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EZEKIEL 17-19

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Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine
  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.” The Soul Who Sins Shall Die
  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.” A Lament for the Princes of Israel
  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.



PROVERBS 6

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Practical Warnings
6:1
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
have given your pledge for a stranger,
2
if you are snared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
3
then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.
4
Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5
save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6
Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
7
Without having any chief,
officer, or ruler,
8
she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest.
9
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11
and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.

12
A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with crooked speech,
13
winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
points with his finger,
14
with perverted heart devises evil,
continually sowing discord;
15
therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.

16
There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
Warnings Against Adultery
20
My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching.
21
Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck.
22
When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you.
23
For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
24
to preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
25
Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
26
for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
but a married woman hunts down a precious life.
27
Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned?
28
Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?
29
So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
none who touches her will go unpunished.
30
People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
31
but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house.
32
He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
33
He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.
34
For jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when he takes revenge.
35
He will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts.



PSALM 139

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Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139:1
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

7
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

13
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

17
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

19
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
21
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

23
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

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