Ezekiel 1 - 2, Ephesians 1 - 2, Psalm 136

The Vision of Four Living Creatures

1Now it happened in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the ^ariver Chebar among the exiles, that the ^bheavens were opened, and I saw ¹^,^cvisions of God. ²(On the fifth of the month ¹in the ^afifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, ³the ^aword of ¹Yahweh came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the ^bland of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there ^cthe hand of Yahweh came upon him.)

⁴Then I looked, and behold, a ^astorm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light all around it, and in its midst something like the gleam of ^bglowing metal in the midst of the fire. ⁵And within it there were figures with the likeness of ^afour living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the ^blikeness of a man. ⁶And each of them had ^afour faces and ^bfour wings. ⁷And their legs were straight, and ¹their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they sparkled like the gleam of ^aburnished bronze. ⁸And under their wings on their ^afour sides were ^bhands of a man. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, ⁹their wings touched one another; their faces did ^anot turn as they went; each ^bwent straight forward. ¹⁰And as for the ^alikeness of their faces, each had the ^bface of a man; ¹all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and ²all four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹And such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and ^atwo covering their bodies. ¹²And ^aeach went straight forward; ^bwherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. ¹³¹As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of ^afire, ²like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and lightning was ³flashing from the fire. ¹⁴And the living creatures ^aran to and fro with the appearance of ^blightning.

¹⁵Then I looked at the living creatures, and behold, there was one ^awheel on the earth beside the living creatures, ¹for each of the four of them. ¹⁶The ^aappearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like the gleam of ^bberyl, and all four of them had the same likeness, their appearance and workmanship being as if ¹one wheel were within another. ¹⁷Whenever they went, they went in any of their four ¹directions without ^aturning as they went. ¹⁸And as for their rims, they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were ^afull of eyes all around. ¹⁹^aAnd when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them. And when the living creatures ^brose from the earth, the wheels rose also. ²⁰^aWherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction, ¹where the spirit was about to go. And the wheels rose alongside of them; for the spirit of the living ²creatures was in the wheels. ²¹^aWhenever those went, these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living ¹creatures was in the wheels.

The Vision of the Glory of Yahweh

²²Now ^aover the heads of the living ¹creatures there was something with the likeness of an expanse, like the awesome gleam of ²crystal, spread out over their heads above. ²³And underneath the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had ^atwo wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. ²⁴I also heard the sound of their wings like the ^asound of many waters as they went, like the ¹^,^bsound of ²the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the ^csound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. ²⁵And there came a sound from above the ^aexpanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.

²⁶Now ^aabove the expanse that was over their heads there was something in the ^blikeness of a throne, like ^csapphire stone in appearance; and upon the likeness of the throne, high up, was the likeness of one with the appearance of a ^dman. ²⁷Then I saw from the appearance of His loins and upward something ^alike the gleam of ¹glowing metal with the appearance of fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something with the appearance of fire; and there was a radiance all around Him. ²⁸As the appearance of the ^arainbow ¹in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the radiance all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the ^bglory of Yahweh. And I saw this, and I ^cfell on my face and heard a sound of a voice speaking.

The Sending of Ezekiel

2Then He said to me, “Son of man, ^astand on your feet that I may speak with you!” ²And as He spoke to me, the ^aSpirit entered me and caused me to stand on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. ³Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have ^arebelled against Me; ^bthey and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ⁴“I am sending you to them who are ¹^,^astiff-²faced and strong-hearted children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh.’ ⁵“As for them, ^awhether they listen or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—they will ^bknow that a prophet has been among them. ⁶“Now as for you, son of man, ^ado not fear them and do not fear their words, though ^bthistles and briers are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. ⁷“But you shall ^aspeak My words to them ^bwhether they listen or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious.

⁸“Now as for you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and ^aeat what I am giving you.” ⁹Then I looked, and behold, a ^ahand was sent forth to me; and behold, a ¹^,^bscroll was in it. ¹⁰Then He spread it out before me, and it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, sighing, and ^awoe.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

1Paul, ^aan apostle of ^bChrist Jesus ¹^,^cby the will of God, To the ²^,^dsaints who are ³at ^eEphesus and ^fwho are faithful in ^gChrist Jesus: ²^aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³^aBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in ^bthe heavenly places in Christ, ⁴just as ^aHe chose us in Him before ^bthe foundation of the world, that we would be ^choly and blameless before ¹Him ^din love, ⁵by ^apredestining us to ^badoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, ^caccording to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶^ato the praise of the glory of His grace, which He graciously bestowed on us in ^bthe Beloved. ⁷^aIn ¹Him we have ^bredemption ^cthrough His blood, the ^dforgiveness of our transgressions, according to ^ethe riches of His grace ⁸which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, ⁹^amaking known to us the mystery of His will, ^baccording to His good pleasure which He ^cpurposed in Him ¹⁰for an administration of ^athe fullness of the times, that is, ^bthe summing up of all things in Christ, things ¹in the heavens and things on the earth in Him. ¹¹In ¹Him, we also ²^,^ahave been made an inheritance, having been ^bpredestined ^caccording to the purpose of Him who works all things ^daccording to the counsel of His will, ¹²to the end that we who first have hoped in ¹Christ would be ^ato the praise of His glory. ¹³In ¹Him, you also, after listening to ^athe word of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ²believed, you were ^bsealed in ³Him with ^cthe Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴who is ¹^,^agiven as a pledge of ^bour inheritance, unto the ^credemption of ^dGod’s own possession, ^eto the praise of His glory.

