EZEKIEL 20

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God’s Dealings with Israel Rehearsed  20:1 Now in the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the LORD came to me saying, 3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Do you come to inquire of Me? As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will not be inquired of by you.”’ 4 Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Make them know the abominations of their fathers; 5 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “On the day when I chose Israel and swore to the descendants of the house of Jacob and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am the LORD your God, 6 on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands. 7 I said to them, ‘Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.’ 8 But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.
    Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live. 12 Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD 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, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; and My sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. 14 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out. 15 Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, 16 because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their heart continually went after their idols. 17 Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their annihilation in the wilderness.
    18 “I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them. 20 Sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’ 21 But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. 23 Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, 24 because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers. 25 I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live; 26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the LORD.”’
    27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed Me by acting treacherously against Me. 28 When I had brought them into the land which I swore to give to them, then they saw every high hill and every leafy tree, and they offered there their sacrifices and there they presented the provocation of their offering. There also they made their soothing aroma and there they poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them, ‘What is the high place to which you go?’ So its name is called Bamah to this day.”’ 30 Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and play the harlot after their detestable things? 31 When you offer your gifts, when you cause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will not be inquired of by you. 32 What comes into your mind will not come about, when you say: ‘We will be like the nations, like the tribes of the lands, serving wood and stone.’
God Will Restore Israel to Her Land    33 “As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and 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 I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord GOD. 37 “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the LORD.
    39 “As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord GOD, “Go, serve everyone his idols; but later you will surely listen to Me, and My holy name you will profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols. 40 For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD, “there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will accept them and there I will seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. 41 As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations. 42 And you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers. 43 There you will remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done. 44 Then you will know that I am the LORD when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD.’”
    45 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 46 “Son of man, set your face toward Teman, and speak out against the south and prophesy against the forest land of the Negev, 47 and say to the forest of the Negev, ‘Hear the word of the LORD: thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am about to kindle a fire in you, and it will consume every green tree in you, as well as every dry tree; the blazing flame will not be quenched and the whole surface from south to north will be burned by it. 48 All flesh will see that I, the LORD, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.”’” 49 Then I said, “Ah Lord GOD! They are saying of me, ‘Is he not just speaking parables?’”

EZEKIEL 21

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Parable of the Sword of the LORD  21:1 And the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and speak against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel; 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am against you; and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. 4 Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. 5 Thus all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again.”’ 6 As for you, son of man, groan with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 7 And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will happen,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
    8 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the LORD.’ Say,

‘A sword, a sword sharpened

And also polished!

10 ‘Sharpened to make a slaughter,

Polished to flash like lightning!’

Or shall we rejoice, the rod of My son despising every tree?

11 It is given to be polished, that it may be handled; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the slayer. 12 Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the officials of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people, therefore strike your thigh. 13 For there is a testing; and what if even the rod which despises will be no more?” declares the Lord GOD.
    14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and clap your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great one slain, which surrounds them, 15 that their hearts may melt, and many fall at all their gates. I have given the glittering sword. Ah! It is made for striking like lightning, it is wrapped up in readiness for slaughter. 16 Show yourself sharp, go to the right; set yourself; go to the left, wherever your edge is appointed. 17 I will also clap My hands together, and I will appease My wrath; I, the LORD, have spoken.”
The Instrument of God’s Judgment    18 The word of the LORD came to me saying, 19 “As for you, son of man, make two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both of them will go out of one land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to the city. 20 You shall mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination; he shakes the arrows, he consults the household idols, he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand came the divination, ‘Jerusalem,’ to set battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall. 23 And it will be to them like a false divination in their eyes; they have sworn solemn oaths. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized.
    24 “Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear--because you have come to remembrance, you will be seized with the hand. 25 And you, O slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end,’ 26 thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low and abase that which is high. 27 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’
    28 “And you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the sons of Ammon and concerning their reproach,’ and say: ‘A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for the slaughter, to cause it to consume, that it may be like lightning-- 29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you--to place you on the necks of the wicked who are slain, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end. 30 Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, skilled in destruction. 32 You will be fuel for the fire; your blood will be in the midst of the land. You will not be remembered, for I, the LORD, have spoken.’”

PROVERBS 8

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The Commendation of Wisdom8:1 Does not wisdom call,

And understanding lift up her voice?

2 On top of the heights beside the way,

Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

3 Beside the gates, at the opening to the city,

At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

4 “To you, O men, I call,

And my voice is to the sons of men.

5 “O naive ones, understand prudence;

And, O fools, understand wisdom.

6 “Listen, for I will speak noble things;

And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

7 “For my mouth will utter truth;

And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;

There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

9 “They are all straightforward to him who understands,

And right to those who find knowledge.

10 “Take my instruction and not silver,

And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

11 “For wisdom is better than jewels;

And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

And I find knowledge and discretion.

13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;

Pride and arrogance and the evil way

And the perverted mouth, I hate.

14 “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;

I am understanding, power is mine.

15 “By me kings reign,

And rulers decree justice.

16 “By me princes rule, and nobles,

All who judge rightly.

17 “I love those who love me;

And those who diligently seek me will find me.

18 “Riches and honor are with me,

Enduring wealth and righteousness.

19 “My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,

And my yield better than choicest silver.

20 “I walk in the way of righteousness,

In the midst of the paths of justice,

21 To endow those who love me with wealth,

That I may fill their treasuries.

22 “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way,

Before His works of old.

23 “From everlasting I was established,

From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

24 “When there were no depths I was brought forth,

When there were no springs abounding with water.

25 “Before the mountains were settled,

Before the hills I was brought forth;

26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,

Nor the first dust of the world.

27 “When He established the heavens, I was there,

When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

28 When He made firm the skies above,

When the springs of the deep became fixed,

29 When He set for the sea its boundary

So that the water would not transgress His command,

When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman;

And I was daily His delight,

Rejoicing always before Him,

31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth,

And having my delight in the sons of men.

32 “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,

For blessed are they who keep my ways.

33 “Heed instruction and be wise,

And do not neglect it.

34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me,

Watching daily at my gates,

Waiting at my doorposts.

35 “For he who finds me finds life

And obtains favor from the LORD.

36 “But he who sins against me injures himself;

All those who hate me love death.”

PSALM 132

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Prayer for the LORD’S Blessing upon the Sanctuary.A Song of Ascents.
132:1 Remember, O LORD, on David’s behalf,

All his affliction;

2 How he swore to the LORD

And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3 “Surely I will not enter my house,

Nor lie on my bed;

4 I will not give sleep to my eyes

Or slumber to my eyelids,

5 Until I find a place for the LORD,

A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah,

We found it in the field of Jaar.

7 Let us go into His dwelling place;

Let us worship at His footstool.

8 Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,

You and the ark of Your strength.

9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,

And let Your godly ones sing for joy.

10 For the sake of David Your servant,

Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.

11 The LORD has sworn to David

A truth from which He will not turn back:

“Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.

12 “If your sons will keep My covenant

And My testimony which I will teach them,

Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.”

13 For the LORD has chosen Zion;

He has desired it for His habitation.

14 “This is My resting place forever;

Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

15 “I will abundantly bless her provision;

I will satisfy her needy with bread.

16 “Her priests also I will clothe with salvation,

And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy.

17 “There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth;

I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed.

18 “His enemies I will clothe with shame,

But upon himself his crown shall shine.”

PSALM 133

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The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.A Song of Ascents, of David.
133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brothers to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Coming down upon the beard,

Even Aaron’s beard,

Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

3 It is like the dew of Hermon

Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the LORD commanded the blessing--life forever.