the mountains of Israel.
[10] Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard
planted by the water,
fruitful and full of branches
by reason of abundant water.
[11] Its strong stems became
rulers’ scepters;
it towered aloft
among the thick boughs;
it was seen in its height
with the mass of its branches.
[12] But the vine was plucked up in fury,
cast down to the ground;
the east wind dried up its fruit;
they were stripped off and withered.
As for its strong stem,
fire consumed it.
[13] Now it is planted in the wilderness,
in a dry and thirsty land.
[14] And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,
has consumed its fruit,
so that there remains in it no strong stem,
no scepter for ruling.
This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation.
