Ezekiel 21 - Legacy Standard Bible

Ezekiel 21

The Prophecy of Yahweh’s Sword

And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and speak, dripping out words against the sanctuaries and prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to the land of Israel, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am against you; and I will bring out My sword from 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 out from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. 5 Thus all flesh will know that I, Yahweh, have brought out My sword from its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again.”’ 6 Now as for you, son of man, groan with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan in their sight. 7 And it will be that when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the report that is coming; and every heart will melt, all hands will fall limp, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will happen,’ declares Lord Yahweh.” 8 Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord.’ Say,

‘A sword, a sword sharpened

And also polished!

Sharpened to make a slaughter,

Polished to flash like lightning!’

Or shall we rejoice in the scepter of My son? The sword despises every tree. 11 It is given to be polished, that it may be seized by the hand; the sword is sharpened and polished, to give it into the hand of the one who kills. 12 Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people; it is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people; therefore slap your thigh. 13 For there is a testing; and what if even the scepter which the sword despises will be no more?” declares Lord Yahweh. 14 “You therefore, son of man, prophesy and strike 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 will be stumbling blocks 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 And I will also strike My hands together, and I will cause My wrath to be at rest; I, Yahweh, have spoken.”

A Sword for Slaughter

18 And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 19 “Now 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 asks 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 killing, to lift up the voice with a shout of war, 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 worthless divination in their eyes; they have sworn solemn oaths. But he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized. 24 “Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘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 iniquity of the end,’ 26 thus says Lord Yahweh, ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Make high that which is low and make low that which is high. 27 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I will make it. This also will be no more until He comes to whom the legal judgment belongs, and I will give it to Him.’ 28 “Now as for you, son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh 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 behold for you worthless 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 iniquity 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 And I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of My fury, and I will give you into the hand of brutal men, craftsmen of 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, Yahweh, have spoken.’”

1 Timothy 1 - 2

Instructions in Doctrine and Living

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, our hope, 2 To Timothy, my genuine child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3 As I exhorted you when going to Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may command certain ones not to teach a different doctrine, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the stewardship from God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our command is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and an unhypocritical faith. 6 For some, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, 7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. 8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and godless, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for sexually immoral persons, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, 11 according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. 12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He regarded me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy saying and deserving full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost. 16 Yet for this reason I was shown mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Christ Jesus might demonstrate all His patience as an example for those who are going to believe upon Him for eternal life. 17 Now to the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 18 This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some, having rejected, suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.

Exhortation to Prayer

First of all, then, I exhort that petitions and prayers, requests and thanksgivings, be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the witness for this proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

Instructions for Women

9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, with modesty and self-restraint, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women professing godliness. 11 A woman must learn in quietness, in all submission. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first formed, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into trespass. 15 But she will be saved through the bearing of children, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with self-restraint.

Psalm 148

Praise Yahweh!

Praise Yah!

Praise Yahweh from the heavens;

Praise Him in the heights!

Praise Him, all His angels;

Praise Him, all His hosts!

Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all stars of light!

Praise Him, heavens of heavens,

And the waters that are above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of Yahweh,

For He commanded and they were created.

He caused them to stand forever and ever;

He gave a statute and it will never pass away.

Praise Yahweh from the earth,

Sea monsters and all deeps;

Fire and hail, snow and clouds;

Stormy wind, doing His word;

Mountains and all hills;

Fruit trees and all cedars;

Beasts and all cattle;

Creeping things and winged bird;

Kings of the earth and all peoples;

Princes and all judges of the earth;

Both choice men as well as virgins;

The old with the young.

Let them praise the name of Yahweh,

For His name alone is set on high;

His splendor is above earth and heaven.

And He has raised up a horn for His people,

Praise for all His holy ones;

For the sons of Israel, a people near to Him.

Praise Yah!