¹⁵For this reason I too, ^ahaving heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and ¹your love for ^ball the ²saints, ¹⁶^ado not cease giving thanks for you, ^bwhile making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷that the ^aGod of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^bthe Father of glory, may give to you the ¹Spirit of ^cwisdom and of ^drevelation in the ²full knowledge of Him, ¹⁸so that you—^athe eyes of your heart having been enlightened—will know what is the ^bhope of His ^ccalling, what are ^dthe riches of the glory of ^eHis inheritance in ^fthe ¹saints, ¹⁹and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe ^aaccording to the working of the ^bmight of His strength, ²⁰which He worked in Christ, by ^araising Him from the dead and ^bseating Him at His right hand in ^cthe heavenly places, ²¹far above ^aall rule and authority and power and dominion, and every ^bname that is named, not only in ^cthis age but also in the one to come. ²²And ^aHe put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as ^bhead over all things to the church, ²³which is His ^abody, the ^bfullness of Him who ^cfills ^dall in all.

By Grace Through Faith

2And you ¹were ^adead ²in your transgressions and sins, ²in which you ^aformerly walked according to the ¹course of ^bthis world, according to ^cthe ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in ^dthe sons of disobedience, ³among whom we all also ^aformerly conducted ourselves in ^bthe lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the ¹mind, and were ^cby nature ^dchildren of wrath, ^eeven as the rest. ⁴But God, being ^arich in mercy because of ^bHis great love with which He loved us, ⁵even when we were ^adead ¹in our transgressions, made us alive together ²with Christ—^bby grace you have been saved— ⁶and ^araised us up with Him, and ^bseated us with Him in ^cthe heavenly places in ^dChrist Jesus, ⁷so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing ^ariches of His grace in ^bkindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For ^aby grace you have been saved ^bthrough faith, and ¹this not of yourselves, it is ^cthe gift of God; ⁹^anot of works, so that ^bno one may boast. ¹⁰For we are His workmanship, ^acreated in ^bChrist Jesus for ^cgood works, which God ^dprepared beforehand so that we would ^ewalk in them.

¹¹Therefore, remember that ^aformerly ^byou—the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “^cUncircumcision” by the so-called “^dCircumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹²remember that you were at that time without Christ, ^aalienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to ^bthe covenants of promise, having ^cno hope and ^dwithout God in the world. ¹³But now in ^aChrist Jesus you who ^bformerly were ^cfar off ¹have ^dbeen brought near ^eby the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For He Himself is ^aour peace, ^bwho made both groups one and broke down the dividing wall of the partition ¹⁵¹by ^aabolishing in His flesh the enmity, ^bthe Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might ^ccreate the two into ^done new man, making ^epeace, ¹⁶and might ^areconcile them both in ^bone body to God through the cross, having in Himself ^cput to death the enmity. ¹⁷And ^aHe came and preached ^bthe good news of peace to you who were ^cfar away, and peace to those who were ^dnear; ¹⁸for through Him we both have ^aour access in ^bone Spirit to ^cthe Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer ^astrangers and sojourners, but you are ^bfellow citizens with the ¹saints, and are of ^cGod’s household, ²⁰having been ^abuilt on ^bthe foundation of ^cthe apostles and prophets, ^dChrist Jesus Himself being the ^ecorner stone, ²¹^ain whom the whole building, being joined together, is growing into ^ba holy ¹sanctuary in the Lord, ²²in whom you also are being ^abuilt together into a ^bdwelling of God in the Spirit.

His Lovingkindness Endures Forever

136^aGive thanks to Yahweh, for ^bHe is good,For ^cHis lovingkindness endures forever.²Give thanks to the ^aGod of gods,For His lovingkindness endures forever.³Give thanks to the ^aLord of lords,For His lovingkindness endures forever.⁴To Him who ^aalone does great ¹wonders,For His lovingkindness endures forever;⁵To Him who ^amade the heavens ^bwith ¹skill,For His lovingkindness endures forever;⁶To Him who ^aspread out the earth above the waters,For His lovingkindness endures forever;⁷To Him who ^amade the great lights,For His lovingkindness endures forever:⁸The ^asun to rule ¹by day,For His lovingkindness endures forever,⁹The ^amoon and stars to rule ¹by night,For His lovingkindness endures forever.¹⁰To Him who ^astruck ¹the Egyptians through their firstborn,For His lovingkindness endures forever,¹¹Then ^abrought Israel out from their midst,For His lovingkindness endures forever,¹²With a ^astrong hand and an ^boutstretched arm,For His lovingkindness endures forever.¹³To Him who ^adivided the ¹Red Sea in two,For His lovingkindness endures forever,¹⁴And ^amade Israel pass through the midst of it,For His lovingkindness endures forever,¹⁵But ^aHe ¹overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the ²Red Sea,For His lovingkindness endures forever.¹⁶To Him who ^aled His people through the wilderness,For His lovingkindness endures forever;¹⁷To Him who ^astruck great kings,For His lovingkindness endures forever,¹⁸And ^akilled ¹mighty kings,For His lovingkindness endures forever:¹⁹^aSihon, king of the Amorites,For His lovingkindness endures forever,²⁰And ^aOg, king of Bashan,For His lovingkindness endures forever,²¹And ^agave their land as an inheritance,For His lovingkindness endures forever,²²Even an inheritance to Israel His ^aservant,For His lovingkindness endures forever.²³Who ^aremembered us in our low estate,For His lovingkindness endures forever,²⁴And has ^asnatched us from our adversaries,For His lovingkindness endures forever;²⁵Who ^agives food to all flesh,For His lovingkindness endures forever.²⁶Give thanks to the ^aGod of heaven,For His lovingkindness endures forever.